ESPN updates college football Power Rankings after Week 3

After a quarter of the season, most teams will begin conference play in the next couple of weeks, it will soon become more clear who is a contender versus who just had a Cinderella start. After three weeks, here are ESPN’s latest Power Rankings:

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0)
2. Georgia Bulldogs (3-0)
3. Iowa Hawkeyes (3-0)
4. Oregon Ducks (3-0)
5. Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0)
6. Cincinnati Bearcats (3-0)
7. Texas A&M Aggies (3-0)
8. Oklahoma Sooners (3-0)
9. Florida Gators (2-1)
10. Clemson Tigers (2-1)
11. Ole Miss Rebels (3-0)
12. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-0)
13. Ohio State Buckeyes (2-1)
14. Iowa State Cyclones (2-1)
15. Arkansas Razorbacks (3-0)
16. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (3-0)
17. Michigan Wolverines (3-0)
18. BYU Cougars (3-0)
19. UCLA Bruins (2-1)
20. North Carolina Tar Heels (2-1)
21. Michigan State Spartans (3-0)
22. Wisconsin Badgers (2-1)
23. Auburn Tigers (2-1)
24. Arizona State Sun Devils (2-1)
25. Kansas State Wildcats (3-0)

More movement in the Top Five

After last week’s wins by Oregon and Iowa, there were big shakeups in at the top of the rankings. There was additional movement this week, as Iowa slid up two spots, Oregon moved down a spot, and Oklahoma fell down to No. 8 after narrowly beating Nebraska. The newcomer in the group is Penn State, after the Nittany Lions handled Auburn at home last weekend.

If the rankings stand, Iowa and Penn State will be a top-five matchup on Oct. 9. Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford had one of the best games of his career against Auburn, and it will be interesting to see how he does with a Hawkeye defense that sacked Kent State’s Dustin Crum seven times last week and is allowing just 10 points per game, which leads the Big Ten.

Biggest movers after third week

Michigan moved up eight spots after a dominant 63-10 win over Northern Illinois that included eight rushing touchdowns and an 87-yard passing score. Since Washington has had such a disappointing season and Michigan’s other two opponents have been Group of Five teams, it is tough to determine how good the Wolverines are. We will start to get a better sense of that in the coming weeks as Michigan welcomes 3-0 Rutgers to Ann Arbor this weekend, and they travel to Camp Randall on Oct. 2.

UCLA was the biggest loser this week, falling six places in the rankings after a 40-37 upset loss to the Fresno State. The Bulldogs are a formidable opponent, so the season certainly is not over for the Bruins, but what was shaping up to be far and away Chip Kelly’s best season took a big hit Saturday. UCLA hosts Oregon on Oct. 23.

Two new faces enter the rankings

Michigan State, one of the biggest surprises this season so far, enters the rankings at No. 21 after beating Miami on the road to advance to 3-0. Head coach Mel Tucker has the offense rolling in his second year. After finishing last in the Big Ten in points per game last season with 18, the Spartans are averaging 39.3 points after taking the field three times this year.

Kansas State is currently undefeated and just beat Nevada, a very solid Mountain West team, 38-17 after three fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns. Plus, after Stanford handled both USC and Vanderbilt, the Wildcats Week 1 24-7 blowout of the Cardinal looks like a decent win.