Well, now we’ve got two games - three, in some cases - under our belts. We’re starting to learn what each team is. It’s still early in the season, with not even a quarter of most teams’ schedules played yet, so things can change. But contenders are starting to shape up.
As always, it’s time to take stock of the top of the college football world. Who is leading? Who’s making a jump? And who’s tumbling down the rankings?
For me, Week One is all about overreactions. Week Two is all about lessons. What do we know for sure about each team? Let’s break down the Top 25 heading into Week Three and take a look at one definitive lesson we’ve learned thus far for each program.
2025 Week 3 Top 25
Ohio State (2-0) LW: 2
Lesson: The running game is the offense’s strength. You can’t glean much from a blowout of FCS Grambling State, but Ohio State worked to establish the ground game behind C.J. Donaldson, James Peoples and Bo Jackson Jr. If the three backs get going, the offense will do good things.LSU (2-0) LW: 1
Lesson: The defense is for real. Sure, it came against Louisiana Tech, but with the offense struggling, the defense submitted another all-timer of a performance. Blake Baker’s Tigers held a pesky Louisiana Tech team to just 149 yards of total offense. Their 412 total yards allowed rank 12th in the nation.Miami (2-0) LW: 3
Lesson: Carson Beck is comfortable. Shannon Dawson has really crafted a save haven of an offense for quarterbacks in Coral Gables. He looked good against Notre Dame and had as many touchdown passes as incompletions (two) against Bethune-Cookman. Beck ranks fifth in the nation with a 89.4 QBR.Penn State (2-0) LW: 4
Lesson: Happy Valley is still home to an elite defense. Jim Knowles has the Nittany Lions rocking, albeit against lackluster competition. Still, Penn State is taking care of business. They currently rank eighth in scoring defense, having allowed onlt 11 points through two contests.Georgia (2-0) LW: 5
Lesson: The Dawgs are pushing forward behind a strong running game. Nate Frazier has been stellar, and Chauncey Bowens proved to be a good compliment last week against Austin Peay. Nobody is claiming they’re the next Nick Chubb-Sony Michel pairing, but toss in Gunner Stockton’s legs and Georgia has a strong run-first offense.Florida State (2-0) LW: 8
Lesson: Florida State has staying power. It wasn’t just a quirky opening weekend win over Alabama. Their utter evisceration of East Texas A&M showed the Noles are a hungry, talented team. Tony White’s defense continues to wreak havoc and Gus Malzahn’s offense is rolling behind Tommy Castellanos’s outstanding dual-threat abilities.Iowa State (3-0) LW: 13
Lesson: Iowa State is playing the nation’s best balanced football. Neither the offense nor the defense are particularly outstanding, but they play perfectly complimentary football. Rocco Becht is the key to the offense, while the defense has a stingy attacking mentality and doesn’t give up a lot of big plays. That’s a winning combination each and every week.Oregon (2-0) LW: 7
Lesson: Don’t discount Oregon. The Ducks have seemingly flown under the radar, but their 69-3 win over Oklahoma State shows Dan Lanning’s squad is still one of the nation’s best. Dante Moore is playing his best football and the defense is lights out. We’ll have to see more minute details when they come across a quality foe.Texas (1-1) LW: 9
Lesson: Arch Manning may be just average, and that’s okay. Manning was on fire against a porous San Jose State defense, which is what you’d expect. He’ll have chances to prove himself against more talented units, but the Longhorn defense can keep them in games. They suffocated the Spartan spread and shred, after all.Notre Dame (0-1) LW: 10
Lesson: There wasn’t much to learn in an off week. The Fighting Irish will get another test for C.J. Carr against Texas A&M next week, where hopefully we’ll see more of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price.Clemson (1-1) LW: 6
Lesson: Slow starts are a concern. In both of the Tigers’ first two contests, slow starts have put them in a hole. With Troy carrying a multiple score lead into halftime, the concern is real. Especially for a veteran, experienced team. Garrett Riley absolutely has to kick his offense out of these early game blues to have sustained success.Utah (2-0) LW: 11
Lesson: The ingredients are here in Salt Lake City for a serious run. Granted, their most recent big win came over FCS Cal Poly, but the Utes are rolling behind Jason Beck and Devon Dampier. A strong defense and great play by the Fano brothers ensure Kyle Whittingham’s squad has their typical hard edge.Auburn (2-0) LW: 14
Lesson: Patience is a virtue. The first two years under Hugh Freeze had the Tigers looking out of sorts, but I think it was a square peg in a round hole situation with a more pro-style quarterback, Payton Thorne. Jackson Arnold is making this offense hum, bringing back the customary dual threat and giving them their rightful big play potential.Oklahoma (2-0) LW: Next Five Out
Lesson: John Mateer’s Heisman campaign in underway. He shined against a usually sound Michigan defense, despite a poor throw that ended up as a pick. Mateer and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle are the perfect compliment to a stingy Brent Venables defense that give Oklahoma their best team since his arrival in Norman.Illinois (2-0) LW: 22
Lesson: The Illini have the grit of a winning program. Despite being outgained by a strong Duke team, the Illini forced five turnovers and took full control of the game. Luke Altmyer took care of the ball - which was a problem last year - and Illinois proved it’s able to be a contender.South Florida (2-0) LW: Next Five Out
Lesson: Byrum Brown and the Bull offense can hang with anyone. We saw them tear through a strong Boise State defense and then get the best of Florida. Brown is the spark, the engine of this offense. As long as the defense can keep playing at this level, South Florida has an inside track to the postseason.Ole Miss (2-0) LW: 16
Lesson: The offense isn’t as potent as last year, which is a cause for worry. Austin Simmons’s inexperience cropped up this weekend with two picks against a so-so Kentucky defense. That can be worked on, but if the Rebels are going to make a run, they have to get their quarterback firing on all cylinders.Texas Tech (2-0) LW: 19
Lesson: It’s hard to tell, but the portal haul may be enough to push Texas Tech into a contender. Behren Morton shook off an injury to ball out and the new-look defense is firing on all cylinders. Granted, a blowout of Kent State isn’t anything to write home about, but the Red Raiders are looking as cohesive as a team with this much portal infusion can be.South Carolina (2-0) LW: 20
Lesson: This team will rely on LaNorris Sellers. If he keeps playing well, the Gamecocks could make a run. If Sellers falters, the rest of the South Carolina roster hasn’t shown they can step up without their star quarterback leading the way.USC (2-0) LW: 21
Lesson: The Trojans finally have a defense. D’Anton Lynn has turned around what was among the nation’s most porous units under Alex Grinch and made them a respectable Big Ten squad. They’ve not had any serious tests yet, but have passed with the expected flying colors. I still have offensive concerns, but Lynn’s bend-don’t-break defense is lower on my list.Georgia Tech (2-0) LW: 23
Lesson: Buster Faulkner’s offense doesn’t necessarily need Haynes King. The dual-threat starter certainly helps, but Aaron Philo and the Yellow Jacket offense didn’t miss a beat against Gardner-Webb without their leader. Yes, it was Gardner-Webb, but Philo has played very well in relief of King in multiple bigger spots. King is the key to making a run in the ACC, but Philo and the rest of the Ramblin’ Wreck can hang without him.Louisville (2-0) LW: Next Five Out
Lesson: This iteration of Louisville will live and die on the ground. Miller Moss hasn’t been the dynamic passer Cardinal fans hoped for, so the program will have to rely on Isaac Brown and Duke Watson to be the stars. That’s not to say Moss isn’t talented, but he’s proved he’s not ready to fully lead the offense and will need the Cardinal rushing attack to take some pressure off.TCU (1-0) LW: Next Five Out
Lesson: Josh Hoover and Sonny Dykes will create one of the nation’s most dangerous passing attacks. They lit up North Carolina in Week One and had a level speed frankly nobody expected from the Horned Frogs. We’ll have to see how they do in a second game before drawing any serious conclusions, but the TCU offense looks among the nation’s best, just as it did in 2022.Tennessee (2-0) LW: Last Five Out
Lesson: The new blood can play. Joey Aguilar looks like he’s been in the scheme for years. The young receivers are balling out, with Mike Matthews and Braydon Staley morphing from blue chips to legit deep threats. Josh Heupel may have a team again.Tulane (2-0) LW: 24
Lesson: Growing pains are normal and fine. Jake Retzlaff is still getting acclimated to the offense after walking on in July. He’s only been through Fall camp and had no install time prior to that. The defense should’ve looked better against South Alabama, but they weren’t put in the best of spots by Retzlaff and the Green Wave offense.
Don’t know what to make of what you’ve seen so far? The SID Sports Season Preview has you covered to see what was expected and what needs more proof to truly believe with full previews of all 136 teams and nine conferences.
Next Five Out: Indiana, Baylor, SMU, Michigan, Missouri
For Indiana, I’m surprised at how sluggish they look against lesser talent. Last year, Cignetti’s squad came out hungry and decimated their lesser foes. That’s not been the case this year, but they still have hallmarks of a quality team. Baylor may have run into an early season buzzsaw of Auburn, but Sawyer Robertson and the Bears turned it around against SMU and showed why they entered the year ranked. SMU squandered that early ranking with a so-so season opener and just coming up shy against Baylor. Still, the Mustangs dropped an early one against BYU last year and we saw what happened, so I’m not worried. Bryce Underwood’s first test at Michigan was a failure, as he spent more time jawing with Justice Haynes than leading successful drives. Still, the Wolverine defense wasn’t atrocious and you have to expect growing pains from your true freshman quarterback. Finally, Missouri and Beau Pribula look good. The offense lost a lot of talent, but the Tigers are still scoring and the defense forced a host of Kansas turnovers for a rivalry win. Not too shabby.
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