College football rankings: Predicting the AP top 25 for Week 2

Predicting the AP top 25 college football rankings for Week 2 after an eventual opening few days of the 2024 season.

Predictions for the AP top 25 college football rankings for Week 2 after big weekend to open the 2024 season. / USA Today Sports | Imagn

As we survey the damage from the opening slate of games to kick off a historic 2024 season, let's look ahead to the AP top 25 college football rankings for Week 2

Who's moving up? Who's moving down?

Note: this isn't our ranking of the best teams, but our prediction for how top 25 voters will slot them in the official poll

Predicting the AP top 25 college football rankings for Week 2

25. Louisville. The Cardinals got votes in the first rankings, and early struggles by ACC rivals Clemson and Florida State could pave the way for this team to inch into the official poll after a 62-0 win in its opener.

24. Iowa. Early on, it appeared the infamous Hawkeye offense was still stuck in molasses, but Cade McNamara woke up in the second half and the ground game ran for 241 yards.

23. NC State. A slow start against Western Carolina at home, but the Wolfpack scored 21 unanswered in the fourth and Jordan Waters ran for two of those TDs late.

22. LSU. Garrett Nussmeier looked solid in his debut, but the Tigers lost an important Week 1 test against USC looking ahead to a very competitive playoff race in the SEC.

21. Kansas. Just 148 yards for Jalon Daniels passing but Devin Neal ran for 112 yards and 2 scores.

20. Texas A&M. Mike Elko's first game goes down as a closely-fought loss to the Irish at home.

19. Georgia Tech. The Wreck's returning offensive stars looked good by beating Florida State a week ago, and improved to 2-0 after Week 1.

18. Arizona. Tetairoa McMillan had 304 yards and 4 TD grabs and the Wildcat backs had 205 yards and 4 more scores piling on 61 points against New Mexico.

17. Kansas State. DJ Giddens ran for over 100 yards and Avery Johnson scored twice for the Wildcats.

16. Oklahoma State. Alan Bowman threw 3 TD passes and Ollie Gordon ran for 2 more with 104 yards as the Cowboys handled South Dakota State.

15. Miami. Cam Ward looks as advertised by posting 385 yards and 3 TDs against the Gators with startling ease in an important win on the road.

14. Oklahoma. Jackson Arnold had 4 TD passes in a big win over Temple, but at the cost of wideout Jalil Farooq suffering a broken foot in the process.

13. USC. An important moment for Lincoln Riley as his Trojans defense looked marginally better and the offense led a game-winning drive to beat SEC challenger LSU.

12. Tennessee. Nico Iamaleava stacked up 314 yards and 3 TDs in a 69-3 rout over Chattanooga as Big Orange ran for 304 yards.

11. Utah. Cameron Rising had five touchdown passes in a 49-0 rout against Southern Utah.

10. Missouri. Four rushing touchdowns helped Mizzou flatten Murray State by a 51-0 count.

9. Michigan. A close call against Fresno State for the champs, but Will Johnson's 86-yard pick-six sealed the deal for the Wolverines.

8. Penn State. Drew Allar might have found his deep ball, scoring three times with no turnovers in an efficient outing that saw Nick Singleton go over 100 yards rushing to beat West Virginia.

7. Ole Miss. A tidy 76-0 pounding over Furman as Jaxson Dart had 6 all-purpose touchdowns.

6. Notre Dame. Keeping it close with A&M all night, the Irish scored 10 unanswered in the fourth quarter to finally pull away for the win.

5. Oregon. It was oddly close against Idaho most of the night, but a late score helped the Ducks pull away from the Vandals in a 10-point win.

4. Alabama. Kalen DeBoer's debut went well as Jalen Milroe accounted for 5 total touchdowns and the Tide rolled 63-0.

3. Texas. Arch Manning threw and ran for his first touchdowns in a Longhorn uniform as the newest SEC members predictably handled Colorado State.

2. Ohio State. Jeremiah Smith caught 2 TD passes, the most in a Buckeyes debut by a wide receiver since 1996, in a 52-6 rout over Akron.

1. Georgia. Transfers Colbie Young and London Humphreys both scored in the Bulldogs' 31-point rout over Clemson to reinforce their No. 1 ranking in a statement win.

Where we left off: Last week's AP top 25 college football rankings

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