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AP College Football Poll 2021: Complete Week 2 Rankings Released

Mike Chiari

Following its 44-13 decimation of Miami in Week 1 of the college football season, Alabama remained atop the Associated Press Top 25 poll on Tuesday.

Here is a full rundown of the Week 2 Top 25:

1. Alabama

2. Georgia

3. Ohio State

4. Oklahoma

5. Texas A&M

6. Clemson

7. Cincinnati

8. Notre Dame

9. Iowa State

10. Iowa

11. Penn State

12. Oregon

13. Florida

14. USC

15. Texas

16. UCLA

17. Coastal Carolina

18. Wisconsin

19. Virginia Tech

20. Ole Miss

21. Utah

22. Miami

23. Arizona State

24. North Carolina

25. Auburn

The Crimson Tide entered the 2021 season as the top-ranked team after going undefeated and winning the national championship last season.

Alabama lost some key players from last year's squad, though, especially on offense. Quarterback Mac Jones, running back Najee Harris and wide receivers Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith were all first-round picks in the 2021 NFL draft.

None of that seemed to matter Saturday, as sophomore quarterback Bryce Young made his starting debut in style, throwing for 344 yards and four touchdowns.

Alabama noted that Young made history with his four touchdown passes against a Hurricanes team that entered the season ranked No. 14:

Young already looks like the front-runner for the Heisman Trophy, and he has the Tide in great position for a national title repeat.

The rest of the teams that entered the season ranked inside the Top Five were nowhere near as impressive as Alabama, but Georgia may have established itself as the Tide's biggest competition.

It was No. 5 when the first poll came out, and it faced then-No. 3 Clemson in the most highly anticipated matchup of Week 1.

The Bulldogs prevailed 10-3 in a defensive slugfest, and ESPN Stats & Info pointed out that it was one of Georgia's best defensive performances ever against a top team:

With the win, Georgia moved up to No. 2, while Clemson fell to No. 6 in defeat. Both teams have the talent to go the distance this season, but they clearly have some work to do offensively.

Bulldogs quarterback JT Daniels threw for only 135 yards with no touchdowns and one interception against Clemson, and the only touchdown was a pick-six off Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who finished with 178 yards, no scores and a pick.

Like Alabama, the Tigers lost some important offensive players to the draft in quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne, but they didn't perform anywhere near as well as the Tide.

Two other highly ranked teams narrowly avoided upsets in Week 1, as Oklahoma outlasted Tulane and Ohio State overcame a second-half deficit to beat Minnesota.

Sooner quarterback Spencer Rattler entered the season as the Heisman Trophy favorite in the eyes of many experts, but he struggled against a team Oklahoma likely should have blown out.

Tulane scored 21 of the final 24 points in Oklahoma's 40-35 win, and Rattler finished with 304 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions through the air, plus a rushing touchdown.

The Sooners dropped to No. 4 in the rankings, and Rattler said the following after the game:

Ohio State's contest wasn't quite as much of a nail-biter, but it did trail in the third quarter and needed quarterback C.J. Stroud to turn it on in the second half.

Replacing now-Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields, Stroud showed why he earned the Buckeyes' starting job, throwing all four of his touchdown passes in the second half of a 45-31 win.

The Buckeyes were No. 4 in the rankings when the season began, and they now sit at No. 3 after taking down the Golden Gophers.

Some of the teams that dropped in the rankings following losses in Week 1 include North Carolina going from 10th to 24th, Wisconsin going from 12th to 18th, Miami going from 14th to 22nd, LSU going from 16th to unranked and Indiana going from 17th to unranked.

Also, Washington dropped out of the Top 25 from No. 20 after a shocking 13-7 loss to FCS Montana.

Among the biggest risers are Iowa (18th to 10th), Penn State (19th to 11th) and Texas (21st to 15th).

UCLA, Virginia Tech, Ole Miss and Auburn entered the Top 25 after previously being unranked as well.

Some of the matchups on tap for Week 2 with the biggest Top 25 implications include Oregon vs. Ohio State and Iowa vs. Iowa State.

   

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