NFL Power Rankings – Where Every Team Sits After Week 1
Week 1 of the NFL season is in the books and what a weekend it was! Upsets, injuries and some teams that did exactly what they were supposed to do have shaken the Power Rankings just a bit. But not much has changed at the top – strong QB play has kept the top 3 intact.
The No. 24 Texas Christian Horned Frogs roll into Lubbock without their starting quarterback on Thursday to square off against a red-hot Texas Tech Red Raiders team that continue to roll behind walk-on true freshman quarterback Baker Mayfield and fellow first-year quarterback Davis Webb, who have combined for 907 yards and eight TDs.
The No. 23 Nebraska Cornhuskers have a score to settle with the No. 16 UCLA Bruins. In 2012, UCLA hosted the Cornhuskers in an entertaining game that resulted in a 36-30 Bruins win. The contest featured two high-octane offenses, as the teams combined for a total of 1,091 yards.
The Boise State Bronco’s season could have gone in a number of different directions after their embarrassing Week 1 loss to Washington, but they bounced back in Week 2 against Tennessee-Martin, and now have the Air Force Falcons locked in their sights.
We are treated to three college football games on Thursday night but this is definitely the worst of the three. Two Conference USA teams face off but neither has beaten an FBS team yet this season. In fact in their wins against FCS teams one team failed to cover and the other was outgained in yards – hardly inspiring.
The 11th-ranked Michigan Wolverines moved up six spots in the Week 3 AP poll after a big win in their rivalry game with Notre Dame last week. Getting up for that game would have been easy, but they’ll have to avoid a letdown with a cupcake matchup against the Akron Zips this weekend.
The game we’ve all been waiting for is finally here. The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide travel to College Station to take on the sixth-seeded Texas A&M Aggies in the week’s, and maybe the season’s, marquee matchup.
Getting a win against his former team surely tasted sweet, but Gus Malzahn’s Auburn Tigers will face a much stiffer test this weekend when they open their SEC schedule against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
The Arizona State Sun Devils are set to host the No. 20 Wisconsin Badgers on ESPN Saturday night, in what will be an entertaining matchup between two teams who will be eventually fighting for a spot in the Rose Bowl. The Sun Devils, out of the Pac-12, have played one game thus far against Sacramento State.
Jets Try for Improbable 20-0 Start – At Patriots on Thursday Night
The New York Jets and New England Patriots meet on Thursday both coming off opening weeks wins but with different tastes in their mouths. For the Jets a win against Tampa Bay was met with utter jubilation while a win in Week 1 for New England over Buffalo came with a sense of dissatisfaction.
Battle of the Bad – Raiders Host Jags in Week 2
Unless you have Maurice Jones-Drew or Darren McFadden on your Fantasy team, the interest level in the game between the Jags and Raiders in Week 2 doesn’t exactly jump off the page. Both teams were expected to lose in Week 1 but only 1 team was even competitive.
The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes and California Golden Bears are set to face off in Week 3, which will give Cal a chance for revenge from last season. The Golden Bears gave up a 72-yard touchdown pass in the final minutes to give Ohio State a 35-28 win.
The most recent AP Top 25 college football rankings were released at their regular time this week. Some reshuffling in the top-5, and a huge jump up to No. 15 for Miami, but not many surprises beyond that.
The Red Sox are starting to run away with the AL East with a 9.5 game lead over the Orioles and a 10 game lead over the Yankees, so New York and Baltimore will likely have to snag a Wild Card to make the playoffs.
This is definitely not among the marquee matchups but based on the oddmakers outlook it looks like everyone is expecting a very close contest between these two teams to start the season.
NFC North divisional battle to start the season for both of these clubs with different sets of expectations based on last year’s performance.
