College Football Power Rankings - Week 3

College Football Power Rankings - Week 3 1 Alabama 3-0 -- Last Week: 1 500 Here's a scary thought for Bama's SEC opponents: The Crimson Tide's D has picked up where it left off last season, posting consecutive shutouts and forcing 12 turnovers in three games. 2 LSU 3-0 1 Last Week: 3 474 The Tigers dominated their third straight opponent and extended numerous streaks in the process, including their FBS-record 40th-straight nonconference regular-season victory. Next up: A trip to Auburn. 3 Oregon 3-0 1 Last Week: 4 454 Can you believe Oregon actually trailed 7-0 against Tennessee Tech? 63 points later, the Ducks ran off with another victory. You'd expect Arizona to give Oregon its biggest test to date. The Ducks won by 25 in Tucson in 2011. 4 Florida State 3-0 2 Last Week: 6 429 Wake Forest upset Florida State last season, but the Demon Deacons had no shot on Saturday thanks to Chris Thompson. "GameDay" heads to Tallahassee as the Seminoles, who have pitched back-to-back shutouts, host Clemson. 5 Georgia 3-0 -- Last Week: 5 411 The Bulldogs put away Florida Atlantic early in the third quarter, tallying a school-record 713 total yards in the process. Defensive star Jarvis Jones was held out of the game (groin injury), but should return to the lineup vs. Vandy. 6 Oklahoma 2-0 1 Last Week: 7 384 The Sooners had the weekend off and will get back on the field when they host Kansas State on Saturday. OU won last season's matchup in Manhattan, 58-17. 7 West Virginia 2-0 1 Last Week: 8 380 If you like touchdowns, WVU is a team you should be watching. The Mountaineers have scored 181 points in their past three games, and Heisman candidate Geno Smith has as many TD passes (nine) as he does incompletions. 8 Stanford 3-0 13 Last Week: 21 332 Who needs Luck when you have Stepfan Taylor? Stanford made it four straight vs. USC, but it won't get any easier. After a trip to Washington, the Cardinal host ranked Arizona and visit Notre Dame. 9 South Carolina 3-0 1 Last Week: 10 329 The Gamecocks will have uncertainty at QB after Connor Shaw reinjured his throwing shoulder against UAB. Dylan Thompson has proved to be a solid backup, so that should ease some worries in Columbia. 10 Clemson 3-0 2 Last Week: 12 293 Sammy Watkins scored a TD in his return to the lineup, but Clemson's D has work to do before its trip to Tallahassee. As DC Brent Venables said, "They'll break the scoreboard next week if we don't play better." 11 Notre Dame 3-0 8 Last Week: 19 287 Not many expected Notre Dame to walk into East Lansing and shut down the Spartans. The Irish are off to their best start in 10 years and can climb up the rankings if they take care of business against tough competition. Next up? Michigan. 12 Florida 3-0 6 Last Week: 18 276 After SEC road victories at College Station and Knoxville, the Gators finally get some home cooking at the Swamp, where they'll play six of their next eight games. Kentucky visits before LSU comes to town. 13 USC 2-1 11 Last Week: 2 268 Lane Kiffin says it's not the end of the world. It just feels like it to USC fans. Matt Barkley struggled against Stanford, throwing two picks and completing less than 50 percent of his passes. 14 Texas 3-0 -- Last Week: 14 265 So far, so good for David Ash. The soph QB has yet to throw a pick and has seven TDs on the season, while completing over 76 percent of his passes. 15 Ohio State 3-0 4 Last Week: 11 255 The Buckeyes needed some fourth-quarter heroics to beat Cal and stay unbeaten. Ohio State gets one more nonconference game against UAB this weekend before opening Big Ten play at Michigan State on Sept. 29.