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2025 College Football Rankings Recap: Week 2
TCU (1-0) takes over the top spot in The Davis Rankings, up from 2nd after week 2 of the 2025 season, with a score of 95.5 out of 100. The rest of the top five: T-2 LSU, T-2 Mississippi State, T-2 South Florida, T-2 Tulane.
Every score comes from the same published formula, explained on the methodology page.
The top 25
SEC It just means something, when you have... Florida (T-105)
| Rank | Team | Record | TDR scoreTDR | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  TCU | 1-0 | 95.5 | ▲ 1 |
| T-2 |  LSU | 2-0 | 95.1 | - |
| T-2 |  Mississippi State | 2-0 | 95.1 | - |
| T-2 |  South Florida | 2-0 | 95.1 | ▲ 15 |
| T-2 |  Tulane | 2-0 | 95.1 | ▲ 15 |
| 6 |  Ole Miss | 2-0 | 94.3 | ▲ 11 |
| T-7 |  Houston | 2-0 | 94.2 | ▲ 38 |
| T-7 |  Illinois | 2-0 | 94.2 | ▲ 38 |
| T-9 |  Maryland | 2-0 | 93.8 | ▲ 8 |
| T-9 |  NC State | 2-0 | 93.8 | ▲ 8 |
| T-9 |  Penn State | 2-0 | 93.8 | ▲ 8 |
| T-12 |  Michigan State | 2-0 | 93.1 | ▲ 5 |
| T-12 |  Texas A&M | 2-0 | 93.1 | ▲ 5 |
| 14 |  Arkansas | 2-0 | 92.9 | ▲ 31 |
| 15 |  Auburn | 2-0 | 92.8 | ▼ 13 |
| 16 |  Georgia Tech | 2-0 | 92.5 | ▼ 14 |
| 17 |  Missouri | 2-0 | 92.3 | ▲ 28 |
| 18 |  Arizona | 2-0 | 92.2 | ▼ 17 |
| 19 |  Nebraska | 2-0 | 92.1 | ▼ 6 |
| 20 |  Texas State | 2-0 | 92.0 | ▼ 3 |
| T-21 | 8 teams tied | - | 91.7 | - |
Biggest movers
The teams that moved the most spots since last week.
Risers
| Team | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|
 Baylor 1-1 | 123 → T-58 | ▲ 65 |
| After a road win at T-45 SMU (48-45) in a one-score game. An upset: Baylor entered with 8.5 TDR points to SMU's 89.5. Now 1-1, first win of the season. TDR score +51.8: win/loss record +27.5, road-win bonus +6.2. | ||
 Clemson 1-1 | 123 → T-66 | ▲ 57 |
| After a home win over T-45 Troy (27-16). An upset: Clemson entered with 8.5 TDR points to Troy's 89.5. Now 1-1, first win of the season. AP: #8 to #12. TDR score +50.6: win/loss record +27.5, road-win bonus +5.0. | ||
 Colorado 1-1 | 123 → T-66 | ▲ 57 |
| After a home win over T-45 Delaware (31-7) in a blowout. An upset: Colorado entered with 8.5 TDR points to Delaware's 89.5. Now 1-1, first win of the season. TDR score +50.6: win/loss record +27.5, road-win bonus +5.0. | ||
 Army 1-1 | 135 → 79 | ▲ 56 |
| After a road win at #89 Kansas State (24-21) in a one-score game. An upset: Army entered with 4.5 TDR points to Kansas State's 49.2. Now 1-1, first win of the season. TDR score +45.1: win/loss record +27.5, opponent record at game time +1.6. | ||
 Cincinnati 1-1 | 118 → T-63 | ▲ 55 |
| After a home win over T-45 Bowling Green (34-20). An upset: Cincinnati entered with 9.8 TDR points to Bowling Green's 89.5. Now 1-1, first win of the season. TDR score +49.9: win/loss record +27.5, road-win bonus +4.4. | ||
Fallers
| Team | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|
 Rice 1-1 | 2 → T-87 | ▼ 85 |
| After a home loss to T-45 Houston (9-35) in a blowout. An upset: Rice entered with 94.0 TDR points to Houston's 89.5. Now 1-1, first loss of the season. TDR score -48.8: win/loss record -27.5, road-win bonus -6.3. | ||
 Central Michigan 1-1 | 2 → 86 | ▼ 84 |
| After a road loss at T-45 Pittsburgh (17-45) in a blowout. An upset: Central Michigan entered with 94.0 TDR points to Pittsburgh's 89.5. Now 1-1, first loss of the season. TDR score -48.2: win/loss record -27.5, road-win bonus -5.0. | ||
 Kentucky 1-1 | 17 → 91 | ▼ 74 |
| After a home loss to T-17 Ole Miss (23-30) in a one-score game. A coin flip: the teams entered level on TDR score. Now 1-1, first loss of the season. TDR score -47.5: win/loss record -27.5, road-win bonus -5.0. | ||
 Michigan 1-1 | 17 → T-87 | ▼ 70 |
| After a road loss at T-45 Oklahoma (13-24). A coin flip: Michigan entered with 91.5 TDR points to Oklahoma's 89.5. Now 1-1, first loss of the season. AP: #15 to #23. TDR score -46.3: win/loss record -27.5, road-win bonus -3.8. | ||
 Utah State 1-1 | 17 → T-87 | ▼ 70 |
| After a road loss at T-17 Texas A&M (22-44) in a blowout. A coin flip: the teams entered level on TDR score. Now 1-1, first loss of the season. TDR score -46.3: win/loss record -27.5, road-win bonus -3.8. | ||
Weekly awards
Sticker Season, when the trophy-case awards start, begins in week 4. The game honors in Games that mattered run every week. Season totals for every team are on the Awards page.
Games that mattered
The week’s standout games, each shown once, in the first list it qualifies for. The one exception: a close loss by a top-25 team can be in both Upset of the Week and Winnin’ ain’t easy (one is about the size of the gap, the other about how close it was). Upset of the Week, Winnin’ ain’t easy and Coin Flips are recognitions: they are not trophy-case awards, so they never go on a helmet.
The lowest-entering team to beat a better-ranked one. Ranks are from the week before.
- Baylor beat
SMU48-45#123 vs #4578 spots - Clemson beat
Troy27-16#123 vs #4578 spots - Colorado beat
Delaware31-7#123 vs #4578 spots - Cincinnati beat
Bowling Green34-20#118 vs #4573 spots 
Syracuse beat 
UConn27-20#118 vs #4573 spots
A top-25 team in a one-score game against a team ranked far below it: it survived, or it fell. Ranks are from the week before.
- Michigan State beat
Boston College42-40#17 vs #45top-25 team survived by 2 - South Florida beat
Florida18-16#17 vs #45top-25 team survived by 2 - Tulane beat
South Alabama33-31#17 vs #45top-25 team survived by 2 - Mississippi State beat
Arizona State24-20#2 vs #45top-25 team survived by 4
Teams within 3 points of each other on paper going in, closest finish first. Scores are away, then home.
Missouri State at 
Marshall21-200.0 points apartwon by 1- Boston College at Michigan State40-422.0 points apartwon by 2
- South Florida at Florida18-162.0 points apartwon by 2
One-score games involving a top-60 team that are not already above.
Iowa State beat 
Iowa16-13T-32 vs T-92won by 3
North Texas beat 
Western Michigan33-30T-46 vs T-122won by 3
The biggest margins by a team in the current top 50, the two top tiers.
- Nebraska beat
Akron68-0#19 vs T-122won by 68 
Oregon beat 
Oklahoma State69-3T-21 vs T-92won by 66
Texas Tech beat 
Kent State62-14T-21 vs T-92won by 48
Conference snapshot
Conferences by average team score, with how many of each conference's teams sit in each tier. This is a different measure from the non-conference record ranking (for this week) on the standings page.
| Conference | Avg score | Highest-ranked team | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEC | 81.4 | 12 | 4 | - | T-2LSU |
| Big Ten | 79.2 | 14 | 3 | 1 | T-7Illinois |
| Big 12 | 68.3 | 8 | 8 | - | #1TCU |
| ACC | 63.1 | 8 | 7 | 2 | T-9NC State |
| American Athletic | 60.0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | T-2South Florida |
| Mountain West | 58.1 | 3 | 8 | 1 | T-34 Wyoming |
| Sun Belt | 41.2 | 2 | 9 | 3 | #20Texas State |
| Conference USA | 38.7 | 1 | 8 | 3 | T-21 New Mexico State |
| Mid-American | 27.0 | - | 7 | 6 | T-58 Ohio |
Winning | Character Building | Oh Crap
The most teams in the Winning tier: Big Ten (14). The most teams in the bottom two tiers (Character Building and Oh Crap): Mid-American (13).
Not ranked as a conference: FBS Independents (not a conference: UConn T-108, Notre Dame #121); Pac-12 (only 2 teams: Washington State T-21, Oregon State #131).
Looking ahead to week 3
The biggest games between current top-25 teams, best matchup first.
Show all 47 games between ranked teams
Every game next week between two ranked FBS teams, best matchup first. The matchup score is the two ranks added together plus how far apart they are (lower is better). A coin marks a toss-up by the numbers.
#21 
#34 
#34 
#39 
#34 
#21 
#46 
#44 
#50 
#50 
#29 
#50 
#50 
#32 
#38 
#58 
#39 
#71 
#80 
#68 
#71 
#80 
#44 
#84 
#85 
#46 
#21 
#92 
#92 
#71 
#71 
#92 
#104 
#105 
#21 
#108 
#46 
#108 
#116 
#120 
#121 
#58 
#122 
#80 
#122 
#92 
#71 
#129 
#131 
#134 
#71 
#135 See the full 2025 week 2 rankings, see every team by tier, the conference standings, or browse every weekly recap.
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