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2025 College Football Rankings Recap: Week 3
NC State (3-0) takes over the top spot in The Davis Rankings, up from 9th after week 3 of the 2025 season, with a score of 95.5 out of 100. The rest of the top five: #2 Ole Miss, #3 LSU, #4 Tulane, #5 USC.
Every score comes from the same published formula, explained on the methodology page.
The top 25
The Real Big 10 - trying to keep the losers out... UCLA (#132), 2nd week running
| Rank | Team | Record | TDR scoreTDR | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  NC State | 3-0 | 95.5 | ▲ 8 |
| 2 |  Ole Miss | 3-0 | 95.2 | ▲ 4 |
| 3 |  LSU | 3-0 | 94.2 | ▼ 1 |
| 4 |  Tulane | 3-0 | 93.9 | ▼ 2 |
| 5 |  USC | 3-0 | 93.8 | ▲ 24 |
| 6 |  Oklahoma | 3-0 | 93.5 | ▲ 15 |
| 7 |  Texas A&M | 3-0 | 93.4 | ▲ 5 |
| 8 |  Auburn | 3-0 | 93.2 | ▲ 7 |
| 9 |  TCU | 2-0 | 93.0 | ▼ 8 |
| 10 |  Utah | 3-0 | 92.9 | ▲ 24 |
| 11 |  Mississippi State | 3-0 | 92.6 | ▼ 9 |
| T-12 |  Georgia | 3-0 | 92.2 | ▲ 38 |
| T-12 |  Vanderbilt | 3-0 | 92.2 | ▲ 34 |
| T-14 |  Houston | 3-0 | 92.1 | ▼ 7 |
| T-14 |  Navy | 3-0 | 92.1 | ▲ 7 |
| 16 |  Oregon | 3-0 | 91.9 | ▲ 5 |
| T-17 |  California | 3-0 | 91.7 | ▲ 17 |
| T-17 |  Louisville | 2-0 | 91.7 | ▲ 4 |
| 19 |  Iowa State | 4-0 | 91.5 | ▲ 13 |
| 20 |  Memphis | 3-0 | 91.2 | ▲ 26 |
| T-21 |  Missouri | 3-0 | 90.9 | ▼ 4 |
| T-21 |  North Texas | 3-0 | 90.9 | ▲ 25 |
| T-23 |  Georgia Tech | 3-0 | 90.8 | ▼ 7 |
| T-23 |  Penn State | 3-0 | 90.8 | ▼ 14 |
| T-25 |  Arizona,  Maryland | 3-0, 3-0 | 90.6 | - |
Biggest movers
The teams that moved the most spots since last week.
Risers
| Team | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|
 SMU 2-1 | 115 → T-65 | ▲ 50 |
| After a road win at #65 Missouri State (28-10). An upset: SMU entered with 30.0 TDR points to Missouri State's 59.2. Now 2-1. TDR score +34.2: win/loss record +9.2, road-win bonus +6.2. | ||
 West Virginia 2-1 | 108 → T-59 | ▲ 49 |
| After a home win over T-21 Pittsburgh (31-24) in a one-score game. An upset: West Virginia entered with 32.5 TDR points to Pittsburgh's 91.7. Now 2-1. TDR score +32.6: win/loss record +9.2, road-win bonus +3.8. | ||
 Kentucky 2-1 | 91 → T-45 | ▲ 46 |
| After a home win over #135 Eastern Michigan (48-23) in a blowout. As expected: Kentucky entered with 44.0 TDR points to Eastern Michigan's -7.0. Now 2-1. TDR score +25.5: win/loss record +9.2, road-win bonus +1.7. | ||
 Utah State 2-1 | 87 → 42 | ▲ 45 |
| After a home win over T-46 Air Force (49-30). An upset: Utah State entered with 45.2 TDR points to Air Force's 89.5. Now 2-1. TDR score +26.3: win/loss record +9.2, road-win bonus +1.3. | ||
 Arizona State 2-1 | 92 → T-47 | ▲ 45 |
| After a home win over #20 Texas State (34-15). An upset: Arizona State entered with 37.0 TDR points to Texas State's 92.0. Now 2-1. TDR score +30.6: win/loss record +9.2, road-win bonus +3.8. | ||
Fallers
| Team | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|
 South Florida 2-1 | 2 → 68 | ▼ 66 |
| After a road loss at T-50 Miami (12-49) in a blowout. An upset: South Florida entered with 95.1 TDR points to Miami's 88.5. Now 2-1, first loss of the season. AP: #18 to unranked. TDR score -37.7: win/loss record -18.3, road-win bonus -2.9. | ||
 Arkansas 2-1 | 14 → 71 | ▼ 57 |
| After a road loss at #6 Ole Miss (35-41) in a one-score game. A coin flip: Arkansas entered with 92.9 TDR points to Ole Miss's 94.3. Now 2-1, first loss of the season. TDR score -40.3: win/loss record -18.3, road-win bonus -4.4. | ||
 New Mexico State 2-1 | 21 → T-76 | ▼ 55 |
| After a road loss at T-92 Louisiana Tech (14-49) in a blowout. An upset: New Mexico State entered with 91.7 TDR points to Louisiana Tech's 37.0. Now 2-1, first loss of the season. TDR score -41.0: win/loss record -18.3, road-win bonus -3.8. | ||
 Pittsburgh 2-1 | 21 → T-76 | ▼ 55 |
| After a road loss at T-108 West Virginia (24-31) in a one-score game. An upset: Pittsburgh entered with 91.7 TDR points to West Virginia's 32.5. Now 2-1, first loss of the season. TDR score -41.0: win/loss record -18.3, road-win bonus -3.8. | ||
 Air Force 1-1 | 46 → T-100 | ▼ 54 |
| After a road loss at T-87 Utah State (30-49). An upset: Air Force entered with 89.5 TDR points to Utah State's 45.2. Now 1-1, first loss of the season. TDR score -55.0: win/loss record -27.5, road-win bonus -10.0. | ||
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.
- West Virginia beat Pittsburgh31-24#108 vs #2187 spots
- Arizona State beat
Texas State34-15#92 vs #2072 spots 
Louisiana Tech beat New Mexico State49-14#92 vs #2171 spots
Georgia Southern beat 
Jacksonville State41-34#122 vs #5864 spots
Middle Tennessee beat 
Nevada14-13#134 vs #7163 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.
- Texas A&M beat
Notre Dame41-40#12 vs #121top-25 team survived by 1 - Georgia Tech beat
Clemson24-21#16 vs #66top-25 team survived by 3 - Arizona beat
Kansas State23-17#18 vs #116top-25 team survived by 6 - Tulane beat
Duke34-27#2 vs #105top-25 team survived by 7
Teams within 3 points of each other on paper going in, closest finish first. Scores are away, then home.
One-score games involving a top-60 team that are not already above.
Buffalo beat 
Kent State31-28T-52 vs T-116won by 3
The biggest margins by a team in the current top 50, the two top tiers.
Michigan beat 
Central Michigan63-3#43 vs #104won by 60- North Texas beat
Washington State59-10T-21 vs #72won by 49 - Missouri beat
Louisiana52-10T-21 vs T-116won by 42
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 | 76.8 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | #2Ole Miss |
| Big Ten | 73.4 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | #5USC |
| Big 12 | 70.9 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | - | #9TCU |
| ACC | 62.0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | #1NC State |
| American Athletic | 60.9 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | - | #4Tulane |
| Mountain West | 51.6 | - | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | #39 UNLV |
| Conference USA | 41.4 | - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | T-47Louisiana Tech |
| Sun Belt | 39.9 | - | - | 3 | 5 | 6 | - | #57 Southern Miss |
| Mid-American | 29.5 | - | - | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | #51 Toledo |
Winning | Feeling Good | Character Building | Do We Need to Talk? | Sick of It | Oh Crap
The most teams in the Winning tier: SEC (9). The most teams in the bottom two tiers (Sick of It and Oh Crap): Mid-American (7).
Not ranked as a conference: FBS Independents (not a conference: UConn #120, Notre Dame T-128); Pac-12 (only 2 teams: Washington State #72, Oregon State #131).
Looking ahead to week 4
The biggest games between current top-25 teams, best matchup first.
Show all 50 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.
#32 
#29 
#35 
#36 
#34 
#41 
#44 
#38 
#49 
#49 
#61 
#37 
#64 
#33 
#65 
#52 
#70 
#30 
#73 
#61 
#76 
#82 
#86 
#88 
#52 
#92 
#93 
#80 
#52 
#95 
#96 
#99 
#85 
#76 
#102 
#94 
#59 
#111 
#28 
#111 
#96 
#115 
#90 
#27 
#106 
#116 
#90 
#121 
#96 
#121 
#123 
#109 
#87 
#126 
#126 
#128 
#45 
#83 
#131 
#135 See the full 2025 week 3 rankings, see every team by tier, the conference standings, or browse every weekly recap.
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