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2026 College Football Rankings Recap: Week 2
After week 2 of the 2026 season, 5 teams share the top spot (T-1) in The Davis Rankings with a score of 95.1 out of 100. Early in the season, results are only wins and losses, so many teams have the same score.
Every score comes from the same published formula, explained on the methodology page.
Editor's note
I hereby declare 
Duke champion, season over. I know, way too soon, but definitely not 
Nevada, 
Illinois or or or 
Ore-gone.
Until next week.
Just Win! Excuses and Polls are for Losers.
The top 25
SEC It just means something, when you have... Kentucky (T-105)
| Rank | Team | Record | TDR scoreTDR | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-1 | Duke | 2-0 | 95.1 | ▲ 11 |
| T-1 |  Penn State | 2-0 | 95.1 | ▲ 11 |
| T-1 |  South Florida | 2-0 | 95.1 | ▲ 11 |
| T-1 |  UCLA | 2-0 | 95.1 | ▲ 2 |
| T-1 |  Wake Forest | 2-0 | 95.1 | ▲ 11 |
| T-6 |  Auburn | 2-0 | 94.5 | ▲ 1 |
| T-6 |  Notre Dame | 2-0 | 94.5 | ▲ 1 |
| T-8 |  Alabama | 2-0 | 94.3 | ▲ 4 |
| T-8 |  Mississippi State | 2-0 | 94.3 | ▲ 4 |
| T-10 |  Georgia State | 2-0 | 94.2 | ▲ 35 |
| T-10 |  Maryland | 2-0 | 94.2 | ▲ 35 |
| T-10 |  Miami | 2-0 | 94.2 | ▼ 9 |
| T-10 |  Missouri | 2-0 | 94.2 | ▲ 35 |
| T-10 |  SMU | 2-0 | 94.2 | ▼ 9 |
| T-15 |  LSU | 2-0 | 93.8 | ▼ 3 |
| T-15 |  Michigan | 2-0 | 93.8 | ▼ 3 |
| T-15 |  Pittsburgh | 2-0 | 93.8 | ▼ 3 |
| T-15 |  Texas A&M | 2-0 | 93.8 | ▼ 3 |
| 19 |  USC | 3-0 | 93.7 | ▼ 8 |
| T-20 |  Iowa | 2-0 | 93.1 | ▼ 8 |
| T-20 |  Texas | 2-0 | 93.1 | ▼ 8 |
| T-22 |  Michigan State | 2-0 | 92.8 | ▼ 10 |
| T-22 |  Tulsa | 2-0 | 92.8 | ▼ 10 |
| 24 |  Ole Miss | 2-0 | 92.1 | ▼ 17 |
| 25 |  North Dakota State | 3-0 | 91.8 | ▲ 19 |
Biggest movers
The teams that moved the most spots since last week.
Risers
| Team | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|
 California 1-1 | 132 → T-54 | ▲ 78 |
| After a road win at T-45 Syracuse (21-18) in a one-score game. An upset: California entered with 8.5 TDR points to Syracuse'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. | ||
 Hawai'i 1-2 | 135 → 86 | ▲ 49 |
| After a home win over T-89 New Mexico State (29-19). An upset: Hawai'i entered with 7.5 TDR points to New Mexico State's 49.0. Now 1-2, first win of the season. TDR score +38.2: win/loss record +18.3, road-win bonus +2.9. | ||
 Baylor 1-1 | 128 → T-80 | ▲ 48 |
| After a home win over FCS opponent Prairie View A&M (44-3) in a blowout. Now 1-1, first win of the season. TDR score +39.4: win/loss record +27.5, FCS adjustment -3.0. | ||
 Louisville 1-1 | 128 → T-80 | ▲ 48 |
| After a home win over FCS opponent Villanova (59-13) in a blowout. Now 1-1, first win of the season. AP: #24 to #23. TDR score +39.4: win/loss record +27.5, FCS adjustment -3.0. | ||
 TCU 1-1 | 128 → T-80 | ▲ 48 |
| After a home win over FCS opponent Grambling (63-7) in a blowout. Now 1-1, first win of the season. TDR score +39.4: win/loss record +27.5, FCS adjustment -3.0. | ||
Fallers
| Team | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|
| Nevada 1-1 | 12 → 121 | ▼ 109 |
| After a home loss to FCS opponent Montana State (7-20). Now 1-1, first loss of the season. TDR score -60.5: win/loss record -27.5, FCS adjustment -18.0. | ||
| Oregon 1-1 | 12 → T-90 | ▼ 78 |
| After a road loss at T-96 Oklahoma State (31-39) in a one-score game. An upset: Oregon entered with 91.5 TDR points to Oklahoma State's 11.0. Now 1-1, first loss of the season. AP: #6 to #21. TDR score -48.5: win/loss record -27.5, road-win bonus -3.8. | ||
| Illinois 1-1 | 12 → 89 | ▼ 77 |
| After a home loss to T-12 Duke (27-31) 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. | ||
 Syracuse 1-1 | 45 → 122 | ▼ 77 |
| After a home loss to T-132 California (18-21) in a one-score game. An upset: Syracuse entered with 89.5 TDR points to California's 8.5. Now 1-1, first loss of the season. TDR score -59.5: win/loss record -27.5, road-win bonus -12.5. | ||
 Ohio State 1-1 | 12 → T-87 | ▼ 75 |
| After a road loss at T-12 Texas (23-24) in a one-score game. A coin flip: the teams entered level on TDR score. Now 1-1, first loss of the season. AP: #1 to #6. 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.
Boise State beat 
Memphis38-20#96 vs #690 spots- California beat Syracuse21-18#132 vs #4587 spots
Oklahoma State beat Oregon39-31#96 vs #1284 spots
Clemson beat 
Georgia Southern22-7#96 vs #4551 spots
Florida Atlantic beat 
Navy38-30#96 vs #4551 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.
Washington beat 
Utah State16-14#12 vs #136top-25 team survived by 2- Wake Forest beat
Purdue38-36#12 vs #45top-25 team survived by 2 - Iowa beat
Iowa State16-13#12 vs #45top-25 team survived by 3 - South Florida beat
Army28-24#12 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.
- Ohio State at Texas23-240.0 points apartwon by 1
- Wake Forest at Purdue38-362.0 points apartwon by 2
- Iowa State at Iowa13-162.0 points apartwon by 3
One-score games involving a top-60 team that are not already above.
Marshall beat 
Middle Tennessee28-26T-54 vs T-114won by 2
App State beat 
East Carolina27-24T-44 vs T-128won by 3
The biggest margins by a team in the current top 50, the two top tiers.
- Notre Dame beat
Rice52-0T-6 vs T-93won by 52 
Nebraska beat 
Bowling Green56-7#30 vs T-135won by 49- Auburn beat
Southern Miss43-8T-6 vs T-93won by 35
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 | 82.2 | 13 | 3 | - | T-6Auburn |
| Big Ten | 71.0 | 11 | 6 | 1 | T-1Penn State |
| ACC | 67.6 | 8 | 8 | 1 | T-1Duke |
| Big 12 | 66.3 | 8 | 8 | - | T-26 BYU |
| Sun Belt | 53.3 | 4 | 9 | 1 | T-10Georgia State |
| American Athletic | 50.9 | 3 | 9 | 2 | T-1South Florida |
| Mountain West | 48.4 | 2 | 7 | 1 | #25North Dakota State |
| Mid-American | 45.0 | 1 | 11 | 1 | T-32 Massachusetts |
| Pac-12 | 34.3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | T-35 Colorado State |
| Conference USA | 33.5 | - | 8 | 2 | T-54 Florida International |
Winning | Character Building | Oh Crap
The most teams in the Winning tier: SEC (13). The most teams in the bottom two tiers (Character Building and Oh Crap): Mid-American (12).
Not ranked as a conference: FBS Independents (not a conference: Notre Dame T-6, UConn T-105).
Looking ahead to week 3
The biggest games between current top-25 teams, best matchup first.
Show all 57 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.
#26 
#35 
#35 
#35 
#35 
#44 
#32 
#44 
#49 
#49 
#44 
#31 
#54 
#51 
#61 
#53 
#69 
#26 
#69 
#35 
#69 
#69 
#69 
#68 
#84 
#84 
#69 
#35 
#87 
#69 
#90 
#90 
#93 
#35 
#93 
#51 
#93 
#66 
#93 
#69 
#93 
#69 
#93 
#105 
#105 
#44 
#69 
#105 
#105 
#69 
#93 
#105 
#105 
#114 
#63 
#114 
#119 
#80 
#123 
#124 
#127 
#35 
#63 
#128 
#93 
#134 
#26 
#135 
#93 See the full 2026 week 2 rankings, see every team by tier, the conference standings, or browse every weekly recap.
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