The Week 1 AP Top 25 poll features plenty of movement after some surprising early results. Most notably, preseason No. 10 Florida State fell all the way out of the rankings before the first in-season poll even dropped after an 0-2 start.
The voters did the unexpected and actually punished Oregon for a brutal performance against Idaho, dropping them from No. 3 to No. 7. Miami and USC also deservedly moved up after wins over Florida and LSU, respectively.
At the same time, voters often get caught up in their own preconceived notions. Why is Clemson still in the field? Why did LSU stay in the top 20? Most pressing, why is Michigan still a top 10 team? Here are some of the teams that stand out as overrated and underrated after Week 1.
Underrated: Penn State
Penn State came into the season ranked No. 8, but with major questions about its offense and receivers. Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki did everything in his power to fix it. Despite passing a major test on the road against West Virginia with a dominant 34-12 victory, Penn State didn’t move an inch in the Week 1 AP Top 25.
Granted, the competition in the top 10 is tight, but the Nittany Lions answered their biggest concerns. Wide receiver Harrison Wallace III is a star in the making after posting 117 yards and two touchdowns. The running game cleared 222 yards and the defense won at the point of attack.
If the offensive questions are answered, Penn State belongs in the breath as other top CFP contenders. Really, there’s not much more Penn State could have done to pass Oregon or Ole Miss. This week, they deserved it.
Overrated: Georgia Tech
Personally, I’m not mad that the Yellow Jackets were rewarded with a ranking after beating Florida State and Georgia State. Brent Key is doing a sensational job and the backfield duo of Haynes King and Jamal Haynes ranks among the most fun to watch in the country. Fun players and fun teams getting attention is never bad.
At the same time, there’s no reason to treat Florida State as a quality win at this point. The Seminoles are terrible. A 35-12 win over Georgia State was solid, but nothing that needed to launch the Jackets into the rankings. Georgia Tech is still outside the top 50 in ESPN’s SP+ team rankings.
Over the next three weeks, GT plays at Syrcause and at Louisville. Win those two games and the Jackets will firmly belong in the rankings. Now? Not so much.
Underrated: Texas A&M
Narratives coming out of Texas A&M’s 23-13 loss against No. 6 Notre Dame were understandably doomer, but did they really need to be? Despite a disappointing effort from Conner Weigman in his first start with a new coaching staff, Texas A&M was tied with Notre Dame at the two-minute timeout with a real chance to win the game.
The Aggies controlled much of the game and didn’t trail for the first 38 minutes of game time. It took Notre Dame’s Jadarian Price finally breaking off a 47-yard touchdown run to finally give the Fighting Irish a lead, and the Aggies still responded strong. Texas A&M likely just faced the toughest defense it will see all year and still had chances to win.
Texas A&M was a slight betting favorite against the Irish heading in, and maybe these expectations skew perception of the game. Notre Dame is better — that’s why they were ranked No. 7 at the time to Texas A&M’s No. 20. There was little reason to knock the Aggies all the way out of the rankings, especially when Clemson somehow got to stay in the field despite getting obliterated by No. 1 Georgia.
Overrated: Michigan
There were warning signs for Michigan’s offense heading into the season, but a 30-10 win over Fresno State — where starters had to play the whole game and Michigan required an 86-yard pick-six to pull away — was well below even the most modest of expectations.
The Wolverines have a major quarterback problem after Davis Warren and Alex Orji combined for only 121 yards passing against a defense that gave up more than 200 yards per game in the Mountain West last season. Tight end Colston Loveland was the only receiver with more than 15 yards. The defense and running game are quite good, but good enough to compensate?
Michigan led just 16-10 late in the fourth quarter against a team playing with an interim coach. For branding purposes, Texas-Michigan as a top 10 matchup next week is solid. At the same time, no one should fool themselves and think that there are two of the top 10 teams in the nation playing.
