Florida State drops out of AP top 25 after 0-2 start; Texas moves up to No. 3 behind Georgia, Ohio State

September 3, 2024 16:54 • Last update: September 3, 2024 16:56

Florida State quarterback Kyle Morlock reacts after dropping a pass in the second half of Monday’s loss to Boston College in Tallahassee, Fla. (Colin Hackley/AP Photo)

Florida State dropped out of the Associated Press college football rankings on Tuesday after starting the season 0-2, becoming only the third team to move out of the preseason top 10 into the regular-season rankings for the first time since 1989, when the rankings were expanded to No. 25.

Georgia remained No. 1, receiving 57 first-place votes after opening the season with a crushing upset of then-No. 14 Clemson. The Tigers remained in 25th place.

Ohio State is in second place with five first-place votes. No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Alabama both moved up one spot, placing three Southeastern Conference teams in the top four along with Georgia.

Fifth-ranked Notre Dame moved up two spots after opening the season with a win over then-20th-ranked Texas A&M, which dropped out of the rankings.

Florida State was the biggest disappointment of the season opener, losing the defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion in Dublin, Ireland, to ACC rival Georgia Tech, then losing its next league game Monday night at home to Boston College.

No other team in the preseason Top 25 this year has lost to an unranked opponent to open the season. Florida State has done it twice as a double-digit favorite.

Other preseason top-10 teams to fall out of the top 25 after Week 1 over the last 35 years include Michigan in 2007 after a famous loss to Appalachian State when they were ranked No. 5, and Clemson in 2008. The Tigers were ranked No. 9 but opened the season with a crushing loss to Alabama and fell out of the rankings.

Mississippi remained at No. 6. Oregon dropped four spots to No. 7 after winning a close game against Idaho. Penn State remained at No. 8. Missouri moved up two spots to No. 9, giving the SEC five top-10 teams. Michigan dropped one spot to No. 10.

Georgia Tech’s two-goal haul propelled the 23rd-ranked Yellowjackets into the rankings for the first time since 2015.

Survey points

Because Florida State’s season began a week before most teams in the country, the team joined the exclusive club of teams that have two wins and all losses to start the season while finishing in the top 10.

Notre Dame was the last to do so in 2022, when the Fighting Irish started the season ranked No. 5, lost to No. 2 Ohio State in their opener, then were upset at home by Marshall the following week to finish eighth. The Irish finished the season 9-4.

Ohio State began the 1986 season ranked ninth and lost two straight games to ranked opponents, No. 5 Alabama and No. 17 Washington. The Buckeyes were ranked 10th when they played the Huskies. Ohio State finished the season with a 10-3 record.

The 1967 Texas team and 1952 TCU also started the season 0-2, with top-10 finishes in both games.

Florida State is only the second team in the rankings to lose twice before the first regular-season poll was released, joining Kentucky in 1951. The Wildcats moved from No. 6 to No. 17 after going 1-2 to start the season, losing to No. 11 Texas and to Mississippi.

Florida State will have the weekend off before resuming play with home games against Memphis and new ACC member California. Then it will face SMU and play a home game against Clemson.

“You have a football team that nobody imagined would ever be where we are, and they’re going through a disappointment, a loss, but I believe in what this team can do,” coach Mike Norvell said after the loss to BC. “I believe in what this team can do.”

Up

The biggest gains in the top 25 came from Miami and Southern California.

The Hurricanes moved up seven spots to No. 12 with a win over Florida in The Swamp, their best position since breaking into the top 10 at the end of the 2020 season.

No. 13 USC moved up 10 spots after beating LSU by a late touchdown Sunday night in Las Vegas. The loss dropped LSU to No. 18.

The Trojans started last season ranked sixth but ultimately fell unranked after a disappointing 8-5 season under 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams.

In and out

The only other team to move up in the rankings this week, besides Georgia Tech, was ACC school Louisville. The Cardinals were among the top unranked vote-getters in the preseason and now sit at No. 22.

Telephone conference

Even though Florida State and Clemson started the season with 0-3 records, there is one more team in the ACC rankings this week than last time:

SEC — 8 (No. 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 14, 16, 18).

Big Ten — 6 (Nos. 2, 7, 8, 10, 13, 21).

ACC – 5 (No. 12, 22, 23, 24, 25).

Big 12 – 5 (Nos. 11, 16, 17, 19, 20).

Independent — 1 (No. 5).

Ranking vs. ranking

No. 3 Texas and No. 10 Michigan. The first meeting of the regular season is a top-10 matchup at the Big House.

No. 14 Tennessee vs. No. 24 NC State in Charlotte, North Carolina. An interesting matchup in the SEC-ACC standings.

Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik (right) is hit by Georgia linebacker Damon Wilson II after dropping a pass in the second half on Aug. 31 in Atlanta. (John Bazemore/AP Photo)

Ohio State linebacker Lathan Ransom (front) celebrates a touchdown against Akron in the second half on Aug. 31 in Columbus, Ohio. (Jay LaPrete/AP Photo)