Lev’s Top 25, Week 2: Texas leapfrogs Ohio State; Oregon, Arizona drop out of ranking

Expectations were sky-high heading into Week 2

Somehow, this wacky sport managed to exceed them.

Oklahoma State pulled off the upset of the year. Texas pulled off the comeback of the year.

And we’re just getting started. Only a handful of teams have played conference games.

Buckle up.

My Top 25 — plus five — for Week 2 doesn’t feature too many changes in the top 10. Beyond that? Tons of movement — in, out, up and down.

Here are a few key notes:

– What did I do with Oregon, my preseason No. 1? See ya, Ducks. You’re out. Entirely. My thought process: Oklahoma State isn’t good enough to be ranked after losing to Tulsa in Week 1. But OSU would have to be ranked ahead of Oregon after beating them head-to-head. (This rule mainly applies to teams with the same record.) The solution: Don’t rank either.

– I dropped Ohio State only one spot, from No. 3 to No. 4, after the Buckeyes surrendered a 20-point lead against Texas. I call this type of result a “coin-flip game.” Credit to Texas for the comeback. Credit to Ohio State for playing Texas in Austin.

– Alabama and Tennessee are rising. Both defeated power-conference opponents — Kentucky and Georgia Tech, respectively — on the road with relative ease.

– Welcome to the Top 25, Utah and Mississippi State. The Utes had been lingering in the First Five Out. Then they absolutely stomped Arkansas and looked good doing it. The Bulldogs, led by impressive quarterback Kamario Taylor, manhandled Minnesota in Minneapolis.

– Welcome back to the Top 25, Michigan. But let’s keep things in perspective here. Yes, you beat a top-15 team in Oklahoma. Your defense looks awesome. Your offense is still meh.

1. Notre Dame (previous ranking: 1)

Record: 2-0

Last week: defeated Rice 52-0

This week: vs. Michigan State, 4:30 p.m. Saturday

2. Miami (2)

Record: 2-0 (1-0 ACC)

Last week: defeated Florida A&M 77-7

This week: at Wake Forest, 4:30 p.m. Friday

3. Texas (6)

Record: 2-0

Last week: defeated Ohio State 24-23

This week: vs. UTSA, 5 p.m. Saturday

4. Ohio State (3)

Record: 1-1

Last week: lost to Texas 24-23

This week: vs. Kent State, 9 a.m. Saturday

5. LSU (4)

Record: 2-0

Last week: defeated Louisiana Tech 45-14

This week: at Ole Miss, 4:30 p.m. Saturday

6. Indiana (7)

Record: 2-0

Last week: defeated Howard 55-0

This week: vs. Western Kentucky, 1 p.m. Saturday

7. Georgia (8)

Record: 2-0

Last week: defeated Western Kentucky 70-20

This week: at Arkansas, 9 a.m. Saturday

8. USC (9)

Record: 3-0

Last week: defeated Louisiana 49-30

This week: at Rutgers, 12:30 p.m. Saturday

9. Ole Miss (10)

Record: 2-0

Last week: defeated Charlotte 41-9

This week: vs. LSU, 4:30 p.m. Saturday

10. BYU (12)

Record: 2-0 (1-0 Big 12)

Last week: defeated Arizona 28-17

This week: at Colorado State, 4:30 p.m. Saturday

11. Texas A&M (11)

Record: 2-0

Last week: defeated Arizona State 48-20

This week: vs. Kentucky, 12:30 p.m. Saturday

12. Alabama (15)

Record: 2-0 (1-0 SEC)

Last week: defeated Kentucky 45-17

This week: vs. Florida State, 12:30 p.m. Saturday

13. Tennessee (16)

Record: 2-0

Last week: defeated Georgia Tech 45-24

This week: vs. Kennesaw State, 4:45 p.m. Saturday

14. SMU (17)

Record: 2-0 (1-0 ACC)

Last week: defeated UC Davis 56-10

This week: at Louisville, 12:30 p.m. Saturday

15. Texas Tech (14)

Record: 2-0

Last week: defeated Oregon State 35-24

This week: vs. Houston, 5 p.m. Friday

16. Virginia (20)

Record: 2-0 (1-0 ACC)

Last week: defeated Norfolk State 59-3

This week: vs. West Virginia, 4:30 p.m. Saturday

17. Louisville (19)

Record: 1-1

Last week: defeated Villanova 59-13

This week: vs. SMU, 12:30 p.m. Saturday

18. UCLA (23)

Record: 2-0

Last week: defeated San Diego State 28-10

This week: vs. Purdue, 8 p.m. Saturday

19. Utah (First Five Out)

Record: 2-0

Last week: Defeated Arkansas 43-10

This week: vs. Utah State, 12:30 p.m. Saturday

20. Boise State (21)

Record: 1-1

Last week: defeated Memphis 38-20

This week: vs. South Dakota, 7 p. m. Saturday

21. Michigan (First Five Out)

Record: 2-0

Last week: defeated Oklahoma 17-10

This week: vs. UTEP, 12:30 p.m. Saturday

22. Oklahoma (13)

Record: 1-1

Last week: lost to Michigan 17-10

This week: vs. New Mexico, 4:30 p.m. Saturday

23. Penn State (18)

Record: 2-0

Last week: defeated Temple 27-9

This week: vs. Buffalo, 9 a.m. Saturday

24. Houston (25)

Record: 2-0

Last week: defeated Southern 77-6

This week: at Texas Tech, 5 p.m. Friday

25. Mississippi State (NR)

Record: 2-0

Last week: defeated Minnesota 38-13

This week: at South Carolina, 1:15 p.m. Saturday

First five out (in alphabetical order): Auburn, Duke, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota State