Sports

ACC Schools See Biggest Rise In AP Poll While Duke, Colorado Make Debuts; Fans Ask Why 1 Team Is Still Ranked

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A football rests on the playing field.

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The opening weekend of the college football season is officially behind us, but it didn’t pass without making its mark on the Top 25 rankings. Both the AP and Coaches polls were released on Tuesday and there are certainly some surprises.

A few teams made their debuts in the standings while others saw significant falls from grace. Football followers were quick to give their reactions to the Week 2 release.

The biggest risers came from the ACC with a pair of conference powers landing big wins over SEC rivals. On Saturday night, the GameDay crew made an appearance in Charlotte to watch South Carolina play North Carolina.

The Tar Heels proved too much for the Gamecocks with Drake Maye tossing a pair of touchdowns and British Brooks rushing for 100 yards. The UNC defense, meanwhile, racked up nine sacks of Spencer Rattler.

Florida State followed up that impressive ACC performance with a win over No. 5 LSU on Sunday. Jordan Travis threw for four touchdowns while the Seminoles saw two receivers top 100 yards in the 21-point victory.

UNC jumped four spots in both the AP and Coaches Polls, while FSU secured top five standings in each. Fans are already predicting a meeting between the programs in the ACC title.

The Heels and ‘Noles weren’t the only ACC movers in the rankings, though. Duke made its debut after walloping Clemson on Labor Day. The Blue Devils landed at No. 21 in the AP Poll, their first ranking since 2018.

Colorado also made an appearance the standings, marking the first time the program has been ranked since 2020. The Buffs pulled off an incredible win over TCU to kick off the Deion Sanders era.

College football fans stunned to see one team in the Top 25

After getting beat 28-7 by Duke on Monday, the Clemson Tigers saw a significant drop in the rankings. In the AP Poll, the Tigers fell 16 spots from No. 9 to No. 25. In the Coaches Poll, Dabo Swinney’s bunch dropped 12 spots, landing at No. 21.

Many don’t believe the fall was far enough. A number of fans reacted to Clemson’s spot in the rankings, posting reactions of dismay on social media.

After just one week, the Top 25 has already seen a major shakeup. We’ll see what’s in store for Week 2, which is headlined by a matchup between Texas and Alabama.