A look at what we might see in this week’s AP Top 25

Ohio State needed only one week — and the impact of yet another Alabama transfer — to stake a claim to the top of the college football world.

At least, that’s how The Associated Press Top 25 should start if pollsters pay proper respect to aggressive scheduling, as the College Football Playoff Selection Committee has said it would do when the first CFP rankings come out Nov. 4.

The previously No. 3-ranked Buckeyes, led by Alabama transfer QB Julian Sayin and anchored on defense by Crimson Tide transfer safety Caleb Downs, shut down preseason No. 1 Texas by a 14-7 count Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.

The No. 1 vote figures to be split, however, as previously No. 2-ranked Penn State won impressively over Mountain West Conference member Nevada 46-11 in Happy Valley.

The AP Top 25 panel of voters has shown a tendency toward keeping its order relatively consistent when won-loss records remain status quo.

So then the philosophical question: Does a close home win over a preseason No. 1 warrant a No. 3-ranked team jumping a No. 2 team that blew out an overmatched opponent?

The answer here is “Yes,” and the thought is that with all the talk of strength of schedule this offseason, pollsters will be more mindful of that than ever before.

That’s why this projected Top 25 includes one-loss teams Texas and Clemson, as those teams’ defeats came against top 10 competition.

The Longhorns made history with their first No. 1 preseason ranking only to follow that by becoming the first preseason No. 1-ranked team to lose its opening game since Miami lost to No. 16 BYU 28-21 in 1990.

In all, four top 10 teams lost, marking the first time that’s happened in an opening weekend since 1989. The scramble outside the top 10 also reflects rewarding teams that scored wins over Power Four conference opponents, particularly if they won on the road or at a neutral site.

It’s perfectly fine and even understandable for teams to schedule FCS opponents on occasion as a way to manage roster development.

But it’s hard to place as much value on such wins when ranking the teams, particularly this early in the season when there’s so little evidence behind the rankings.

There should also be more volatility between the first set of rankings and the second than most weeks of the season, hence Florida State’s jump from outside the preseason Top 25 to No. 12 for the purposes of how the rankings “should” look.

The preseason poll order was based on projecting how a reloaded team will look as opposed to the actual on-field results.

Here’s how this week’s Top 25 should look

1. Ohio State (1-0)

Defeated No. 1 Texas 14-7

2. Penn State (1-0)

Defeated Nevada 46-11

3. Georgia (1-0)

Defeated Marshall 45-7

4. LSU (1-0)

Won at No. 4 Clemson 17-10

5. Texas (0-1)

Lost at No. 3 Ohio State 14-7

6. Miami (1-0)

Defeated No. 6 Notre Dame 27-24

7. Oregon (1-0)

Defeated Montana State 59-13

8. Clemson (0-1)

Lost to No. 9 LSU 17-10

9. Notre Dame (0-1)

Lost at No. 10 Miami 27-10

10. South Carolina (1-0)

Defeated Virginia Tech 24-11 in Atlanta

11. Michigan (1-0)

Defeated New Mexico 34-17

12. Florida State (1-0)

Defeated No. 8 Alabama 31-17

13. Illinois (1-0)

Defeated Western Illinois 52-3

14. Alabama (0-1)

Lost at Florida State 31-17

15. Texas A&M (1-0)

Defeated Texas-San Antonio 42-24

16. Tennessee (1-0)

Defeated Syracuse 45-26 in Atlanta

17. Ole Miss (1-0)

Defeated Georgia State 63-7

18. USC (1-0)

Defeated Missouri State 73-13

19. Utah (1-0)

Won at UCLA 43-10

20. Florida (1-0)

Defeated Long Island 55-0

21. Arizona State (1-0)

Defeated Northern Arizona 38-19

22. Oklahoma (1-0)

Defeated Illinois State 35-3

23. SMU (1-0)

Defeated East Texas A&M 42-13

24. Texas Tech (1-0)

Defeated Arkansas Pine-Bluff 67-7