Wordsleuth's Top-25 College Football Rankings Week 3

Wordsleuth's Top 25 College Football Rankings Week 3. After the third weekend of college football action some teams are starting to separate themselves from the pack. In this week's Top 25 College Football Rankings several teams have taken a plunge, while some others have moved into a good position. The Top 25 College Football Rankings for Week 3 are:

After week 3 LSU and USC will share the top spot. Neither team has showed they are superior and since both teams would make it to the title game I felt I didn't have to decide.

Louisville, UCLA, Nebraska and Arkansas took plunges after their losses this weekend. Louisville fell from 6 to 15, UCLA from 11 to 19, Nebraska from 14 to 18 and Arkansas from 16 to out of the rankings.

Benefiting the most from these moves were Rutgers, California, Boston College, South Carolina and of course Alabama, who entered the poll for the first time this week taking the 22^nd spot.

To see previous week's rankings click below:
Week 1
Week 2

Wordsleuth's Top 25 College Football Rankings for Week 3 are:

1. LSU (3-0, 1-0)

LSU has looked very impressive this season and they did nothing to derail their great ranking on Saturday. LSU still has handily beaten Virginia Tech at home and Mississippi State on the road. Last week's game against an uncompetitive opponent doesn't count against them much.

Next Up: South Carolina

1. USC (2-0, 0-0)

USC looked amazing against Nebraska. After a first quarter that made USC's trip to Lincoln look like it was going to be a dogfight, they jumped out to an amazing 42-10 lead and looked like a #1 team doing it. Both LSU and USC deserve to be number one and with both #1 and #2 going to the national championship game I have decided to make both co-#1's.

Next Up: Washington State

3. Oklahoma (3-0, 0-0)

Oklahoma welcomed the Utah State Aggies and then kicked them right back out the door on Saturday. This game was never eaven close as the Sooners went on to win 54-3. The Sooners were probably disappointed in giving up those 3 points, but they looked very impressive for the third straight week.

Next Up: at Tulsa

4. Florida (3-0, 1-0)

Florida destroyed their rivals on Saturday when Tennessee rolled into the swamp. Florida looked very, very impressive behind Tim Tebow as they ran up the score on the Volunteers. It looks like Florida may have a legit chance to repeat if one of the top teams stumbles.

Next Up: at Mississippi

5. West Virginia (3-0, 0-0)

West Virginia didn't have any real trouble on the road at Maryland on Thursday night. They rolled into College Park and got the job done and looked very impressive doing it. Heisman candidate Pat White and Steve Slaton helped their chances with great performances.

Next Up: East Carolina

6. California (3-0, 0-0)

California struggled a little in week 2. They didn't get their offense going like they would have enjoyed, but in week 3 they put up 42 points on a Louisiana Tech team that isn't that bad. Their 42-12 victory has them taking the spot vacated by Louisville after their loss to Kentucky.

Next Up: Arizona

7. Texas (3-0, 0-0)

Texas has still not played the type of football that they seem capable of. Thye went into Central Florida and escaped with a 2-point victory. This wasn't that surprising as UCF is known more for their almost-upsets than their actual upsets. Texas needs to do some work if they are aiming for a national title.

Next Up: Rice

8. Wisconsin (3-0, 0-0)

Wisconsin seems to be one of the few teams in the Big Ten that is actually legit. The Badgers won again on Saturday with a 45-31 victory over the Citadel. This game was actually close for a good portion until the Badgers pulled away in the end. PJ Hill made his official entrance into the Heisman race with his 168 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Next Up: Iowa

9. Penn State (3-0, 0-0)

The Nittany Lions started pretty slow against the Buffalo Bulls but eventually they cruised to a 45-24 victory. Penn State fans were probably not fully satisfied, but the Lions did enough to make the top-ten this week.

Next Up: at Michigan

10. Ohio State (3-0, 0-0)

Ohio State faced their first real test of the 2007 campaign when the traveled to Washington. The Buckeyes passed their test with flying colors containing Washington quarterback Locker and limiting the damage that he made. Their 33-14 victory on the road was one of the most impressive of the weekend.

Next Up: Northwestern

11. Rutgers (3-0, 0-0)

Rutgers started out very slow against Norfolk State then they put up and amazing 42 points in the second quarter. That's right, 42 points in one quarter. Rutgers moves up because of the losses of UCLA and Nebraska.

Next Up: OFF

12. Boston College (3-0, 3-0)

Boston College went down to play Georgia Tech in a battle of first-place ACC teams and walked out victorious. BC and quarterback Matt Ryan looked fantastic again and Matt Ryan has to be the frontrunner for ACC Offensive Player of the Year.

Next Up: Army

13. South Carolina (3-0, 1-0)

South Carolina advances up the rankings with a victory combined with a few losses by the teams ahead of them. So far this season it seems as if Steve Spurrier has finally turned the Gamecocks around and they should be a player in the SEC.

Next Up: at Louisiana State

14. Clemson (3-0, 1-0)

Clemson improved to 3-0 on the season a 38-10 win over Furman. Beating Furman is not very impressive, but Clemson also moves up because of the losses of UCLA and Louisville as well as the loss by Nebraska.

Next Up: at North Carolina State

15. Louisville (2-1, 0-0)

Louisville went on the road to Kentucky and received their first loss of the season. I am not even sure if this counts as a road game since Louisville brought a ton of fans to the game. Now Andre Woodson and the Wildcats are underrated, but Louisville, who had hopes of a national title, needed to win this game. Louisville's national title hopes are over.

Next Up: Syracuse

16. Oregon (3-0, 0-0)

Oregon continues to be impressive, especially on offense. One week after almost upsetting Texas A&M, Fresno State got manhandled by Orgeon, losing 52-21. Fresno State is no easy team to beat but Oregon made short work of them and earned the number 16 spot in this week's rankings.

Next Up: at Stanford

17. Virginia Tech (2-1, 0-0)

Virginia Tech's only loss came at LSU, so that can be forgiven a little. This week they faced a pretty good Ohio team and they pulled away late for the 28-7 victory. This is enough for Virginia Tech to stay in the top-20.

Next Up: William & Mary

18. Nebraska (2-1, 0-0)

Losing to the number 1 team in the country is excusable, but being beat 42-10 at home is not. Nebraska needed to put up a better showing than that. Coupled with their lackluster performance against Wake Forest, Nebraska is lucky not to be lower in the rankings.

Next Up: Ball State

19. UCLA (2-1, 1-0)

While playing Utah on the road is a tough task, UCLA is moved down so much because they lost by such a large margin. That is not excusable. Where was the great UCLA defense that they speak about? It sure wasn't with them In Utah.

Next Up: Washington

20. Georgia Tech (2-1, 0-1)

Georgia Tech welcomed Boston College into their house and BC was a very rude guest. They started off by running out to a 21-0 lead and they never looked back. While Georgia Tech later tried to put up a fight BC as too far ahead for them to fully comeback. This was a great chance for GT to get to the top of their division, but now they will have to try to make up the ground they lost.

Next Up: at Virginia

21. Hawaii (3-0, 1-0)

Hawaii is still holding strong in the polls after a nice win on the road over UNLV. While Hawaii struggles off they island they are now 2-0 this season on the road. Hawaii keeps their hopes alive of being this season's Boise State and their next game will be back on the island.

Next Up: Charleston Southern

22. Alabama (3-0, 2-0)

Alabama jumps into the top-ten with a great home victory over Arkansas. The Tide showed an amazing ability to comeback after they looked all but dead after Arkansas's last touchdown with only minutes to play. Nick Saban is working his magic fast in 'Bama.

Next Up: Georgia

23. Texas A&M (3-0, 0-0)

Texas A&M really didn't impress enough to move up in the rankings last weekend. Alabama shoots ahead of them with a great win over Arkansas but Texas A&M has a chance to prove themselves on the road at Miami (FL) on Thursday. Then we will see where the Aggies stand.

Next Up: at Miami (FL)

24. South Florida (2-0, 0-0)

South Florida won an impressive road game at Auburn but then they were idle this week. They keep their top-25 ranking and will put it on the line when they host North Carolina on Saturday.

Next Up: North Carolina

25. Georgia (2-1, 0-1)

Georgia sticks at number 25 in the polls even after not being in action on Saturday. They just edged out Arkansas, Tulsa, Kentucky and Michigan State for the last spot in the poll.

Next Up: at Alabama

Next 10

Arkansas

Tulsa

Washington

Michigan State

Purdue

Cincinnati

Missouri

Kentucky

Southern Mississippi

Kansas

Added to Rankings:

Alabama (22)

Dropped from Rankings:

Arkansas (16)

Recap:

1. LSU
1. USC
3. Oklahoma
4. Florida
5. West Virginia
6. California
7. Texas
8. Wisconsin
9. Penn State
10. Ohio State
11. Rutgers
12. Boston College
13. South Carolina
14. Clemson
15. Louisville
16. Oregon
17. Virginia Tech
18. Nebraska
19. UCLA
20. Georgia Tech
21. Hawaii
22. Alabama
23. Texas A&M
24. South Florida
25. Georgia