POLL WARS | Texas up to No. 2 in AP poll; Vols make ridiculous jump; Irish fall like a rock

The aftermath of the second college football weekend on the Associated Press and AFCA Coaches Poll is still interesting – even though the poll that matters, the College Football Playoff poll, won’t be out for weeks and weeks.

Both the AP and coaches polls came out Sunday, of course, after the most recent cataclysmic Saturday in college ball. Just a few of the most notable happenings and aftereffects:

• Texas made defending national champion Michigan look like a bunch of average guys, taking the Wolverines to the woodshed at the Big House in Ann Arbor. The Longhorns scored on four of their five first half possessions. Say that 10 times real fast. And if TFB Editor/Publisher Mitch Lucas had a vote, they’d be his No. 1 team. Hey, that’s me. And let me tell you why.

I don’t believe Michigan should have been ranked that highly. But they were. Texas has the best win of anyone in the country right now – RIGHT NOW. If Georgia can navigate that schedule, they’ll take that spot. But right NOW, it should be the ‘Horns. That’s one man’s opinion.

• Too late for a spoiler alert, but Georgia handled Tennessee Tech easily and remained No. 1 in both polls. Ohio State was vaulted in the AP poll by Texas, and is now No. 3. The Buckeyes remained No. 2 in the coaches poll, and Texas is third.
• Alabama, whose offensive line looked like they’d never practiced together in their win over South Florida on Saturday night, remained No. 4. Ole Miss moved up to fifth in both polls.
• Here’s where we begin to really differ. Oregon survived a visit from Boise State and remained No. 6 in the coaches poll. They moved down two spots, believe it or not, in the AP poll. Missouri took sixth there, and here’s the ridiculous: apparently AP voters believe North Carolina State is the 10-time defending national champion, because they vaulted Tennessee up seven spots, all the way from 14^th to No. 7, with the Volunteers’ road win over NC State.
• In the coaches poll, Penn State moved up a spot to No. 7 – even though the Nittany Lions trailed Bowling Green until late in the second half. The Nittany Lions are No. 8 in the AP poll.
• Miami, USC and Utah, in that order, are 10, 11 and 12 in the AP poll, and in the coaches, it’s the Utes, the Trojans and then the U.

Voting in the coaches poll, supposedly, are the head coaches, obviously, from the programs that make up the FBS.

Voters in the Associated Press poll – and we’re going to print their names here each and every week – are Aaron McMann, Adam Cole, Adam Zucker, Alex Taylor, Amie Just, Andy Yamashita, Blair Kerkhoff, Bob Asmussen, Bob Ballou, Brenna Greene, Brett McMurphy, Brian Fonseca, Brian Howell, Chip Towers, Chris Murray, Cody Nespor, Creg Stephenson, Damien Sordelette, Dave Preston, David Briggs, David Jablonski, David Paschall, Dylan Synn, Emily Leiker, Eric Hansen, Garland Gillen, Greg Madia, Henry Greenstein, Ian Kress, James Williams, Joe Aruda, John Clay, John Steppe, Johnny McGonigal, Jon Wilner, Jordan Crammer, Jordan McPherson, Josh Furlong, Karley Marotta, Kate Rogerson, Kayla Anderson, Kirk Boles, Kirk Kenney, Kokie Riley, Mason Young, Matt Baker, Matt Brown, Matt Murschel, Michael Katz, Michael Lev, Mike Hill, Pete Yanity, Randy Johnson, Rece Davis, Ron Counts, Sean Reider, Stephen Means, Steve Wiesman, Steven Johnson, Tom Murphy, Trevor Hass, and Zach Klein.

Here’s the AP Poll released Sunday, Sept. 8 (all times ET):

Here’s the AFCA Coaches Poll, also released Sunday, Sept. 8 (all times ET):