College football Power Rankings for Week 3

After a ho-hum weekend in college football -- unless, of course, you're a fan of say The Citadel, BYU, UCF or Arizona State -- there will finally be some actual movement in the College Football Playoff race next week.

Two games could go a long way in separating the early contenders from the pretenders. Georgia hosts Notre Dame and Wisconsin hosts Michigan.

Though the Badgers and Wolverines had Saturday off, the Bulldogs and Fighting Irish were lopsided winners, along with almost everyone else in the top half of the polls.

Eight of the nine teams from the AP top 10 that played on Saturday won by 24 points or more. Florida, which won 29-21 at Kentucky, was the exception, and the Gators lost their starting quarterback to a season-ending injury.

Here are the ESPN Power Rankings after Week 3:

1. Clemson (3-0)

Clemson cleared the second week of what was supposed to be its most difficult stretch of the season with a 41-6 win at Syracuse. Now the defending national champion needs only to make sure it doesn't slip up against a lesser team because it's clear there isn't any team in the ACC that can challenge the Tigers. Clemson's defense dominated the Orange, who had only 187 yards of offense, went 4-for-19 on third downs and 0-for-3 on fourth, and ran for only 57 yards in 27 attempts. The Tigers sacked quarterback Tommy DeVito six times. Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw two more interceptions -- he has five in three games after throwing only four last season -- but also a career-high 395 yards with three touchdowns.

Up next: vs. Charlotte (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network)

2. Alabama (3-0)

The Crimson Tide rolled past South Carolina 47-23 on the road by passing for 495 yards, the highest total in a single game in school history. Tua Tagovailoa passed for 444 yards with five touchdowns; he's the first player in Alabama history to throw for 400 yards with five touchdowns in the same game. However, the Tide ran for only 77 yards on 24 attempts (3.2 yards per carry), which ended their 69-game streak of running for at least 100 yards, which was the second longest streak in the FBS. It's the first time they failed to reach the century mark on the ground since gaining only 66 yards in a 14-13 win over Arkansas on Oct. 11, 2014. Army has the longest streak of 100-yard rushing performances at 141 games.

Up next: vs. Southern Miss (Saturday, TBD)

3. Georgia (3-0)

Through three games, Georgia's offense looks just fine under new coordinator James Coley. The Bulldogs piled up 656 yards of offense -- the fifth-highest total in school history -- in a 55-0 shutout of Arkansas State on Saturday. Quarterback Jake Fromm completed 17 of 22 passes for 279 yards with three touchdowns in two-plus quarters, and seven different UGA players scored touchdowns. One concern: receiver Tyler Simmons (shoulder) was injured and didn't return. Georgia was already without receivers Demetris Robertson and Kearis Jackson because of injuries.

Up next: vs. Notre Dame (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, CBS)

4. Oklahoma (3-0)

After only three weeks, it's getting difficult to imagine what else Jalen Hurts can do in Lincoln Riley's offense. In the Sooners' 48-14 win at UCLA on Saturday, Hurts had 439 yards from scrimmage -- 289 passing and 150 rushing -- with four total touchdowns. He became the first Big 12 quarterback to run for 100 yards in the first quarter and the first OU quarterback to pass for 200 yards and run for 100 in a first half. He is only the second OU quarterback with multiple games of 150 rushing yards or more; Jamelle Holieway had three such games. With Hurts under center, the Sooners have scored on 19 of 27 possessions this season, including 17 touchdowns.

Up next: vs. Texas Tech (Sept. 28, TBD)

5. LSU (3-0)

It's easy to understand why the Tigers would have a bit of a hangover after last week's big win at Texas, which is probably why they trailed FCS foe Northwestern State 7-3 after the first quarter Saturday. LSU finally blew the game open by scoring touchdowns on four straight possessions in the second half of a 65-14 win. Quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 373 yards with two touchdowns on 21-for-24 passing. It was his fourth 300-yard passing game, which is second most in LSU history. The Tigers' defense was missing several key players, including linebackers Michael Divinity Jr. and K'Lavon Chaisson, and struggled to get off the field early.

Up next: at Vanderbilt (Saturday, TBD)

6. Ohio State (3-0)

The Buckeyes continue to look like the Big Ten's best chance at reaching the CFP after dismantling Indiana 51-10 on the road. Quarterback Justin Fields threw for three touchdowns and ran for one more, the third straight game he scored at least four touchdowns. That's the longest streak for an OSU quarterback in the past 15 years. OSU's defense pitched in with a safety and Damon Arnette's 96-yard interception return for a score, the fourth-longest such play in school history.

Up next: vs. Miami (Ohio) (Saturday, TBD)

7. Notre Dame (3-0)

The Fighting Irish gave Georgia's defense something to think about heading into next week's showdown at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. Notre Dame had five passing plays of more than 50 yards in Saturday's 66-14 rout of New Mexico, its most in a game in the past 15 years, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. The Irish had a one-play touchdown drive and three more of two plays. Quarterback Ian Book completed 15 of 24 passes for 360 yards with six total touchdowns (one rushing). It was the most points the Irish scored in a game since they had 69 against Georgia Tech in 1977.

Up next: at Georgia (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, CBS)

8. Utah (3-0)

The Utes closed out their nonconference schedule with a 31-0 shutout of FCS program Idaho State on Saturday. Tyler Huntley threw for 282 yards on 15-for-19 passing with three touchdowns. Bryan Thompson, who has battled injuries throughout his career, caught two of them, including an 82-yarder. The Bengals had only 115 yards of offense, including 36 yards rushing on 25 attempts. There's still room for improvement, though, as Utah had 11 penalties for 105 yards.

Up next: at USC (Friday, 9 p.m. ET, FS1)

9. Auburn (3-0)

The Tigers returned to their roots in their final pre-SEC tuneup, running for 467 yards in a 55-16 rout of Kent State on Saturday to move to 3-0 for the first time since 2014. Auburn had three 100-yard rushers: JaTarvious Whitlow ran for 135 yards with two touchdowns, backup quarterback Joey Gatewood had 102 yards with two scores and Shaun Shivers ran 12 times for 102. It was Auburn's highest rushing total since it had 543 yards against Arkansas in 2016. Star defensive tackle Derrick Brown left the game in the first quarter because he wasn't feeling well; the Tigers still had five sacks without him.

Up next: at Texas A&M (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)

10. Texas (2-1)

The Longhorns bounced back from their first loss of the season by beating Rice 48-13 on the road. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger was very good again, completing 23 of 27 passes for 279 yards with three touchdowns. He went to the sideline with the Longhorns leading 38-0 in the third quarter. The Longhorns didn't give up a point until the fourth quarter and limited the Owls to only 266 yards of offense, including 87 rushing. Center Zach Shackelford reinjured his right foot and didn't return, and linebacker Joseph Ossai injured his shoulder. Both will have MRIs on Sunday. Star receiver Collin Johnson missed the game because of a hamstring injury.

Up next: vs. Oklahoma State (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

11. Wisconsin (2-0)

The Badgers played nearly mistake-free football in their first two games against South Florida and Central Michigan. Wisconsin has posted consecutive shutouts for the first time since 2013, leads the FBS in total defense (107.5 yards per game) and had only five penalties in its first two games. Last season, Wisconsin's defense gave up 444 yards of offense, including 320 rushing, in a 38-13 loss at Michigan.

Up next: vs. Michigan (Saturday, noon ET, Fox)

12. UCF (3-0)

The Knights made quite a statement as the best team from a Group of 5 league by dismantling Stanford 45-27 at home on Saturday. In his second career start, freshman quarterback Dillon Gabriel threw for 347 yards with four touchdowns. The Knights did much of their damage in the first half. They had 413 yards by halftime; the most the Cardinal had allowed in the first half since at least 2004, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. UCF's 31-point halftime lead was the third biggest by a Group of 5 team over a Power 5 opponent in the past 10 years.

Up next: at Pittsburgh (Saturday, TBD)

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Herbert tosses 5 TD passes

Justin Herbert dissects the Montana defense with five touchdown throws in Oregon's big win.

13. Florida (3-0)

The Gators rallied from an 11-point deficit by scoring 19 consecutive points in a 29-21 win at Kentucky to avoid losing to the Wildcats for the second straight season (after beating them 31 straight times). But the victory was costly for the Gators, who lost starting quarterback Feleipe Franks to a right leg injury. Franks, who started 24 games and was MVP in last season's Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, was hurt while scrambling on a fourth-and-1 play. Coach Dan Mullen said Franks would miss the rest of the season. Backup Kyle Trask led the comeback, throwing for 126 yards on 9-for-13 passing and running for a 4-yard touchdown that put UF ahead with 4:11 left.

Up next: vs. Tennessee (Saturday, TBD)

14. Michigan (2-0)

The Wolverines had an extra week to fix their struggling offense after last week's closer-than-expected overtime win over Army at home. Heading into Saturday, Michigan ranked 12th in the Big Ten in scoring offense (32 points per game) and ninth in total offense (396.5 yards). It's not the start new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis envisioned. It probably won't get any easier against Wisconsin, which has posted back-to-back shutouts and has allowed only 20.5 rushing yards per game.

Up next: at Wisconsin (Saturday, noon ET, Fox)