SP+ rankings after Week 3: Georgia moves ahead of Clemson

Three weeks into the season, SP+ ratings are still made up primarily of preseason projections -- there just isn't enough data to make grand conclusions yet. That will begin to shift next week. That said, there's always some interesting movement, and the most noteworthy move this week was just a one-spot jump.

Georgia absolutely demolished an Arkansas State team that came into the week ranked 60th in SP+. The Dawgs raced to a 34-point halftime lead and ended up nearly tripling the Red Wolves' yardage (656 to 220) in a 55-0 win. That bumped their rating from 30.3 adjusted points per game above average to 32.3.

That also bumped them ahead of Clemson, which manhandled a Syracuse team that came into the week just 70th overall and rose only from 30.9 to 31.8. No need to read too much into this, of course -- both teams are awesome, and Clemson remains the most likely team to make the CFP -- but it was certainly interesting all the same.

Note: What is SP+? In a single sentence, it's a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. I created the system at Football Outsiders in 2008, and as my experience with both college football and its stats has grown, I have made quite a few tweaks to the system.

SP+ is intended to be predictive and forward-facing. That is important to remember. It is not a résumé ranking that gives credit for big wins or particularly brave scheduling -- no good predictive system is. It is simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. If you're lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you're strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise.