Josh Pate's Week 3 College Football Rankings: Top 5 Shakeup & AP Poll Criticisms

Josh Pate's Ranking Philosophy

• 🎯 Josh Pate presents his Week 3 college football rankings, emphasizing a body of work approach over neutral field or power ratings.
• 💡 His methodology starts at 90% resume and 10% preseason in Week 1, shifting to 95% resume and 5% preseason by Week 2.
• ⚠️ Pate criticizes the AP Poll and College Football Playoff committee for not adhering to their stated criteria and for predicting outcomes rather than ranking based on past performance.

Key Team Movements and Rankings

• 🚀 Oklahoma vaults from unranked to 10th after a double-digit win against Michigan, despite special teams issues and losing the turnover battle.
• 🌟 Florida State climbs into the top five at #4, having beaten Alabama and emphatically defeated East Texas A&M, with Pate noting the AP poll has them lower at 10th.
• 📈 USF makes a significant jump to #5 after beating Florida, with only 5% of Pate's preseason idea still influencing the ranking.
• 📉 Notre Dame drops from 9th to 15th despite not playing, due to other teams with more results moving up.
• 🧐 Georgia falls from 5th to 7th after a poor performance against Austin Peay, with Pate focusing on the resume rather than potential future performance.

Criticisms of the AP Poll

• 🚫 Pate calls the AP's decision to not rank Georgia Tech (at 20th in his poll) "pathetic," suggesting they predict outcomes instead of ranking based on resume.
• 👎 He argues the AP poll is biased against teams like USF, which he believes would need a third straight ranked win to crack the top 15.
• 🤷‍♂️ Pate questions the AP's ranking of South Carolina at 11th, suggesting Vanderbilt had a more impressive win against Virginia Tech and should be ranked higher.
• 🧐 He notes the AP poll has Oregon at 4th while his poll places them 2nd, and Utah at 20th compared to his 9th.

Other Notable Rankings

• 📊 Miami holds steady at #3 in Pate's poll, while the AP ranks them 5th.
• 🧱 Iowa State is bumped up to 11th from 14th after a win over Iowa, with the AP ranking them 14th.
• ❓ Mississippi State is ranked 25th by Pate, despite the AP not daring to rank them due to preseason expectations.
• ⬆️ LSU moves to #8, with Pate suggesting they could return to the top five if they beat Florida convincingly.
• ⚠️ Penn State drops to 6th, acknowledging they've played a weak schedule so far and haven't obliterated opponents like Oregon has.
• 🏈 Auburn is ranked 22nd by Pate, up from 26th, with the AP having them 24th.
• ❓ Missouri is ranked 19th, and Vanderbilt is ranked 23rd, with Pate questioning South Carolina's higher AP ranking.