How much benefit of the doubt should you give a team that is expected to be elite but struggles in the first few weeks of the season? You don’t want to overreact, but the results have to mean something.
In the case of Virginia, we kept the Cavs at No. 3 after they opened the season with a 2-1 record in Puerto Rico (wins over Villanova and Rice and a loss to Michigan). But then, after UVA dropped two of three at the Karbach Round Rock Classic, we felt it was time for a bit of demotion. Yes, the losses were to two good teams — Oregon State and Oklahoma — but, again, the results have to matter.
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So, Virginia checks in at No. 14 in our Week 2 rankings, a fall of 11 spots.
The Cavs’ (relative) struggles opened the door for the SEC to claim the top five spots in this week’s poll. Texas A&M and Arkansas are still Nos. 1 and 2 — despite each losing one game — while Tennessee and Florida each jumped two spots. LSU, which lost one game to Omaha, dropped from No. 4 to No. 5.
| Rank | Team | Last week | Overall Record | Prev Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Texas A&M |
2-1 |
5-1 |
1 |
|
2 |
Arkansas |
3-1 |
6-1 |
2 |
|
3 |
Tennessee |
4-0 |
7-0 |
5 |
|
4 |
Florida |
4-0 |
7-0 |
6 |
|
5 |
LSU |
3-1 |
6-1 |
4 |
|
6 |
Florida State |
4-0 |
7-0 |
7 |
|
7 |
Clemson |
4-0 |
6-1 |
8 |
|
8 |
North Carolina |
3-0 |
6-0 |
10 |
|
9 |
Georgia |
5-0 |
8-1 |
11 |
|
10 |
Vanderbilt |
5-0 |
7-1 |
14 |
|
11 |
Wake Forest |
3-1 |
7-1 |
15 |
|
12 |
Oregon State |
2-2 |
5-2 |
9 |
|
13 |
Oregon |
3-1 |
6-2 |
12 |
|
14 |
Virginia |
1-2 |
3-3 |
3 |
|
15 |
Texas |
3-0 |
5-1 |
16 |
|
16 |
Dallas Baptist |
3-1 |
6-1 |
17 |
|
17 |
Mississippi State |
3-1 |
6-1 |
18 |
|
18 |
Stanford |
4-0 |
7-0 |
24 |
|
19 |
UCSB |
3-1 |
6-1 |
19 |
|
20 |
Oklahoma State |
1-1 |
2-3 |
21 |
|
21 |
Louisville |
2-0 |
4-1 |
23 |
|
22 |
Southern Miss |
3-1 |
7-1 |
25 |
|
23 |
Oklahoma |
3-0 |
6-0 |
NR |
|
24 |
Duke |
3-1 |
4-3 |
22 |
|
25 |
TCU |
2-2 |
5-2 |
20 |
Dropped out: No. 13 NC State
(Photo of Dean Curley: Avery Bane / Tennessee Athletics)
