Editor’s Note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.

It only took two weeks for college football to descend into chaos.

Two of our top 10 teams lost to unranked opponents. Notre Dame seemed to have a clear path to the College Football Playoff but then lost to Northern Illinois. Oregon needed a last-second field goal to beat Boise State. Alabama fought deep into the fourth quarter against USF for the second year in a row.

But after a week of thrillers, Texas is the headliner, moving up to No. 2 after a 31-12 win over defending national champion Michigan — and with a shot at No. 1. The Longhorns look like a team that could win it all, and they host No. 1 Georgia in just over a month.

As a reminder: The rankings will be volatile at the start. Wins against good and competent teams will be rewarded and skewed. Teams can make big jumps quickly with good wins. Teams that beat inferior competition won’t move much or may even “drop” but that’s simply because someone else jumped up with a notable win. Several people in the comments last week didn’t understand this.

Many teams have been “relegated” this week after winning due to surprising results. Don’t worry. Relax. It’s all in a limited context. It will take a few weeks to sort everything out after everyone has played at least one game worth mentioning. I try to highlight the results and it takes time for everyone to have one.

Here is the third week edition of The athlete 134.

1-10

Georgia remains No. 1, and last week’s win over Clemson looks even better a week later. Texas moves up to No. 2 after dominating Michigan. Ohio State has been a machine for two weeks, but the Buckeyes lack a good win like the other two and unfortunately won’t get that for several weeks. They’ll be fine. It feels like this top 3 is ahead of everyone else.

Alabama drops to No. 7 after needing a four-touchdown fourth quarter to pull away from USF, and Penn State drops to No. 8 after holding off Bowling Green 34-27. Oregon moves up one spot but needed a last-second field goal to beat Boise State, and the Ducks have shown worrying issues for two weeks after being my No. 3 seed in the preseason.

Due to the struggles of Alabama and Penn State and the losses of Notre Dame and Michigan, Miami slips to No. 5. Tennessee also rises to No. 6 after a 51-10 win over NC State.

11-25

Iowa State moves up to No. 13 after a last-second win at Iowa, and the Hawkeyes drop to No. 24. Oklahoma looked shockingly bad against Houston but remains at No. 14 because of the teams behind it. No. 16 Kansas State escaped Tulane, No. 17 Oklahoma State allowed 648 yards but somehow won a bizarre game against Arkansas, and No. 18 Clemson is coming off a loss.

Welcome to the Top 25, Nebraska, after a 28-10 win over Colorado that was never close. And welcome, too, Northern Illinois! The Huskies beat a Notre Dame team that won at Texas A&M and made one of the biggest one-week jumps in the history of this ranking, from No. 106 to No. 21. Why wouldn’t NIU be ahead of the Fighting Irish?

Michigan stays in the top 25 at No. 23 because I think Texas is really good, but the Wolverines are trending down. Arizona drops a few spots to No. 25 after trailing Northern Arizona at the halfway point.

26-50

There are a lot of new teams at the top of this group. Illinois makes a big jump to No. 27 after beating a higher-ranked Kansas team. Syracuse (No. 28) made a similar jump up after beating Georgia Tech 31-28. Arizona State (No. 30) and Cal (No. 31) jump here after wins against Mississippi State of the SEC and at Auburn, respectively.

I know Louisville is ranked well in the AP and Coaches Poll. The simple explanation for the Cards’ position here at No. 35 is that they’ve beaten Austin Peay and Jacksonville State, so they haven’t moved much from their preseason No. 32 ranking. Like Ohio State, they have to play big-name opponents, which starts next week with Georgia Tech. Other teams have also won and “dropped” here, such as No. 33 Texas A&M and No. 34 Memphis. That’s because the loss to Notre Dame looks worse for A&M now, and other teams have had better wins to overtake various teams that haven’t played a game of note yet.

I have no idea what to make of South Carolina. The Gamecocks narrowly escaped Old Dominion at home in Week 1 and then rocked Kentucky 31-6 on the road. They’re back to No. 41, roughly where they were at the time they were preseason. Tulane slips just one spot to No. 45 after pushing Kansas State to the limit, but the Green Wave look like a team that should be back in contention for the AAC. Liberty plummets to No. 46 after needing a fourth-quarter comeback to beat New Mexico State.

After Wisconsin barely got past Western Michigan in Week 1, the team delivered another troubling performance against South Dakota and fell to No. 49. Next up? Alabama.

51-75

In this group, too, several teams “fall” after a defeat, but again, this is only due to the notable victories of other teams.

Arkansas gave Oklahoma State nearly 650 yards of offense and still lost, leaving the Hogs at No. 52. Kentucky’s blowout loss to South Carolina drops the Wildcats to No. 54. Texas State edged UTSA 49-10 to move up to No. 57 in a blowout win. Arizona State comes to town on Thursday.

BYU beat SMU 18-15 in an ugly game but got a valuable road win to move up to No. 58. Oregon State and Washington State are 2-0 and ranked 62nd and 63rd, with Civil War and Apple Cup rivalries coming up this weekend. Michigan State’s last-second field goal against Maryland moves the Spartans up to No. 64, and the Terrapins slip 10 spots to No. 66. Texas Tech drops to No. 72 after a 37-16 loss at Washington State, while Pitt climbs into the top 75 after a fourth-quarter comeback in Cincinnati.

76-100

The top part of this group includes several teams that have lost and fallen out of the top 75. But Virginia (No. 81) is 2-0 after a narrow win over Wake Forest. Georgia Southern (No. 84) beat Nevada in a matchup of teams that may be better than we expected.

No. 90 Houston is another team I have no idea where to rank. The Cougars were beaten by UNLV in Week 1 and stayed hot on their heels against Oklahoma this week, 16-12. Old Dominion followed up its narrow loss to South Carolina with a 20-14 loss to East Carolina, dropping the Monarchs to No. 97 while ECU rises to No. 95.

Shoutout to ULM. The Warhawks beat UAB 32-6 and made it into the top 100 of these rankings for the first time in a long time.

101-134

Ohio moves up to No. 103 after beating South Alabama, and I wonder if the Bobcats will make much of a splash in the MAC race. Troy fell to No. 104 after an 0-2 start following a 38-17 loss to Memphis. Pitbull Stadium was packed as FIU beat Central Michigan 52-16 to move up to No. 106. Wyoming drops all the way to No. 118 after an alarming 0-2 start. The Cowboys are coming off a 48-7 loss to Arizona State and a 17-13 loss to FCS Idaho, even though it’s the same Idaho team that faced Oregon in Week 1. UTEP also lost to Southern Utah, marking another FBS-FCS loss, while the Miners fall to No. 133.

And finally, we have our third No. 134 of the season. Kent State takes the last spot after losing to FCS St. Francis (Pa.), which had a subpar record last year. Up next for the Golden Flashes: Tennessee and Penn State.

The Athletic 134 series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. The partners have no control or influence over the reporting or editorial process and do not review articles prior to publication.

(Photo: Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)