College football's opening weekend delivered the numerous fireworks college football is good for on a weekly basis. The fireworks began on Saturday afternoon with Colorado football, headlined by their offseason hire of Deion Sanders and the extensive work they put into the transfer portal. But the fireworks didn't end there. Baylor lost to Texas State despite being favored by over 20 points. Florida State beat LSU in the only ranked head-to-head matchup of the weekend. And that's not all.

This, of course, had a big effect on the Week 2 AP Poll that was released on Tuesday. Some teams flew up the rankings, while some tumbled down. Teams like Colorado jumped from unranked to inside the top 25, while some like TCU dropped out entirely. But focusing exclusively on the risers in the top 25, three teams, including Prime Time's Colorado Buffaloes, really made a big jump in the rankings.

22. Colorado football

The Colorado Buffaloes made the biggest headlines in college football in Week 1 and it can't be overstated enough. Remember: Colorado was 1-11 last season with their only win coming against a Cal team that went 4-8 last season. A year before that, Colorado went 4-8. Meanwhile, TCU made *the National Championship* in 2022. When TCU and Colorado squared off a year ago in Boulder, TCU handled Colorado with ease, beating them 38-13. Colorado accumulated a total of 348 yards in that game.

Fast forward a year and after hiring Deion Sanders and completely overhauling their team through the transfer portal, Colorado went into Fort Worth and took down the Horned Frogs.

It isn't hyperbole to think Deion Sanders and Colorado football can change team building in college football forever if they can sustain this success. They made over 80 transfers in an effort to change their team. And it led to them going from 1-11 to being ranked as a top 25 team in the span of one game. Colorado's ascent has begun. It might not stop any time soon either.

4. Florida State football

Colorado football's win over TCU was the biggest shock of the weekend, but the winner of the biggest game of the weekend belongs to Florida State. The Seminoles squared off against the LSU Tigers, who came into that matchup with two top-eight teams as the number five team in the country. Florida State ensured that the AP Poll's preseason rankings and that their status as underdogs by Las Vegas heading into the game were wrong.

The first half was close and LSU led at halftime 17-14. But the second half was all Florida State. Florida State outscored LSU 31-7 in the second half. Quarterback Jordan Travis had a shaky first half but kept the ship afloat in the second. Keon Coleman had his official breakout party, as the former Michigan State Spartan hauled in nine receptions for 122 yards and three touchdowns.

Florida State was one of three teams to receive a first-place vote in the Week 2 AP Poll; only the Georgia Bulldogs and Michigan Wolverines got first-place votes. This is looking like a special season for Florida State. Week 1 and their rise in the AP Poll from eight to four in Week 2 is only the start of it.

21. Duke football

Similarly to Colorado football, the Duke football program is on the rise. Head coach Mike Elko took over the program in 2022 and went 9-4 in his first season at the helm. He just picked up his most notable win to start his second season in Durham after taking down the ninth-ranked Clemson Tigers on Monday Night. It was a very odd game and one that saw Clemson shoot themselves in the foot repeatedly. The Tigers neither scored nor punted in the entire second half. Every drive ended with a turnover of some kind. That's how a team manages to pull off something like this.

But Duke forced Clemson into many of those mistakes. They deserve credit for that. They also deserve credit for not squandering their own chances. Duke had one turnover to Clemson's six including turnover on downs.

Duke also has a great offensive line and a star quarterback in Riley Leonard who had NFL Draft hype coming into the season and could be a first-round pick. Duke was the better team. And for that, they, like Colorado football, made the jump from unranked to inside the top 25 in the Week 2 AP Poll.