I ranked Nebraska in the AP Top 25 for Week 3. A look into how the Huskers got ranked.

And I wasn’t the only one.

The Huskers are 2-0 for the first time since 2016, and they’re back in the Associated Press Top 25 at No. 23.

It’s been a long time for Nebraska, considering this is the first time since Sept. 3, 2019, that the Huskers cracked the top 25.

But before we get into that, a refresher. There are 63 voters on the AP Top 25 panel. There’s at least one voter from each state that has an FBS team and a handful of national folks. For the state of Nebraska, there’s one voter.

Each week I’ll break down my ballot compared with the actual Top 25 and write on some pressing topics.

Without further ado, here’s my Week 3 ballot: 

1. Georgia
2. Texas
3. Ohio State
4. Mississippi
5. Alabama
6. Missouri
7. Penn State
8. Utah
9. USC
10. Oregon
11. Tennessee
12. Miami
13. Oklahoma
14. Oklahoma State
15. Kansas State
16. Arizona
17. Louisville
18. Michigan
19. LSU
20. Nebraska
21. Northern Illinois
22. Notre Dame
23. Clemson
24. Illinois
25. Boston College

And here’s the actual AP Top 25.

1. Georgia
2. Texas
3. Ohio State
4. Alabama
5. Mississippi
6. Missouri
7. Tennessee
8. Penn State
9. Oregon
10. Miami
11. USC
12. Utah
13. Oklahoma State
14. Kansas State
15. Oklahoma
16. LSU
17. Michigan
18. Notre Dame
19. Louisville
20. Arizona
21. Iowa State
22. Clemson
23. Nebraska
24. Boston College
25. Northern Illinois

Notre Dame’s inexplicable loss to Northern Illinois was something. They dropped to No. 22 in my ballot and No. 18 in the poll. Michigan’s loss in of itself to Texas was inevitable, but the way they lost to Texas? Good grief. The Wolverines dropped to No. 18 in my ballot and No. 17 n the poll.

Also dropping? Oregon. The Ducks were No. 7 last week, but after barely escaping against the Boise State Broncos, Oregon clocked in at No. 9 in the poll (and No. 10 on my ballot) this week.

Texas deservedly leapfrogged Ohio State after the Longhorns made quick work of dismantling the defending national champs. 

Tennessee also vaulted up seven spots from last week, now sitting at No. 7

Other new teams in this week’s Top 25: Iowa State at No. 21, Nebraska at No. 23, Boston College at No. 24 and Northern Illinois at No. 25.

I had Illinois in my Top 25 rather than Iowa State.

Yes. Nebraska was ranked on my ballot this week. I thought long and hard about it. I hemmed and hawed over it until 4 a.m., and then thought about it some more after a short nap before the ballot was due at 10 a.m.

If any combination of Notre Dame, Kansas, Iowa, NC State and/or Georgia Tech pull out their close (or not close) games, we’d be saving this conversation for a different week. But the chaos down the poll last week did a lot for Nebraska, too.

I use a variety of different metrics to help me arrive at decisions, including ESPN’s SP+ — “a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency” created by Bill Connelly in 2008.

This week, Nebraska’s ranked No. 28. Last week? No. 33. 

A big reason why they’re that high? The defense. Nebraska’s defense is currently ranked No. 4 nationally in SP+. The offense has room to make strides and the special teams is near-dead last in that metric.

I also look at ESPN’s overall efficiency numbers. And in that metric? Nebraska is No. 18 with the nation’s fourth-highest defensive efficiency. I also look at strength of schedule and strength of resume. While Nebraska’s strength of schedule is not high whatsoever, their strength of resume clocks in at No. 25 this week.

Of course, there is no perfect number to use without a shadow of a doubt. If there was, we’d just use that. You take it all into consideration and then also use the human element: gut reactions, the eye test and use your own priorities to evaluate.

And truthfully, very few teams have looked great in both (or all three) games they’ve played thus far. Plenty of ranked teams this week barely squeaked by with wins.

To me, thoroughly beating a Power 4 team means something. To me, handling a team you’re supposed to handle, like UTEP, means something. No, neither game was perfect, but Nebraska — especially that Blackshirt defense — is playing like a team ranked in the 20s.

Take a look through all 63 ballots. It’s doubtful that anyone had the same teams ranked in the same order between No. 20 and No. 25.

Well, four teams ranked lower down the ballot lost on Saturday.

No. 19 Kansas lost at Illinois.

No. 21 Iowa lost at home against Iowa State.

No. 23 Georgia Tech lost to Syracuse.

No. 24 NC State was blown out by No. 14 Tennessee.

As such, all four teams dropped out and left space for others.

Do you rank Northern Illinois after the Huskies posted the first Top-5 win in MAC history? (I did.) Do you rank Illinois after starting the year 2-0 and beating a ranked team? (I did.) Do you rank Boston College after its last two weeks? (I did.) Do you reward Iowa State for beating Iowa? (I considered it, but I did not.)

Do you move Texas A&M back in after it bounced back and drubbed FCS McNeese State? (I considered it, but I did not.) Does Memphis make the cut? How about Auburn? Washington? UCF? How do you evaluate Boise State, a team that should have beat No. 7 Oregon but did not? What about UNLV?

The four new teams I had in my ballot this week: Nebraska at No. 20. Northern Illinois at No. 21. Illinois at No. 24. Boston College at No. 25.

The new teams in the poll this week: Iowa State at No. 21, Nebraska at No. 23, Boston College at No. 24 and Northern Illinois at No. 25.

Those that received more than 50 votes: Illinois at 101, Boise State at 77, Texas A&M at 68 and Syracuse at 63.

To illustrate how close it was between the No. 24 and No. 26 spots?

Boston College had 116 votes. Northern Illinois had 114 votes. Illinois had 101 votes.

There’s always disparity toward the bottom of the ballot, but this is as all over the place as I’ve seen. Par for the course after a wacky Week 2.