Five Things is back to examine a wacky Week 2 in men’s college soccer. The fall of two top teams, a mid-major rises in the East, Maryland’s uncharacteristic struggles and more.
Does anyone want to be No. 1?
What a bizarre start to the season at the top. Defending champs Notre Dame opened the year in the top spot, but UCLA supplanted the Irish on the back of heady season-opening wins over Wake Forest and North Carolina. But then the Bruins were shocked by American on a neutral field on Sept. 5 in a 2-1 overtime loss. That allowed Notre Dame to saunter back into the top slot, but the stay should be short. Notre Dame dropped a 1-0 decision to Kentucky on Monday night, meaning two different No. 1 teams lost to unranked and relatively unheralded opponents in the span of three days. Imagine that.
What this means for the rankings next week is likely chaos. No. 3 Georgetown stands to benefit now as the highest ranked team without a loss, though games against VCU and No. 15 UC Irvine this week are no gimmes. Creighton is sitting pretty at No. 7 at 4-0-0, but otherwise now seven of the top 10 have at least one loss. Fair warning to whichever team ascends to the top in the coming weeks: the upset siren is working overtime this year.
