After all the dust had settled from Week 9, the debate for the top spots in the latest college football rankings only got more intriguing. Plus, with seven teams seeded as losers on Saturday, there’s plenty of upside and the potential for big risers outside the top 25 as voters grapple with tough decisions near the end of the ballot.
The top eight teams in the AP Top 25 poll all won, and with Clemson and Alabama out, voters might decide to keep things easy when filling out their ballots. We may not see any major changes when updating the leaderboards. But if even a small chunk of voters decide to open up their past thoughts on the nation’s No. 1 team, we could see some tweaks inside the top three.
Georgia got 31 first-place votes, compared to Ohio State’s 18 and Tennessee’s 13 last week. (Clemson also received a single vote for first place.) But while the Bulldogs held a noticeable advantage, the Buckeyes faced an extremely small voting point deficit (1,530 points to 1,513 points) with Tennessee somewhat more late. All Ohio State needs is a handful of voters to react to Saturday’s 44-31 victory over Penn State with a change at the top of the ballot, and we could see the Buckeyes take over at No. 1.
When Florida cut Georgia’s lead to 28-20, it looked like the No. 1 was on the line, but two second-half touchdowns gave the Bulldogs a 42-20 finish that’s probably pretty solid. to keep most of those 31 votes for first place. It won’t be surprising if Ohio State grabs No. 1 on the back of their best win of the season, but polling inertia usually keeps those things in order among the top teams when we come late in the season.
The seeding chaos will occur outside of the top eight, starting with the reaction to Kansas State’s stunning 48-0 victory over a top-10 team from Oklahoma State. The Wildcats are expected to be one of the biggest risers of the week, rising from No. 22 all the way to knocking on the door of the top 10, with a 6-2 profile with both losses for teams with a combined record of 15-1 (TCU, Tulane). Additionally, Saturday’s win over the Cowboys puts the Wildcats in solo second in the Big 12 standings. defeat than the loss itself.
While the Cowboys will be bolstered in their downfall by losing to a ranked team, the same cannot be said for Wake Forest, Syracuse, Cincinnati and South Carolina. None of these teams should feel confident in their top 25 after a costly second (or third) loss of the season was inflicted by an unranked team, but the turnover in these places at the end of the poll will keep some of Saturday’s losers ranked. head into week 10.
Here’s what the new AP Top 25 poll will look like on Sunday.
1. Georgia (Last week — 1): There’s more to criticize than you might expect given the 22-point margin, but that’s because we’re keeping Georgia on a higher level as the defending champions, team no. 1 in the country and the enemy for a white-Tennessee hot team next week.
2. State of Ohio (2): All season we’ve waited to see the Buckeyes get tested, and trailing 14-13 to start the third quarter, it’s fair to say the season was on the line. However, their defense, led by JT Tuimoloau, forced turnovers and even scored runs to power Ohio State’s best win of the season.
3. Tennessee (3): We wrote earlier that Ohio State’s victory might be worth getting a few more No. 1 votes, but the same could be said for Tennessee. The volunteer offense is inevitable, but it’s the way the defense sets up Hendon Hooker with good opportunities that helps this group round become a fully formed championship contender.
4. Michigan (4): Running the ball effectively and playing a smothering, dominating style of defense has become Michigan’s championship form, and the ruthless efficiency the Wolverines show on a low base is going to lead to more wins like Saturday’s 29-7 victory. against Michigan State.
5. Clemson (5): The Tigers were out in Week 9 and will be back in action next week at Notre Dame.
6. Alabama (6): The Crimson Tide was out in Week 9 and will be back in action next week at LSU.
7. TOS (7): Four straight Big 12 wins by 10 points or less have made life stressful for a TCU fan, but the team itself seems unimpressed with the compounding effect of starring in thrillers every week.
8. Oregon (8): Caught in a potential Cal trap with an early kickoff after UCLA’s win, Oregon got off to a slow start and secured a late 42-24 victory. Bo Nix has six touchdowns (three assists, three rushes) as he continues to build a strong argument for the QB1 debate in the Pac-12.
9.USC(10): Although the Trojans led by just two points in the final minutes of the third quarter, a final score of 45-37 will be enough for voters to keep them in a similar place with only a slight increase thanks to the Oklahoma loss. State.
10. UCLA (12): The Bruins quickly rebounded from last week’s loss to Oregon, taking a 24-6 halftime lead and leading to a perfect win over Stanford to move to 7-1 on aggregate and stay in the pack. head of the Pac-12 title. race.
11. Kansas State (22): Not only is the 48-0 result against a quality opponent worth acknowledging in the standings, but the game also warrants a re-examination of the Wildcats’ entire profile. TCU has proven to be a team on a special run this season, but the Horned Frogs’ win over Kansas State was absolutely impacted by injuries to the Wildcats’ top two quarterbacks. If AP voters act as the college football playoff selection committee and take injuries into account, Kansas State will register as the nation’s top-ranked two-game losing streak.
12. Ole Miss (15): The Rebels are 8-1 and reached their bye week after a midseason streak that nearly resulted in back-to-back losses as they survived a thwarted offer to Texas A&M on Saturday night. The 31-28 victory featured a heavy dose of running game that made Ole Miss a contender, and after a week off they will return to action with the biggest game of the year as they host Alabama. November 12. The Rebels are off to their best start since 1962.
13. Illinois (17): This Fighting Illini defense continues to be a monster, and after Nebraska took a 9-6 lead early in the second quarter, the Cornhuskers were shut out the rest of the way in a 26-9 victory in the Illinois. It’s the sixth consecutive victory for Bret Bielema’s side, who should see a jump in the standings if only for their status as one of the last teams to lose in the country.
14. Penn State (13): We got to see Ohio State show some vulnerability for the first time in a long time thanks to Penn State, and the ability to get off the mat and keep charging is a credit to the roster. But too many mistakes doomed the Nittany Lions, who will feel the pain of defeat more inside the locker room than in the standings.
15. Utah (14): With Cam Rising as a surprise roster scratch, backup Bryson Barnes led the Utes to a tough 21-17 win at Washington State on Thursday night.
16. USL (18): The Tigers were out in Week 9 and will be back in action next week against Alabama.
17. North Carolina (21): Trailing by double digits in the second half, things looked dicey for the Tar Heels. But Drake Maye continued his impressive freshman campaign with five touchdown passes, and North Carolina improved to 7-1 with a win over Pittsburgh.
18. Oklahoma State (9): After a 48-0 loss at Kansas State, the Cowboys are now 6-2 with wins over Texas, Baylor and Texas Tech. It’s a solid profile, but the stock is definitely down after losing two of the last three, albeit to teams AP voters will likely have in the top 15.
19. Tulane (23): The Green Wave was absent from Week 9 and will be back in action next week in Tulsa.
20. Wake Forest (10): We saw perhaps the worst individual quarterback of the entire college football season on Saturday when Wake Forest saw a 14-13 halftime lead turnaround with a 35-0 third quarter led by Louisville. There was a pick six, lost fumbles on the next two drives, another interception that led to a touchdown, a lost fumble that led to a touchdown, a punt, and then a second pick six. Oh, and the first possession of the fourth quarter ended in a fumble. It was a disaster of truly epic proportions for the Demon Deacons, who are now 6-2 with a 2OT loss to Clemson but also a 48-21 loss to Louisville.
21. Freedom (NR): The Flames were out in Week 9, but at 7-1 with the only one-point loss to Wake Forest, there will be additional voters who add Liberty to their ballot in place of No. 24 or No. 25. Ranking Liberty also carries additional intrigue as Hugh Freeze leads this team on the road to take on Arkansas in Week 10.
22. Notre Dame (NR): It’s admittedly a bold move to project a three-game losing streak into the top 25 at this point in the season, but Notre Dame has a unique profile that could make them a candidate for a big jump off the radar in the standings. There are losses to Stanford and Marshall that will make it impossible for some voters to include the Fighting Irish, but there are now wins to North Carolina and Syracuse that will have some value, besides being one of teams played closest Ohio State this season.
23. Syracuse (16): Starting QB Garrett Shrader was injured in Saturday’s loss to Notre Dame, but his availability may not have helped a defense that struggled to stop against the Irish. The Orange will be on the chopping block for many voters now sitting at 6-2 after two straight losses. Wins over Louisville, Purdue and NC State ultimately fuel our prediction that Syracuse is barely hanging on in the top 25.
24. NC Status (24): Third QB MJ Morris came into the game and threw three touchdowns leading NC State on a furious comeback from what would have been a very bad loss to Virginia Tech at home Thursday night.
25.UCF (NR): The Knights were already on the verge of breaking into the top 25 before last week’s loss at ECU, so there’s now plenty of catching up to do with voters after that loss. We expect a 25-21 win over Cincinnati, which was 20th in the standings last week, to do much of that heavy lifting. UCF, now 6-2, will be back in contention for those final spots on voter ballots.
Planned retirement: Kentucky (19), Cincinnati (20), South Carolina (25)
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