In the latest AP Top 25 rankings, Miami has surged ahead of both LSU and Penn State to claim the No. 2 position, right behind Ohio State. This marks the Hurricanes’ highest ranking since 2017, supported by a recent 26-7 victory over their unranked rivals, Florida, and two previous wins against ranked opponents.
No. 3 Penn State — No. 2 since the preseason — and No. 4 LSU both slipped one spot, while No. 5 Georgia and No. 6 Oregon held onto their positions.
Major leaps in the rankings also came from No. 7 Oklahoma, now making its first appearance in the top 10 in two years, alongside No. 11 Indiana and No. 12 Texas Tech, both benefiting from decisive wins over ranked teams.
Florida State, Texas A&M and Texas round out the top 10.
Here’s the latest:
AP Top 25 temperature check
Heating up: Miami (2), Oklahoma (7), Indiana (11), Texas Tech (12), TCU (24), BYU (25)
Cooling off: Illinois (23). Auburn and Utah fell out.
Steady: Oregon (6), Ole Miss (13), Tennessee (15)
Hear from a voter: Is Utah’s offense or defense to blame for their drop?
By JON WILNER
I don’t typically get that granular when assessing teams — it’s mostly about the wins/losses and the competitiveness of the game.
The reasoning behind these shifts: if one examines Utah’s offense and defense solely to determine their rank, the same tedious analysis would be required for all 130-plus teams, which is impractical.
Who’s in? Who’s out?
In: TCU and BYU broke into the AP Top 25 this week.
TCU secured a 35-24 win against preseason No. 17 SMU, a game highlighted by receiver Eric McAlister’s stellar performance with eight catches for 254 yards and three touchdowns. BYU broke the rankings barrier after maintaining an unbeaten 3-0 record with a 34-13 victory over East Carolina.
Out: Auburn and Utah were knocked out of the Top 25.
On the other hand, Utah fell to Big 12 rival Texas Tech, grappling with turnovers while Texas Tech smoothly adapted as Will Hammond took over for the injured Behren Morton partway through the game.
Hear from a voter: What makes Oklahoma a top 10 team over Indiana?
By JON WILNER
My rankings place the Sooners at 5th and the Hoosiers at 11th, and here’s my rationale: While Indiana boasts victories against less challenging teams and a notable win against Illinois, the Sooners have claimed two significant victories against Michigan and Auburn.
If you flipped the resumes, I’d have the Hoosiers ahead of the Sooners by several spots. That said, it’s fair to wonder about the officiating gaffe that handed Oklahoma a touchdown in what became a 7-point win.
It was egregious enough that the SEC issued a (rare) public statement. Although I don’t take that into account, there’s a case to make that any officiating mistake of that magnitude could be factored into the voting process.
Big wins don’t always translate
Even some teams that won by at least 30 points didn’t go anywhere in the poll: No. 6 Oregon (won 41-7 vs. Oregon State), No. 13 Ole Miss (won 45-10 vs. Tulane) and No. 15 Tennessee (won 56-24 vs. UAB).
As may have been the case with LSU and Texas, those wins didn’t impress enough voters to move the teams up. The Rebels might have the biggest beef: Tulane was and perhaps still is considered among the best teams from the Group of Five.
Hear from a voter: Which Group of 5 teams deserve a spot in the poll?
By JON WILNER
The Group of Five has recorded a slew of impressive wins, most of them coming courtesy of the American. In fact, the American has more wins over Power Four teams than the ACC and Big Ten (in their non-conference matchups).
I have two G5s on my ballot this week: Memphis and South Florida. The Tigers are unbeaten and just edged Arkansas. The Bulls have the loss to Miami but wins over Boise State and Florida.
And yes, strength of schedule matters — it’s arguably more important for G5 teams than for Power Four teams because their schedules have so many low-profile schools on them.
If you’re Memphis or USF, the margins are thin — you have to take advantage of every chance. Look at what Boise State’s close loss at Oregon did for the Broncos last year. They basically rode that into the CFP.
Why winners and idle teams fall
What we have seen over the years is that changes like this often are a result of churn in front of the team in question.
For example, this week’s top 10 has only one new team in it: No. 7 Oklahoma (at the expense of former No. 9 Illinois). It was not a simple substitution, not with 66 ballots.
Adding a new team led to a shuffling: Only No. 1 Ohio State, No. 5 Georgia and No. 6 Oregon held their spots. Teams that didn’t play at all or faced an overmatched opponent (LSU, Texas) ended up losing spots.
Hear from a voter: Why did you rank your top five teams the way you did this week?
By JON WILNER
I have Miami on top for the second consecutive week. To me, the Hurricanes have the best resume with wins over Notre Dame, South Florida and Florida. I’m not sure any other team can claim three quality wins like that.
And before you suggest that Florida is not a quality win, I’d note that everything is relative this early in the season. There are plenty of teams that don’t have any wins over Power Four opponents. The Hurricanes have two, plus a quality win over South Florida (which beat Boise State and Florida).
My No. 2 team this week is Georgia, on the strength of that terrific win at Tennessee. Road wins in the SEC, especially against the top tier of the SEC, are gold.
Then comes Florida State, on the strength of the win over Alabama, followed by Ohio State and Oklahoma. The Sooners have a sneaky-good resume, with victories over Michigan and Auburn. But you could make the case for another six or eight teams to make the top tier of the rankings.
There is more guesswork in September than later in the season because of the unbalanced schedules.
Bye week teams and even some winners drop in the rankings
Six teams that didn’t play this weekend or that actually won dropped in the new poll:
No. 3 Penn State (idle), dropped one spot.
No. 4 LSU (won 56-10 vs. SE Louisiana), dropped one spot.
No. 8 Florida State (66-10 over Kent State), dropped one spot.
No. 10 Texas (won 55-10 vs. Sam Houston), dropped two spots, while rival Texas A&M (idle) moved up a spot to No. 9.
No. 14 Iowa State (idle), dropped two spots.
No. 17 Alabama (idle), dropped three spots.
Texas Tech jumps five spots, tops Big 12 on poll
Result: Texas Tech moved from No. 17 to No. 12 after beating Utah.
Reason for jump: The Red Raiders’ defense led the charge, holding Utah to a season-low 263 yards and forcing four turnovers. Texas Tech’s offense didn’t skip a beat either, even with backup quarterback Will Hammond at the helm after Behren Morton exited with an injury in the third quarter.
Next up: A bye week comes at a good time for Texas Tech, giving the team ample rest before taking on Houston on Oct. 4.
Miami earns highest ranking since 2017, jumps over Penn State and LSU
Miami earned its highest ranking since 2017, coming in at No. 2 after beating Florida 26-7. A stout defense carried the Hurricanes to the win, holding the Gators to six three-and-outs. Penn State moved down to No. 3 after having the week off, and LSU was bumped to No. 4.
Key stat: Miami’s defense forced Florida to punt seven times. The Gators went 0 of 16 on third downs.
Next test: The Hurricanes have two weeks to prepare for one of their most challenging opponents this season, No. 8 Florida State.
AP Top 25 college football poll rankings
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
1. Ohio State
2. Miami (Fla.)
3. Penn State
4. LSU
5. Georgia
6. Oregon
7. Oklahoma
8. Florida State
9. Texas A & M
10. Texas
11. Indiana
12. Texas Tech
13. Ole Miss
14. Iowa State
15. Tennessee
16. Georgia Tech
17. Alabama
18. Vanderbilt
19. Michigan
20. Missouri
21. USC
22. Notre Dame
23. Illinois
24. TCU
25. BYU
Eye-catching stats
Oklahoma sacked Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold nine times in his return to Norman.
Indiana’s 63 points against Illinois were the most a Big Ten team has ever scored against an AP top-10 opponent.
Notre Dame’s Jadrian Price went coast to coast on a kick return, scoring a 100 yard touchdown against Purdue.
Eric McCallister caught eight passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns in TCU’s win against SMU.
South Carolina finished with minus nine rushing yards in its 29-20 loss to Missouri.
Descent continues for South Carolina, Florida, Clemson
Teams recently knocked out of the Top 25 — South Carolina, Florida and Clemson — didn’t help their cases on Saturday.
South Carolina lost 29-20 to No. 23 Missouri. Florida fell 26-7 to Miami. And Clemson is off to the worst start of Dabo Swinney’s career after a 34-21 loss to Syracuse.
Clemson entered the season at No. 4. Florida had ranked No. 15 and South Carolina originally came in at No. 13 in the preseason poll.
Knocking on the door
TCU could crack the Top 25 after a 35-24 win against SMU, which entered the season at No. 16. The Horned Frogs are 3-0 ahead of a Friday night matchup against Arizona State.
Mississippi State has been knocking on the door for weeks and most recently received 69 votes. The Bulldogs improved to 4-0 on Saturday with a 38-10 win over Northern Illinois.
Syracuse comes off a well-rounded 34-21 win against Clemson. Had the victory come when Clemson was ranked, the Orange would very likely have a comfortable spot in the Top 25. But the Tigers showed their true colors with losses to LSU and Georgia Tech even before falling to Syracuse.
Who might rise and fall in this week’s poll?
Stock up:
26. No. 17 Texas Tech delivered an upset road victory against No. 16 Utah, beating the Utes in all phases of the game with a 34-10 win.
27. No. 19 Indiana was the biggest stunner of the week, outscoring No. 9 Illinois 63-10. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw for five touchdowns for the second straight week, leading the Hoosiers to a big-time win.
Stock down:
28. Utah is expected to tumble after losing to Big 12 foe Texas Tech on Saturday.
29. A 63-10 loss to Indiana left Illinois shocked and looking for answers. The Fighting Illini, last ranked No. 9, will be fighting to keep the team’s ranking this week.
Six AP Top 25 teams had the week off
No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Penn State, No. 5 Georgia, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 12 Iowa State and No. 14 Alabama all had the benefit of an early bye.
What does it mean for the rankings? Ohio State and Penn State are likely safe in the top two, but there could be some fluctuation after that.
Voters don’t typically penalize a team for having the week off, but statement wins could reshuffle standings from the mid-level on down.
