Projecting the AP Top 25 after Week 9
Things are starting to get messy.
In the Big 12, three ranked teams (No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 15 Texas and No. 23 Iowa State) fell to unranked opponents, which will lead to shakeups we didn’t see coming.
In addition to those shakeups, Saturday’s slate included marquee ranked showdowns No. 2 LSU vs. No. 9 Auburn, No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 13 Wisconsin and No. 8 Notre Dame vs. No. 19 Michigan.
As these brand-name Power 5 squads take their second losses, it starts to get tricky with what to do with the lower-ranked undefeated and one-loss teams (Cincinnati, App State, Wake Forest, etc). Will voters reward the teams that haven’t lost twice yet? Or does it feel like punishing teams for playing other ranked opponents? Opinions will likely vary among Associated Press Top 25 voters.
The Week 10 rankings should be strong for “brands.” LSU has the best resume in the country, but it’s hard to see voters dropping Alabama from No. 1 after a 41-point win (a point spread cover) over Arkansas. With three losses, it’s hard to argue that Texas is a legit top-25 team, but the UT brand will likely keep the Longhorns in the rankings. Texas was No. 15 entering Saturday.
With that in mind, here’s how we project the new AP Top 25 after Week 9:
- Alabama (8-0) def. Arkansas, 48-7
- LSU (8-0) def. No. 9 Auburn, 23-20
- Ohio State (8-0) def. No. 13 Wisconsin, 38-7
- Clemson (8-0) def. Boston College, 59-7
- Penn State (8-0) def. Michigan State, 28-7
- Florida (7-1, off Week 9)
- Oregon (6-1) vs. Washington State (10:30 p.m. ET kickoff, Oregon favored by 14 points)
- Georgia (6-1, off Week 9)
- Oklahoma (7-1) lost to Kansas State, 48-41
- Utah (6-1) leads Cal, 7-0 1Q (Utah favored by 20.5 points)
- SMU (8-0) def. Houston, 34-31
- Minnesota (8-0) def. Maryland, 52-10
- Baylor (7-0, off Week 9)
- Michigan (5-2) leads No. 8 Notre Dame, 31-7 4Q
- Auburn (6-2) lost to No. 2 LSU, 23-20
- Cincinnati (6-1, off Week 9)
- Iowa (6-2) def. Northwestern, 20-0
- Notre Dame (5-1) losing to No. 19 Michigan, 31-7 4Q
- Wisconsin (6-2) lost to No. 3 Ohio State, 38-7
- App State (7-0) def. South Alabama, 30-3
- Kansas State (5-2) def. No. 5 Oklahoma, 48-41
- Boise State (6-1, off Week 9)
- Wake Forest (6-1, off Week 9)
- Texas (5-3) lost to TCU, 37-27
- Texas A&M (5-3) def. Mississippi State, 49-30
Projected to drop out of the AP Top 25: No. 23 Iowa State (5-3) lost to Oklahoma State, 34-27; No. 24 Arizona State (5-3) losing to UCLA, 42-23 4Q
After what we just sawMichigan do against Notre Dame and yet Georgia couldn’t do this? I don’t think Georgia is a top 10 in the country. I mean Michigan up by 31 and Georgia had to hold on to the last possession AT HOME.
That’s why they play the games. We will find out next weekend if they belong or not.
I think Georgia will beat Florida. But Georgia beats UT by 30, loses to USC, UT beats USC by 20. Crazy sport.
UGA has to find a passing game or they won’t beat Florida. It’s going to be a fun game to watch with everything on the line.
Gonna learn a lot in Jacksonville.
Bro you know as well as i do if u watch football weekly anything can happen at any time! I watched a football team barely win today 34-28 when they beat the snot out of them 38-0 a week ago. Be it peewees or nfl anybody can drop the ball at any given time. Guess clemson doesnt belong either since they should have gotten beat by an unranked team? Ive learned To just worry about my team and what theyre doing rather than question what other teams are doing and how they play against certain teams. LSU is legit and im a georgia fan, but until the clock stops u aint jack unless u hold the trophy up!
Com’on SDS staff! You kidding me? You honestly put Auburn at 15! They play the #2 team at their stadium and lose by 3 and you think that merits a drop in the rankings. He!! No. Auburn should be ranked ahead of Minnesota, SMU, Baylor, Mich and yea OU too! OU lost to a 20+ point underdog. They were getting their butts whipped to. Mich got blown out in their losses and last I checked they Auburn barely lost their two games to far superior opponents than Mich lost to. This is common sense SDS. SMU has played who? Seriously did they play a LSU at Tiger Stadium or at the Swamp NO, so com’on. Your punishing the SEC teams, which is clearly more loaded than its been in a LONG time. Auburn, to me is better than OU, SMU, Minn, Baylor…they beat Oregon as well. So Auburn beats Oregon and everybody is like, “Oregon should be rewarded for playing Auburn” how about wake up and reward Auburn and the SEC for beating the PAC12s best team(them and Utah). Auburn is #6 best team in the country to me. LSU #1. Clemson would have played like they did against UNC with Auburn’s schedule they would have lost 3..Oregon, LSU, UF!
Bama’s trouncing over a terrible Arkansas team should not be enough to keep them at #1. Let’s be real here. 3 top 10 wins (at the time of play) and Bama has I believe one win over a top 25 team? Don’t get me wrong Bama is really good but resumes speak for themselves. LSU has played lights out this year against everyone.
I mean… does it really matter? Y’all gonna get your shot, beat bammer and take their spot. Simple as that. I get dropping Clemson, their sched is crap, and the ACC is the worst P5 conference in the country. But bammer hasn’t really screwed up yet, or enough to drop them anyway.
With Oregon squeaking by WSU with a last minute field goal, I see Florida 6, and UGA 7.
I also dont see AU dropping below UM who also has two losses.
Rolling into November with 9 undefeated teams, 7 of which are P5. Bama-LSU and OSU-PSU should clarify a lot, but who saw Minnesota 8-0? And getting stronger as the season progresses. They also get Penn State and Wisky at home. SMU as the G5 Cinderella? Didn’t see that either. Baylor in the Big 12 driver’s seat after 9 weeks? Missed that one too. The state of Texas is making some noise this year, but not the way anyone saw coming. Gotta love CFB.
I expect Alabama to stay #1 in the polls and LSU to be #1 when the playoff committee rankings come out. The line for the LSU Alabama game will also be interesting. Probably Bama between 7 and 10. There will be tremendous hype for that one, and its more likely to impact LSU than Bama. Big test for Orgeron.