Boise State moves up in Coaches Poll following bye week

Broncos are lone Group of Six team in top 25

Boise State's Dylan Riley (0) and Akeem Wright. | Photo courtesy of Boise State Athletics

After securing five straight victories, Boise State had the week off entering the meat of its Pac-12 schedule. 

The Broncos (5-1, 2-0), who will be back in action next weekend at Washington State (1-6, 0-3), moved up two spots in the Week 6 Coaches Poll.

Boise State checked in at No. 22 in the latest Coaches Poll, which was released on Sunday. The Broncos were ranked No. 24 last week. 

No. 23 Northwestern, No. 24 Florida and No. 25 Oregon rounded out the bottom of the poll. No other Group of Six teams cracked the top 25 while James Madison (80 votes), Oregon State (17), New Mexico (16), UTSA (13), North Dakota State (eight), Air Force (three) and North Texas (one) all received votes. 

The top Group of Six team in the final College Football Playoff rankings earns an automatic bid to the 12-team playoff.

It was a chaotic weekend of football as eight teams in the Coaches Poll top 25 suffered losses, including top-ranked Georgia and No. 2 Notre Dame. The Bulldogs stumbled at home against Auburn, 27-24, while the Fighting Irish fell short at then-No. 8 BYU, 28-24. 

Miami took over the top spot in the poll, followed by No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 BYU, No. 4 Georgia and No. 5 Texas Tech. 

Boise State’s College Football Playoff resume took a hit on Friday night when Memphis (5-2, 2-1 American) suffered a 31-17 road loss at struggling Tulane (3-3, 1-1). The Tigers had won three straight games after suffering a 38-20 loss at Boise State in Week 3 and earned six votes in last week’s poll.

Oregon, which defeated Boise State in Week 1, remained at No. 25 after securing a 17-14 come-from-behind win over Nebraska. 

Here is the full Week 7 Coaches Poll (first-place votes in parentheses):

Week 7 Coaches Poll

1. Miami (50)

2. Ohio State (13)

3. BYU (10)

4. Georgia

5. Texas Tech

6. Indiana

7. Ole Miss

8. Notre Dame

9. Utah

10. UCLA

11. Tennessee

12. Kentucky

13. Alabama

14. Iowa

15. USC

16. Houston

17. LSU

18. Texas

19. Wake Forest

20. SMU

21. Missouri

22. Boise State

23. Northwestern

24. Florida

25. Oregon

Dropped out: No. 19 Mississippi State; No. 20 Oklahoma State

Others receiving votes: Arizona 141; Oklahoma State 87; James Madison 80; Auburn 55; Mississippi State 32; Nebraska 19; Oregon State 17; New Mexico 16; UTSA 13; Michigan 10; North Dakota State 8; Wisconsin 7; Duke 7; North Carolina 5; Pittsburgh 4; Air Force 3; North Texas 1