Kansas Jayhawks Bulldoze Back Into the Top 25
It didn't take long for the Kansas Jayhawks to jump back into the polls, as a combination of big losses at the bottom of the polls and a dominant victory over the UCF Knights pushed them right back up to where they were just two weeks ago. The Jayhawks rejoined the AP Poll at #23, just in front of the Kentucky Wildcats. In the Coaches Poll, they came in at #24, right behind Kentucky and in front of the Missouri Tigers.
There were some big upsets throughout the country that led to some big movements. First, the Oklahoma Sooners upset the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry, moving them from #12 in both polls last week up to #5 in the AP Poll and #7 in the Coaches Poll. Texas dropped from #3 to #9 in the AP Poll and from #4 to #11 in the Coaches Poll.
Outside of the Big 12, Missouri and the Miami Hurricanes both made horrible decisions late in the game that led directly to their losses. Missouri fell out of the AP Poll while Miami fell out of the Coaches Poll. Notre Dame faded late to give the Louisville Cardinals a big win, vaulting them up to #14 (AP) and #15 (Coaches) while the Irish dropped all way down to #21 in both. And UCLA beat Washington State at home to jump into both polls as well. UCLA is #18 (AP) and #22 (Coaches) while Washington State dropped to 19 in both polls.
The Sooners, Longhorns and Jayhawks are the only teams in the polls from the Big 12. Kansas State was the leading vote-getter outside the polls last week, but their upset loss at Oklahoma State left them without any Top 25 consideration. TCU had been getting some consideration as well, but their loss to Iowa State prevented any further consideration. Two of the teams on bye this week are still receiving votes, with West Virginia getting enough votes to be #31 in the AP Poll and #32 in the Coaches Poll and BYU getting 9 votes in the Coaches Poll (good for 36th most).
There are five games between two ranked teams in this week's slate:
- #8 Oregon heads to #7 Washington
- #21 Notre Dame hosts #10 USC
- #25 Miami tries to bounce back at #12 North Carolina
- #18 UCLA tries to keep building momentum at #15 Oregon State
- #24 Kentucky hosts Missouri as both teams try to rebound from their first conference loss.
The Jayhawks are the only ranked team in action this week. They head on the road to take on Oklahoma State, while both Texas and Oklahoma have a bye week. Meanwhile, a Thursday game at Houston may not be enough to move West Virginia into the polls, while BYU would need an absolute blowout at TCU, plus a lot of help from other teams, to make it all the way into the Top 25.
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