College football rankings: AP top 25 poll for Week 9 announced
Another week of the college football season is in the books and now it's time to get a look at the updated top 25 rankings heading into Week 9.
A half dozen teams in the original polls lost on Saturday, including a pair of teams that were ranked in the top 10, setting up some important change near the top of the rankings, but not too much as several of the elite teams were idle for the Week 8 slate.
Where do things stand now as the conference and playoff race heats up?
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Here's your first look at the top 25 college football rankings coming into this week's slate of games, according to the coaches' vote.
College football rankings: AP top 25 poll for Week 9 announced
The updated AP top 25 college football rankings for Week 9
1. Georgia (31 1st-place votes)
2. Ohio State (18)
3. Tennessee (13)
4. Michigan
5. Clemson (1)
6. Alabama
7. TCU
8. Oregon
9. Oklahoma State
10. USC
T-10. Wake Forest
12. UCLA
13. Penn State
14. Utah
15. Ole Miss
16. Syracuse
17. Illinois
18. LSU
19. Kentucky
20. Cincinnati
21. North Carolina
22. Kansas State
23. Tulane
24. NC State
25. South Carolina
AP top 25 notes: Georgia leads all votes with 1,530, followed by Ohio State with 1,513, and Tennessee at 1,476. Michigan (1,382) and Clemson (1,318) round out the top five.
Others receiving votes
Texas 38, Liberty 35, Oregon State 25, Mississippi State 10, Maryland 8, Troy 3, UTSA 1, Arkansas 1, Washington 1, Florida State 1
AP top 25 biggest movers
Kansas State (Down 5). The Wildcats are still in the rankings, but headed in the wrong direction after a loss at TCU.
Ole Miss (Down 8). The first loss of the season for the Rebels after coming into LSU undefeated with a tougher schedule still to come.
Penn State (Up 3). A dominating win over Minnesota is enough to stay at one loss, but a crucial matchup with Ohio State is next.
College football top 25 losers
Rankings reflect last week's AP poll
No. 7 Ole Miss. No more perfect record for the Rebels, who were unable to protect it on the road at a resurgent LSU on Saturday. Usually an elite rushing team, it struggled to maintain a consistent attack on the ground, which cut into its ability to sell the play-action, exposing Jaxson Dart's relative instability as a pocket passer, especially behind an offensive line that is struggling now. Ole Miss was outscored 42-3 after building an initial 17-3 lead with a tough month remaining, including a date against Alabama on Nov. 12.
No. 9 UCLA. The last undefeated team in the Pac-12 coming into Eugene, the Bruins dropped their first game of the season in the wake of Oregon's aggressive offensive output. DTR and Zach Charbonnet were productive again, but just couldn't keep up with the Ducks, losing the vital head-to-head matchup as the conference title chase tightens up.
No. 14 Syracuse. It all started well enough as the Orange built a 21-7 lead at Clemson on the back of another excellent defensive performance, forcing four takeaways early and scoring a 90-yard touchdown on a fumble recovery. But then Clemson's defensive front settled in, wore down Syracuse's protection and run game, and the officials intervened - or rather didn't, when they should have thrown a flag that would have helped the Orange.
No. 17 Kansas State. That three-game win streak is over after injuries to the Wildcats' top two quarterbacks. After putting up 28 points in the first half, K-State didn't score again after the break, allowing TCU to score 28 unanswered points and take first place in the Big 12.
No. 20 Texas. Every time you think the Longhorns are about to take a step forward, something knocks them two steps back. This time it was Oklahoma State, which played penalty-free football, while Texas scored 3 points in the second half as Quinn Ewers hit on just 19 of 49 passes with 3 picks. Back to the drawing board for Steve Sarkisian, who is now 10-10 on the Forty Acres.
No. 24 Mississippi State. The Air Raid was shot down by Alabama, not scoring a point on the road until there was no time on the clock while Will Rogers was held to 50% passing while throwing the ball 60 times, and the run game finished with 2.4 yards per carry. At best, the Bulldogs should go 2-2 the rest of the way, which would put them at 7-5 overall.
Undefeated college football teams remaining
And then there were six.
Georgia (7-0). Idle this past weekend, the Bulldogs face off against rival Florida this coming Saturday.
Ohio State (7-0). This frenetic offense was stymied early by Iowa's talented stoppers, but the Buckeyes broke the dam in the second half.
Tennessee (7-0). As expected, the Vols blew the doors off UT Martin, scoring a school record 52 first half points.
Michigan (7-0). Also off on Saturday, the Wolverines are riding one of college football's premier rushing attacks.
Clemson (8-0). Still perfect are the Tigers after holding off contender Syracuse in a close one, now 6-0 against ranked ACC foes.
TCU (7-0). Another hectic second half comeback keeps the Horned Frogs perfect after holding off K-State and moving into first place in the Big 12.
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