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College Football Rankings: 4 Most Underrated College Football Teams in Week 9 AP Poll

After a competitive Week 8, some teams got a tough break in the new AP poll.
A tough Week 8 loss got BYU and coach Kalani Sitake  a rough deal in the new AP poll. (Aaron Baker-Imagn Images)
A tough Week 8 loss got BYU and coach Kalani Sitake a rough deal in the new AP poll. (Aaron Baker-Imagn Images) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On a week where only No. 1 stayed the same, all moves in the AP poll were not treated equally. After a two-week run of surprising top teams losing, the AP Poll looks like someone stuck the team names into a hat and drew them at random. If that's not quite it, there are still teams with some bones to pick regarding their current ranking spot.

BYU

THe Cougars did take a tough double-overtime loss a week after upsetting Notre Dame. But join the party. After all, Ohio State (Texas), Georgia (Auburn), and Notre Dame themselves have all suffered losses that went down to the wire. And all of those teams are ranked above the Cougars, who dipped from second to eighth. A drop wasn't surprising but six spots behind several other one-loss teams (including the one they beat a week ago) seemed a little silly.

Texas Tech

Maybe it was the week to pick on the Big 12. Admitteldy, the conference had struggles-- with the Red Raiders dropping a two-score loss against Cincinnati. But it's a first loss that saw Tech fall from eighth down to 13th, below several two-loss teams (Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss). Considering that Alabama lost a week ago by 16 points, that Texas fell to a pair of then-unranked teams, and that Ole Miss was rocked by over three scores in the Florida defeat, it looks like Tech should've gotten a stronger ranking.

Tennessee

Heupel
Tennessee and Josh Heupel took a poll dive off a tough loss-- as an underdog. (Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Vols had a heartbreaker of a late loss to South Carolina... and dipped five spots. The same Alabama team that Tennessee blasted by 16 points last week is now six spots ahead of Tennessee. South Carolina has been a trap game for poll purposes all season-- Kentucky won in Columbia and dropped in the poll earlier this season. But Tennessee's downgrade below the other two-loss SEC teams was more than a bit weird.

Wisconsin

The Badgers barely snuck into the top 25 after moving to 5-2 and takind won the-previously No. 16 USC Trojans. They previously took down the then-No. 13 Penn State Nittany Lions. In both cases, the teams will then freefall and devalue the losses, but make no sense, a Wisconsin team thats only losses are to Notre Dame and UCLA is putting together a fine season. Win at Iowa next week and Wisconsin could genuinely have a 10-2 season. They should be higher than No. 25 right now.

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.