College football rankings: AP top 25 teams moving up, down in Week 10

Looking back on another consequential week of action across the country, let’s take a turn predicting what teams will emerge as the biggest movers in the AP top 25 college football rankings in Week 10.

We didn’t see as much chaos across college football as we have the last few weeks, as all of the top-dozen teams in the rankings either won their games, or didn’t play at all, potentially keeping the status quo in place at the top of the poll heading into November.

But six lower-ranked teams did lose, and with some narrow voting margins around those top-ranked teams, we could potentially see a couple swaps among the higher-placed programs if enough pollsters change up their votes.

What teams will be on the move in the AP top 25 college football rankings this week? Let’s take a shot at predicting who’s moving up, and who’s going down, in the polls.

Rankings reflect AP top 25 poll

Should move up, but may not: Texas A&M

College football rankings: AP top 25 teams moving up, down in Week 10 — Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Championships aren’t won in October, but Texas A&M took one giant leap in that direction in the last weekend of the month.

Mike Elko took over a program that had lost 12 of its previous 17 games against Power Four opponents, and in little less than two seasons has turned it into a national title contender coming out of a dominant victory over LSU on the road.

What becomes of the SEC championship race and the College Football Playoff picture could come down to what happened in the third quarter of this game, kicking off a run of 35 unanswered points en route to a rout in Death Valley after an early deficit.

The SEC’s last remaining undefeated team, Texas A&M has some impressive wins heading into November and looks ahead to several winnable games to close out the regular season.

What do they get out of it? Just 84 total points separated the Aggies from second-ranked Indiana in last week’s rankings, but there’s some chance enough pollsters change up their ballots in order to carve out a path for this team to move into the No. 2 slot, and even pick up a couple first-place votes in the process.

Moving down, maybe out: LSU

Last week’s ranking: No. 20

Facing a must-win situation and looking to avoid a two-game losing streak and third loss on the season, Brian Kelly’s team needed to put on a show at home against third-ranked Texas A&M. And for a time, they did. Until they didn’t.

“Kelly Gotta Geaux” read one sign among those precious few LSU fans that remained in the stands as college football’s noisiest venue turned eerily quiet in the second half, save those remaining supporters who elected to stay behind in order to boo Kelly.

A lot of the initial good LSU did came on the back of some Aggie mistakes, gaining momentum and scoring 10 points off two interceptions thrown by Marcel Reed and a penalty that extended what became a scoring drive early on, but once A&M cleaned up those mistakes, the Tigers lost control of the game fast.

Kelly falls to 5-11 against ranked opponents at LSU, which is potentially headed towards a drop out of the AP top 25 rankings this week, unless enough voters keep them near the bottom of the poll given some other lower-ranked teams also lost their games. But don’t be surprised if LSU isn’t ranked on Sunday.

Should move up: Ole Miss

Last week’s ranking: No. 8

Coming off their first loss of the season at Georgia a week ago, the Rebels were under pressure to avoid a second L in as many weeks, and overcame a stiff test against Oklahoma’s tough defense to pull out a 34-26 win over the Sooners on the road.

Lane Kiffin won his first road game against a ranked SEC opponent after starting 0-6 in that category, and quarterback Trinidad Chambliss led an aggressive offensive effort that exploited OU’s defense for 300 passing yards, the most they allowed in a year.

With the win, Ole Miss looks to be in prime position to make the College Football Playoff, especially considering the rest of its schedule, not projected to play another ranked team, with dates against South Carolina, The Citadel, Florida, and Mississippi State.

Every team ranked ahead of Ole Miss either won or didn’t play this weekend, which might limit how much, if at all, the Rebels can move up in the rankings.

However, since they were only 24 votes behind Georgia Tech last week, a few voters might bump Ole Miss ahead of the undefeated ACC team, given that the SEC schedule is generally seen as tougher, and ahead of current No. 6 Oregon, which looked uninspired in a win against a lousy Wisconsin team.

Moving down: Oklahoma

Last week’s ranking: No. 13

Remember when John Mateer was in the running for the Heisman Trophy back in September? Well, then October happened.

Mateer was a 70 percent passer at home until this game, dipping below 55 percent while completing just 17 passes in the face of a spirited Ole Miss pass rush, although Xavier Robertson finally resurrected OU’s dormant run game with 2 second-half touchdowns to briefly give the home team a 1-point lead.

It wasn’t enough, however, as the Sooners’ vaunted defense let the Rebels score 10 unanswered points, culminating in their second loss of the season and an unenviable 2-2 mark in SEC competition looking ahead to one of college football’s toughest remaining schedules.

OU goes to Tennessee and then to Alabama before hosting Missouri and LSU, all currently-ranked teams to close out the season. They could realistically lose every one of those games and finish 6-6. Would that be enough to can Brent Venables?

Add that to a run that includes 6-6, 10-3, and 6-7 seasons, and it could force Oklahoma into a tough decision in an already-active coaching cycle.

That’s for the future. As for the present, the Sooners are due for a drop in the rankings, their fall cushioned by losses by lower-ranked teams and coming off its own close loss against a team seemingly bound for the playoff.

Ought to move up: Vanderbilt

Last week’s ranking: No. 10

Once upon a time, when Vanderbilt played a game with this many mistakes, they would lose. Not this time, illustrating the depth of its whole-program turnaround this season.

They had a season-low 265 total yards of offense, were flagged eight times, and had a few stalled drives, but overcame it all to pull out a 17-10 win over No. 15 Missouri.

In the process, Vandy moved to 7-1, one win away from matching a program-best 8-1 achieved back in 1941, won a seventh game before November for the first time since 1915, and now has three wins against AP top-15 teams for the first time ever.

It’s time to start envisioning a scenario in which Vanderbilt credibly plays its way into the SEC championship picture. Good teams find a way, and that’s what the Commodores did when their backs were against the wall.

That just might be enough to leapfrog Miami and take the No. 9 position in the new poll. It should be.

Moving in: Memphis

Last week’s ranking: Unranked

Memphis was college football’s first 6-0 team a couple weeks ago and then finally broke into the rankings shortly after that, but fell out again after a surprise loss against UAB.

But there could be room for the American Conference hopefuls to get back in the poll after an important upset against ranked USF, scoring 17 unanswered points to come back from a 14-point deficit and move to 7-1 on the year.

Losses by Illinois at 23 and Arizona State at 24 should provide enough room for pollsters to nudge Memphis back into the rankings this week as they look ahead to critical games against Tulane and Navy in the weeks to come as CFP selectors look on.

Who else could move?

⎼ Not only did No. 15 Missouri lose a second costly game against a ranked SEC opponent (Alabama, Vanderbilt), they also lost quarterback Beau Pribula to what appears to be a serious ankle injury that required him to leave the game in a wheelchair.

⎼ USF might find itself unranked after a loss to Memphis, its second of the season and first in conference play, and potentially costly in a competitive American league with CFP ambitions.

⎼ Cincinnati is primed for a rise after moving to 5-0 in Big 12 play following a big win over Baylor, their first seven-game win streak since making the playoff in 2021.

⎼ Indiana is a question at No. 2, either staying put after smashing UCLA by 50, but pollsters could be more impressed with Texas A&M’s rout on the road against LSU and put the Aggies in the 2 slot over the Hoosiers.

⎼ Idle USC could move back into the poll given they placed 26th last week.

⎼ We could see Navy finally crack the AP top 25 after placing 30th a week ago and moving to 7-0 with a big win over FAU.

⎼ Illinois was in, out, in, and now likely out again after a 17-point loss at Washington that sinks the Illini to 2-3 in Big Ten play and in the bottom half of the standings.

⎼ Arizona State should fall back out of the poll after a one-possession loss at home against Big 12 insurgent Houston.

⎼ Conversely, that Houston team just might have enough votes to break into the top 25 after getting 34 votes and placed 29th in last week’s poll.