College football rankings: Predicting the AP top 25 poll for Championship Week

Coming out of another hectic annual slate of Rivalry Week games and moving into Championship Saturday, let's lock in our prediction for the AP top 25 college football rankings as we get our first exposure to the postseason.

Who's moving up? Who's moving down?

Note: this isn't our ranking of the best teams, but our prediction for how top 25 voters will slot them in the official poll

Predicting the AP top 25 college football rankings after Rivalry Week

Dropping out: No. 23 Georgia Tech, No. 24 Pittsburgh, No. 25 SMU

25. Tennessee. A fourth loss might be enough for the Vols to fall out of most ballots, but they’ve shown a willingness to give Big Orange the benefit of the doubt.

24. Iowa. The Hawkeyes improved to 8-4 after dominating Nebraska on the road.

23. Missouri. Eli Drinkwitz inked an extension with the school this week, and they responded by beating Arkansas in the finale to move to 8-4. Mizzou was 28th in last week’s vote.

22. Navy. AP top 25 voters have been reluctant to give the Midshipmen enough votes to make the rankings, placing 27th a week ago, but a win over Memphis combined with other lower-ranked teams losing should pave a road back into the poll.

21. Tulane. Still the playoff selectors’ Group of Five favorite, the Green Wave got past Charlotte with ease, clinching a place in the American title game against North Texas.

20. North Texas. A big win at Temple comes even as head coach Eric Morris is due to take the Oklahoma State job, but the Mean Green has unfinished business with a date in the American championship game.

19. James Madison. The Dukes made another case for the playoff selectors after pounding Coastal Carolina by 49. Now we wait to see if the committee notices.

18. Michigan. We should see the Wolverines fall back behind the USC team it lost to once again following a disappointing 27-9 loss against arch-rival Ohio State, but losing to the best team in the country isn’t something AP voters will punish them too much for.

17. USC. A slow start for the Trojans, but they came back in the second half to put away rival UCLA and complete a 9-3 season with a better 7-2 mark in Big Ten competition.

16. Virginia. What a turnaround for Tony Elliott, who won 11 combined games in his first three seasons, but moved to 10-2 and clinched a place in the ACC Championship Game this year after a 20-point win over rival Virginia Tech.

15. Utah. No longer in the Big 12 title picture, nor the College Football Playoff race, the Utes nonetheless finished with 10 wins after knocking off Kansas in the finale.

14. Miami. A dominant win over Pittsburgh to finish 10-2 came by a larger margin that Notre Dame beat the same team before, raising questions around whether the Hurricanes belong ranked over the Irish in the playoff poll, given their head-to-head win in the opener.

13. Vanderbilt. Winning at Tennessee by 21 points is quite a statement for the Commodores, one that could put Diego Pavia in the Heisman conversation, and secures the first 10-win season in school history.

12. Texas. A marquee win over undefeated Texas A&M means the Longhorns are due for a rise, potentially back ahead of the Vanderbilt team they beat head-to-head.

11. BYU. Storming back from a two touchdown deficit, the Cougars went on a 41-7 run to put away UCF and book a rematch with Texas Tech for the Big 12 title.

10. Alabama. Likely no movement up, and certainly not down, after pulling out a gutsy win at Auburn to qualify for the SEC Championship Game against Georgia and preserve their College Football Playoff ambitions.

9. Notre Dame. The Irish routed Stanford on the road to stay at two losses to finish the season.

8. Oklahoma. Some ballots may dock the Sooners a couple of votes after playing a little too close against a down LSU team, especially after watching this offense struggle, but it’s still a win for a team bound for the playoff.

7. Texas Tech. A predictable smashup against West Virginia in the finale propels the Red Raiders into the Big 12 Championship Game.

6. Texas A&M. That perfect season was spoiled by rival Texas, but AP voters may not punish the Aggies too severely given it’s one loss and they have road wins against Notre Dame and Missouri.

5. Ole Miss. While most of the attention is around the seemingly-imminent departure of head coach Lane Kiffin, the Rebels are still one of college football’s most accomplished teams, winning 11 games for the first time in school history.

4. Oregon. They played things pretty close at rival Washington, but got some big plays late from Dante Moore to secure the victory. Oregon’s one loss is to undefeated Indiana, which should be enough to host a first-round playoff game.

3. Georgia. A win over Georgia Tech and a loss by Texas A&M at Texas paved the way for the Bulldogs to qualify for the SEC Championship Game, where they’ll try for a second-straight conference title.

2. Indiana. Touchdowns galore for the Hoosiers, who completed their first undefeated regular season by going 12-0 after stomping on rival Purdue, booking a trip upstate to play for the Big Ten title and try at the No. 1 seed in the playoff.

1. Ohio State. Ryan Day finally got the Michigan-sized monkey off his back by ending a four-game losing skid against the Buckeyes’ arch-nemesis, preserving their undefeated record heading into a date against the Hoosiers for the Big Ten title next.

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