Predicting the new AP top 25 college football rankings for Week 13

As we survey the damage from another very active Saturday of games across the country, let's look ahead to the AP top 25 college football rankings for Week 13.

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 for Week 13

Dropping out: No. 19 Louisville, No. 22 Cincinnati, No. 23 Pittsburgh, No. 25 USF

25. Navy. USF is out of the rankings after losing to Navy, which should get into the top 25 on the back of that win, improving to 8-2 with losses to North Texas and Notre Dame, but still in pole position in the American standings.

24. North Texas. Another contender from the American, the Mean Green were dominant against UAB. Now 9-1 overall and 5-1 in conference, they should move into the poll after placing 28th last time out with 55 total votes.

23. Missouri. Ahmad Hardy ran for a career-high 300 yards with 3 touchdowns to take down Mississippi State. Mizzou was 27th in last week’s vote.

22. Tulane. AP voters had the Green Wave in 26th place a week ago, but a win against UAB moves them to 8-2 and very much in the playoff mix from the Group of Five. They should be the highest-ranked of the newcomers in this week’s poll.

21. James Madison. The Dukes once again will force the selection committee to look their way as the Group of Five option, especially after USF’s loss. They stacked up 324 rushing yards to App State’s 1 in a 58-10 blitzkrieg to move to 9-1.

20. Tennessee. No real concern for the Vols in a 42-9 rout against New Mexico State heading into a road date at Florida before closing at home against Vanderbilt.

19. Virginia. Chandler Morris came back from injury and helped the Cavaliers’ offense put away Duke by 17 in an important win and remain in the mix for the ACC title tied for first place in the standings.

18. Texas. Arch Manning got no help from a ground attack that posted 19 yards total and averaged 1.2 yards per touch in a 35-10 loss at Georgia that could put this team out of the playoff. AP voters may like wins over Oklahoma and Vanderbilt that prevent a serious drop, but they’ve also shown eagerness to sink teams after poor performances.

17. Michigan. Five turnovers and an injury to lead rusher Justice Haynes weren’t enough to doom the Wolverines against Northwestern, but they needed a last-second field goal to get it done. Michigan is still right in playoff contention at 8-2, with those losses against good Oklahoma and USC teams.

16. USC. Trailing early at home against Iowa is more a tribute to the Hawkeyes’ defense than anything, but the Trojans’ potent downfield game came alive after the break, going on a 19-point scoring run to move to 8-2, but with a huge road test at Oregon up next that will tell us more about who this team really is.

15. Miami. The defense scored on a pick-six and Carson Beck had 3 touchdown passes to smash up NC State by a 41-7 margin, moving to 8-2, but losses to SMU and Louisville could prove costly for the Hurricanes’ ACC championship ambitions.

14. Utah. Despite throwing for 80 yards to Baylor’s 430, the Utes still came out with a dominant 55-28 victory to hang around the top of the Big 12, albeit still behind the BYU and Texas Tech teams they lost to earlier.

13. Georgia Tech. Not a terribly inspiring performance from the Yellow Jackets, who needed to overcome a fourth quarter deficit to get past one-win Boston College, but they’re still atop the ACC standings heading into matchups against Pitt and Georgia, both at home to close out.

12. Vanderbilt. Idle this past weekend, the Commodores have a path to a 10-2 season, but have to get through Kentucky and Tennessee first.

11. BYU. Bear Bachmeier had 300 passing yards with no turnovers while the Cougars ran for 3 touchdowns to put away TCU in a rout and stay in second place among Big 12 hopefuls.

10. Alabama. A two-point loss against Oklahoma at home despite leading in many offensive categories, the Crimson Tide should land somewhere between OU and Vanderbilt, but still right in the thick of the playoff bubble despite falling to 8-2.

9. Oklahoma. Arguably college football’s most overwhelming defense put on a show by taking out Alabama in their second-straight road win against a ranked SEC opponent, and looking like the best two-loss team in the country.

8. Notre Dame. Jeremiyah Love pushed himself further into the Heisman conversation with a 147-yard performance as the Fighting Irish smashed up Pittsburgh on the road, winning an eighth-straight game, and staying in the playoff bubble again this week.

7. Texas Tech. One of college football’s best defenses held the line from start to finish in a dominant win against overmatched UCF to further entrench the Red Raiders as the favorite in the Big 12 standings.

6. Oregon. AP voters docked the Ducks one spot last week after a close win at Iowa, but they smashed up Minnesota by a 42-13 count this time to ensure a place in the top-ten heading into Week 13.

5. Ole Miss. For the first time in school history, the Rebels have won 10 games in three straight seasons. Kewan Lacy ran for 224 yards with 3 touchdowns against a Florida team that Lane Kiffin is rumored will be coaching next year. Or will he?

4. Georgia. The loss by Alabama and Gunner Stockton’s brilliant performance to put away Texas is enough for AP top 25 voters to move the Bulldogs into the No. 4 slot and primed for a serious postseason run.

3. Texas A&M. The biggest comeback in Aggie history preserves their undefeated record for another week, but having to rebound from being down 30-3 to South Carolina will give critics more ammunition, especially when looking at the rest of Texas A&M’s schedule against the bottom half of the SEC.

2. Indiana. Fernando Mendoza was a machine, ripping apart Wisconsin’s defense by completing almost 92 percent of his throws and hitting 4 touchdowns to stay undefeated and move closer to the Big Ten title game.

1. Ohio State. Don’t expect any change in the top spot after the Buckeyes predictably demolished UCLA and moved to 10-0 as Julian Sayin was uber-efficient throwing the football once again.

More: AP top 25 teams moving up, down in Week 13