Penn State and Ohio State held their places in the AP Top 25 college football poll Sunday, setting up the fourth top-five matchup of this season. Texas A&M rose to a season-high No. 10 and Colorado jumped into the rankings for the first time at No. 23.
Oregon remained No. 1 for the second week, receiving 61 first-place votes after it easily handled Illinois on Saturday at home. No. 2 Georgia received one first-place vote and held its spot in an off week.
Penn State stayed at No. 3 after winning at Wisconsin, and Ohio State remained No. 4, even though the Buckeyes needed a fourth-quarter touchdown and a late interception to hold off Nebraska in Columbus. Ohio State-Penn State follows Georgia-Alabama, Ohio State-Oregon and Georgia-Texas as top-five matchups this season, giving the SEC and Big Ten two each. It’s the first time there have been four top-five matchups in a regular season since 2011. The record is five in 1996 and 1943.
|
Rank
|
Team
|
Record
|
Prev.
|
Matt’s vote
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
 Oregon |
8-0
|
1
|
1
|
|
2
|
 Georgia |
6-1
|
2
|
2
|
|
3
|
 Penn State |
7-0
|
3
|
3
|
|
4
|
 Ohio State |
6-1
|
4
|
5
|
|
5
|
 Miami |
8-0
|
6
|
4
|
|
6
|
 Texas |
7-1
|
5
|
7
|
|
7
|
 Tennessee |
6-1
|
7
|
8
|
|
8
|
 Notre Dame |
7-1
|
12
|
12
|
|
9
|
 BYU |
8-0
|
11
|
10
|
|
10
|
 Texas A&M |
7-1
|
14
|
13
|
|
11
|
 Clemson |
6-1
|
9
|
9
|
|
11
|
 Iowa State |
7-0
|
10
|
11
|
|
13
|
 Indiana |
8-0
|
13
|
6
|
|
14
|
 Alabama |
6-2
|
15
|
17
|
|
15
|
 Boise State |
6-1
|
17
|
14
|
|
16
|
 LSU |
6-2
|
8
|
18
|
|
17
|
 Kansas State |
7-1
|
16
|
15
|
|
18
|
 Pitt |
7-0
|
19
|
16
|
|
19
|
 Ole Miss |
6-2
|
18
|
21
|
|
20
|
 SMU |
7-1
|
22
|
19
|
|
21
|
 Army |
7-0
|
23
|
20
|
|
22
|
 Washington State |
7-1
|
NR
|
25
|
|
23
|
 Colorado |
6-2
|
NR
|
23
|
|
24
|
 Illinois |
6-2
|
20
|
22
|
|
25
|
 Missouri |
6-2
|
21
|
NR
|
|
NR
|
 Navy |
6-1
|
24
|
24
|
Others receiving votes: Vanderbilt 41, Memphis 34, Tulane 28, Navy 23, Louisville 5, Arkansas 4, UNLV 4, Louisiana 3, South Carolina 1.
Miami and Texas flip-flopped from last week, putting the Hurricanes in the top five for the first time this season, with the Longhorns sliding to No. 6 after beating Vanderbilt 27-24. Tennessee stayed No. 7 in an off week and Notre Dame moved up four spots to No. 8 after beating Navy 51-14. The Fighting Irish are likely also benefiting from being the only team to beat Texas A&M this season.
No. 9 BYU is up two spots and A&M jumped four from No. 14 after a second-half surge behind backup quarterback Marcel Reed beat LSU 38-23. The Tigers had their six-game winning streak snapped and dropped eight places to No. 16.
Clemson and Iowa State are tied at 11th and unbeaten Indiana held its spot at No. 13.
What an AP ranking means for Colorado
For Colorado, season two under coach Deion Sanders has been almost the antithesis of Year 1.
The Buffaloes started last season with three consecutive victories, cracked the rankings after beating TCU in Week 1 and fizzled to a 4-8 season.
This season has been a slower build, with far less hype. The Buffs have won five of six since a September loss at Nebraska and head into November with a chance to earn a spot in the Big 12 title games.
“We don’t want to be ranked, don’t rank us, please,” Sanders said after the Buffs beat Cincinnati on Saturday night to achieve bowl eligibility.
Sorry, Coach Prime, you’re in. — Ralph Russo, national college football writer
In and out
Navy’s first loss, a rout at the hands of Notre Dame, cost the Midshipmen their ranking.
Vanderbilt’s third loss knocked the Commodores out, though it could be argued they deserved a better fate than at least one of their SEC rivals.
No. 22 Washington State’s first ranking of the season comes with an unusual milestone. The Cougars (7-1) are the first ranked Pac-12 team since the conference was swamped by realignment and stripped of 10 members.
Washington State and Oregon State are still operating the Pac-12 as a two-team conference this season and next, though its unconventional number does not make the league’s “champion” eligible for one of the five College Football Playoff spots reserved for conference champs.
The Cougars spent five weeks in the Top 25 early last season. — Russo
Toughest voting decisions of the week
• I had kept Ohio State ahead of Penn State following its loss to Oregon, but I finally dropped the Buckeyes a bit more this week after they barely escaped Nebraska. I have them fifth, also falling behind undefeated Miami. I thought hard about putting Ohio State behind Indiana, which I moved up to No. 6 — far ahead of its poll spot at No. 13. Sure, the Hoosiers’ schedule has been weak, but they’ve yet to trail two months into the season.
• Handling Texas A&M feels tricky. I feel like the Aggies belong in the top 10 now, but I can’t ignore the head-to-head loss to Notre Dame. Though the Irish are undoubtedly improving, I’m not sure they’ve done enough since the Northern Illinois loss to warrant their No. 8 ranking in the poll, ahead of unbeaten teams like BYU, Iowa State and Indiana. I have Notre Dame 12th and Texas A&M 13th.
• The bottom of the poll was also difficult to sort out this week, as Illinois, Navy, Vanderbilt and Missouri all lost — but teams in the mix to move in also lost. I ended up keeping the Illini (which lost only to Oregon and Penn State) and Midshipmen (Notre Dame) in while dropping Missouri, which hasn’t performed to its ranking all season, and Vanderbilt. Like the poll, I moved in Colorado and Washington State. — Matt Brown college sports managing editor and AP Top 25 voter
Ole Miss overrated, Indiana underrated
I have always pushed back against claims that preseason rankings are drastically impacting the Top 25 deep into a season. Yes, the first month or so is spent shaking out preseason expectations and determining what’s real, but by about the midpoint of the season, that preseason poll has mostly been washed out.
There are a few examples in this week’s rankings that back up the critique and make even me concede that, yes, sometimes that preseason shine sticks around too long.
First, Mississippi is still hanging around the rankings at No. 19, with nothing of real quality in its 6-2 record. The Rebels are still riding their preseason top-10 billing.
Similarly, Missouri barely hung onto No. 25 after being shut out by Alabama. The Tigers (6-2) had lofty hopes coming off an 11-win season but have fallen flat. Though they did beat Vanderbilt in overtime, which explains the slight edge in the rankings.
Second, Ohio State is ranked nine spots higher than Indiana. The Hoosiers’ competition has been pretty weak, but really it hasn’t been all that much worse than the Buckeyes’ outside of Ohio State playing Oregon.
Factor in the common-opponent aspect — Indiana beats Nebraska by 49 and Ohio State beats the Cornhuskers by four — and you can make a good case the Hoosiers should be ranked ahead of the Buckeyes, or at least far closer to Ohio State. — Russo
*Note, Clemson and Iowa State are tied for 11th in the poll, so the Cyclones could be swapped in for the Tigers in the bracket.
What’s next in Week 10?
• No. 4 Ohio State at No. 3 Penn State. This will be the eighth straight meeting with both teams ranked, five of which have been top-10 matchups. The Buckeyes have won all the previous seven.
This is the sixth time Beaver Stadium will host a matchup between two AP top-five teams — and the first since a 41-7 win by No. 3 Penn State over No. 4 Arizona to open the 1999 season.
Penn State is just 3-17 against AP top-10 teams under James Franklin, while Ohio State is 10-8 under Ryan Day. The Nittany Lions’ 2016 win against the No. 2 Buckeyes is their only top-five win since 1999.
• No. 18 Pitt at No. 20 SMU. The huge ACC matchup we all predicted. The Panthers and Mustangs have met one time previously while both ranked: a 7-3 win by No. 4 SMU over No. 6 Pitt in the 1983 Cotton Bowl.
• Elsewhere, No. 1 Oregon visits unranked Michigan, which is seeking its first win against an AP No. 1 team since 1984 against Miami.
(Photo of Will Howard: Jason Mowry / Getty Images)
