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11/02 16:23 CST The Latest: Notre Dame returns to No. 10 in college football
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The Latest: Notre Dame returns to No. 10 in college football poll
By MAURA CAREY
Associated Press
The latest AP Top 25 rankings put two Big 12 teams in the top 10 for the first
time in two years and Notre Dame returned to No. 10, reclaiming a
playoff-worthy slot.
The Fighting Irish have won six straight, and this weekend's victory over
Boston College boosted them two spots in the poll. They had fallen out of the
top 10 after a home loss to Texas A&M.
Losses by Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and Miami made room for BYU at No. 8 and
Texas Techat No. 9.
Texas and No. 11 Oklahoma were the biggest climbers in the poll, jumping seven
spots. The Sooners beat Tennessee on the road, while the Longhorns knocked off
Vanderbilt at home.
No. 1 Ohio State is on top for the 10th straight week, again followed by
Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon and Ole Miss.
Here's the latest:
Hear from a voter: What are you expecting for the first CFP rankings? By KIRK BOHLS As for Tuesday night's reveal, I think each of the (top) three teams have a strong case to be No. 1. My guess is Ohio State will be because the selection committee is always in love with brand names. That's why TCU got screwed in, what, 2014, when it went from like third to five after bludgeoning an Iowa State team like 56-3. The Buckeyes are the defending champs, which brings some merit even though it's a new year; they beat Texas in as challenging a non-conference game as you'll find, while Indiana played ODU, FCS Indiana State and Kennesaw State, even though the latter is bowl eligible. A&M's right there, unbeaten, and with a road win over the Irish in their pocket. My guess is it'll go OSU, Indiana, A&M, but every committee is different. Kirk Bohls is a college football reporter and columnist for The Houston Chronicle. He's been an AP Top 25 voter since 1989. You can follow him on X: @kbohls. Looking ahead By MAURA CAREY The first College Football Playoff rankings drop Tuesday night, setting the tone down the stretch and giving an early look at the playoff picture. But several Week 11 matchups could shake up those standings. No. 8 BYU vs. No. 9 Texas Tech headlines the slate, a showdown between the top two Big 12 teams that could carry postseason implications. No. 3 Texas A&M hopes to keep its undefeated streak alive on a trip to No. 19 Missouri. And No. 6 Oregon faces Iowa, where a Hawkeyes' win could derail the Ducks' season and boost Iowa into the rankings. Hear from a voter: Do the Big 12 and ACC still have a chance at landing two teams in the playoff? By KIRK BOHLS I think the Big 12 might have a better shot than the ACC. I believe BYU and Texas Tech are both worthy of high CFP seedings, and Utah can be a dominant team at times, as in Saturday when the Utes demolished Cincinnati. Since Tech has a loss, it would serve the Big 12 better if the Red Raiders win the league and the Cougars could get an at-large berth. I think the ACC is fading because North Carolina State is cutting the legs out from under the league by knocking off Georgia Tech and Virginia. Four undefeated teams remain By MAURA CAREY Four FBS teams remain unbeaten through Week 10: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 8 BYU. Texas A&M and BYU were both idle in Week 10, while No. 1 Ohio State beat Penn State 38-14, and No. 2 Indiana defeated Maryland 55-10 Iowa may be getting close Iowa remains outside the rankings looking in, but received the most votes of any unranked team this week (71). The Hawkeyes (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) have the same conference record as No. 6 Oregon and are on a three-game winning streak, most recently defeating Minnesota 41-3 before a bye week. Two tough challenges await in back-to-back weeks, with Oregon coming to town next weekend and a trip to USC on the schedule for mid-November. Hear from a voter: Thoughts on expanding the CFP from 12 teams to 16? By KIRK BOHLS There has been a lot of chatter about expanding the CFP from 12 teams to 16 or even more. Various models are seen as a way to ?guarantee' more spots for power conference teams. What would you like to see and why? AP sports editor Dave Zelio I think 12 is fine, and there's nothing wrong with using that model for a while and letting it marinate. But I'd be OK with a 16-team format. One thing that could be done is to eliminate the byes, which are precious, although all four teams with the byes lost their first game last year. But going to 16 would mean more on-campus games, which were a bit hit. It's just sad we didn't have this model decades ago. I do think the public got burnt out on the four-team model and had Alabama and Clemson fatigue and were ready for more of an open field. Personally, I loved the fact that teams like Indiana, SMU and Arizona State got in last year as new blood. I don't really think the number of teams should go beyond 16, but I think it inevitably would climb to 24. I really don't like guarantees beyond conference champions. I found it outrageous that the SEC and Big Ten wanted guarantees of three or four teams before we even kicked off the season. That's un-American. Decide it on the field. Hear from a voter: Are "bad wins" better than "good losses"? By KIRK BOHLS I wouldn't say so. Wins are always better than narrow losses, even those to good teams. That said, I give Texas credit for scheduling Ohio State. Not sure if any other team could beat the Buckeyes in the Shoe. Plus, the Longhorns lost 14-7 in Arch Manning's first start as the quarterback and he got stuffed at the 1 on two plays and one of OSU's two touchdowns came on a 45-yard drive helped by two personal foul calls against Texas. As for Virginia, it's cornered the market on close wins. Big 12 boasts two top 10 teams, but not for long By MAURA CAREY College football's Big 12 has two top 10 teams in the AP Top 25 for the first time in two years thanks to No. 8 BYU and No. 9 Texas Tech moving up the rankings. It won't last long, however. The Cougars and Red Raiders meet in Week 11 in Lubbock in a matchup that will carry postseason implications. The two other ranked Big 12 teams --- Utah and Cincinnati --- squared off on Saturday. The Utes rolled past the Bearcats, outscoring their conference foe 45-14. Cincinnati fell from No. 17 to No. 25 as Utah moved up from No. 24 to No. 17. Houston was knocked out of the rankings after dropping to West Virginia. Oklahoma's win over Tennessee puts the Sooners in the hunt Oklahoma kept its playoff hopes afloat on Saturday with a 33-27 road win against Tennessee. The Sooners held off a fourth-quarter comeback by the Vols, securing a Tennessee-attempted onside kick and promptly responding with a touchdown to pull ahead 33-24. Oklahoma's defense held a Tennessee offense averaging over 40 points a game to 27 points and picked off quarterback Joey Aguilar twice. The Sooners improved to No. 11, their highest ranking since Week 6. The Vols dropped to their lowest ranking since the preseason, coming in at No. 23. AP Top 25 temperature check Heating up: BYU (8), Texas Tech (9), Notre Dame (10), Oklahoma (11), Virginia (12), Texas (13), Louisville (14), Utah (17), USC (20), Memphis (22), Washington (24). Cooling off: Vanderbilt (15), Georgia Tech (16), Miami (18), Tennessee (23), Cincinnati (25). Steady: Ohio State (1), Indiana (2), Texas A&M (3), Alabama (4), Georgia (5), Oregon (6), Ole Miss (7), Missouri (19), Michigan (21). Hear from a voter: How is Oklahoma ranked ahead of Texas? By KIRK BOHLS It makes no sense to me that Oklahoma is ranked two spots ahead of Texas. The Longhorns crushed the Sooners in mid-October and have won four straight games while OU not only lost to Texas but also to Ole Miss. I'll give OU credit for surviving at Tennessee, too, but the Volunteers were their own worst enemy for much of the game with more than 100 yards more offense than the crimson and cream. OU does, however, have a great kicker with a bionic leg. Hear from a voter: Thoughts on Notre Dame's record and playoff prospects? By KIRK BOHLS I dropped the Irish from my Top 25 after they fell to 0-2. I don't care if you're the Kansas City Chiefs, if you go 0-2, you're out. Obviously, ND had plenty of time and opportunity to jump back into the rankings as it has. As a rule, I always keep a very fluid ballot, especially in September. I remember putting Appalachian State in my top 5 after they knocked off Michigan that year because they proved it on the field. Now I'm ready to drop a team that has a huge upset if it doesn't follow that up with more wins, but I always try to keep an open mind. Back to Notre Dame, I think they could stumble against Pitt, which I have at No. 24 after being the only voter to have Pitt in my poll last week. Top rankings are static, though changes come in spots 8 to 10 The highest changes in this week's college football AP Top 25 came at spot Nos. 8 through 10. BYU moved up to No. 8 despite having the week off. Texas Tech improved to No. 9 after a convincing 43-20 win against Kansas State paired with losses by Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and Miami. Notre Dame moved up to No. 10, its highest ranking since Week 2, following a 25-10 win over Boston College. AP Top 25 poll rankings By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Alabama 5. Georgia 6. Oregon 7. Ole Miss 8. BYU 9. Texas Tech 10. Notre Dame 11. Oklahoma 12. Virginia 13. Texas 14. Louisville 15. Vanderbilt 16. Georgia Tech 17. Utah 18. Miami (Fla.) 19. Missouri 20. USC 21. Michigan 22. Memphis 23. Tennessee 24. Washington 25. Cincinnati Manning impresses with Texas' win vs. Vanderbilt Arch Manning earned his highest passer rating of the season (189.2) in the Longhorns' 34-31 win against Vanderbilt. Manning looked sharp after spending much of the week in concussion protocol. He completed 25 of 33 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns. Saturday's win marked the fourth straight SEC victory for the Longhorns and improved their record to 7-2 on the season, poising them to jump in this week's rankings. Top five likely to hold steady No. 1 Ohio State's defense rose to the occasion during the second half against Penn State. The Buckeyes kept the Nittany Lions scoreless in the third and fourth quarters, while putting up 21 points of their own to win it 38-14. No. 2 Indiana improved to 9-0 on the season after cruising past Maryland in a 55-10 rout. No. 5 Georgia narrowly came out on top in a historic rivalry game against Florida. No. 4 Alabama was idle this week, and has a head-to-head win against Georgia already in the books, likely keeping the Bulldogs at No. 5 for another week. No. 3 Texas A&M had the week off. How the top 10 fared Four top 10 teams came out on top of their matchups this week, but three lost games. Ohio State (1), Indiana (2), Georgia (5) and Ole Miss (7) notched conference wins on Saturday. The remaining top 10 teams weren't as fortunate. NC State outscored No. 8 Georgia Tech 48-36, handing the Yellow Jackets their first loss of the season. No. 9 Vanderbilt dropped 34-31 to No. 20 Texas. And No. 10 Miami suffered its second defeat in the past three games, falling 26-20 to SMU in overtime. Texas (3), Alabama (4), Oregon (6) and BYU (T-10) were idle. Who votes in the poll and how does it work? No organization has been ranking teams and naming a major college football national champion longer than The Associated Press, which has done the job since 1936. AP employees don't vote themselves, but they do choose the voters. AP Top 25 voters comprise around 60 writers and broadcasters who cover college football for AP members and other select outlets. The goal is to have every state with a Football Bowl Subdivision school represented by at least one voter. Voting is a straight points system: A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote is worth 24 points, down to 1 point for a 25th-place vote. Then it's just a summary of which teams are 1-25 based on the totals. Others receiving votes are also noted. Voting is done online, and the tabulation is automated. |
