As we survey the damage from the latest games on Saturday, let’s look ahead to the AP top 25 college football rankings heading into Week 10
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 on Sunday
Dropping out: Navy, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Illinois
25. Memphis. There frankly aren’t that many other teams for voters to pick from at the bottom of this week’s rankings, as would-be poll candidates that received votes last week also lost their games, but the Tigers could get some votes after moving to 7-1 and sitting in fourth place in the AAC standings.
24. Tulane. Likewise for the Green Wave, which could benefit from a lack of other obvious rankable teams, but sits in a tie for second-place in the AAC and on a 5-game win streak.
23. Colorado. Shedeur Sanders went over 300 yards passing and Travis Hunter caught 2 touchdown passes as the Buffaloes got past Cincinnati and have 6 wins for the first time since 2016, taking an important step in the right direction in Deion Sanders’ second year, at 4-1 in Big 12 play.
22. Washington State. John Mateer led two fourth quarter touchdown drives to take and hold a late lead at San Diego State and move the Cougars to a 7-1 record with the only blemish being a loss against ranked Boise State.
21. Army. Idle this weekend, the Black Knights are first nationally in rushing yards and last nationally in passing yards per game, and after Navy got trounced, increased its hold on the top spot in the AAC standings with a date against Air Force up next Saturday, and the Notre Dame team that clobbered the Midshipmen two weeks after that.
20. SMU. Despite suffering 6 turnovers and needing overtime at Duke, the Mustangs pulled out a close win, their third away from home, and moved to 7-1 with a date against undefeated Pitt up next.
19. Ole Miss. Despite trailing at halftime, the Rebels came back to hold the Sooners scoreless in the second half and score 16 unanswered points as Jaxson Dart topped 300 yards passing, moving to 2-2 in SEC play with a date at Arkansas next and at home against Georgia the week after that.
18. LSU. Garrett Nussmeier helped give the Tigers a 17-7 lead at Texas A&M going into halftime, but his 3 interceptions and some special teams gaffes resulted in just 6 second-half points and their first loss in SEC play with Alabama coming to Death Valley next weekend.
17. Pittsburgh. The Panthers picked Kyle McCord off 5 times and returned 3 of those interceptions for touchdowns in a defensive blitzkrieg that pounded Syracuse and keeps this team undefeated and in the thick of the ACC title race entering November.
16. Boise State. Even on a relatively slow night, Ashton Jeanty ran for 128 yards and the game-winning touchdown as the Broncos edged past UNLV in a critical road test for this Group of Five playoff hopeful, still atop the Mountain West and with a 3-point loss to current No. 1 Oregon the only flaw on its record.
15. Kansas State. Avery Johnson played turnover-free football and the Wildcats ran for 226 yards to hold off rival Kansas in a close one, moving to 4-1 in Big 12 play and still in the mix near the top of the conference with a date at Houston next week, the first of 3 games against unranked opponents before the finale at league contender Iowa State.
14. Alabama. Rebounding from a slow start, the Crimson Tide ran for 271 yards and 4 touchdowns and forced 3 turnovers from Missouri and improved to 3-2 in SEC play looking ahead to a date at LSU.
13. Indiana. A 67-yard pick-six set the tone for the Hoosiers, who dominated Washington at home to move to 8-0 for the first time since 1967 and continue to inch closer to playoff contention as 1 of 2 teams nationally to never trail at any time this season.
12. Notre Dame. Forcing 6 turnovers in a beatdown against an undefeated Navy team is an important step forward for the Irish as they continue to work back from the NIU loss, now winning 6 straight games since then by an average of 31 points and giving the selection committee more to work with.
11. Iowa State. Off this weekend, the Cyclones needed some late-game heroics to beat UCF and stay undefeated the week prior, and while this team is strong in most defensive situations, their run-stop is a concern, second-worst in the conference, something to watch going against two of the best rushing teams in the Big 12 over the next few weeks.
10. BYU. Facing a notable test in a cross-country road game against a talented UCF team, the Cougars marched out to a 17-0 lead and held on to stay undefeated at 8-0, scoring over 30 points in 6 straight games, and still right in the thick of a crowded Big 12 title hunt, and as such, the College Football Playoff race, too.
9. Clemson. Idle in Week 9, the Tigers are riding a 6-game win streak since the loss in the opener, piling up 164 combined points in that time and winning those games by an average of 27 points behind the No. 8 scoring offense, and sitting atop the ACC standings heading into a date against Louisville at home next weekend.
8. Texas A&M. Marcel Reed came off the bench and ran for 3 touchdowns to lead an impressive comeback victory against LSU, keeping the Aggies undefeated in SEC play and atop the conference standings, and looking very much like a playoff team.
7. Tennessee. Idle this weekend, the Vols sit at 6-1 in on a short list of SEC title contenders playing some of the best defense in college football, not allowing more than 17 points in a game all season, and with just a game at Georgia the only major test on their schedule.
6. Miami. Cam Ward threw for 208 yards and even caught a TD pass while Damien Martinez ran for 148 yards and 2 scores in a big win over the Seminoles that keeps the Hurricanes undefeated and a favorite in the ACC title chase with no more ranked teams left in their final four games.
5. Texas. Quinn Ewers had 3 touchdown passes, but also 2 interceptions, and the Longhorns only scored 6 second-half points and allowed a late touchdown to make it a 3-point game, but sneaked out of Vanderbilt with the close win, moving to 3-1 in SEC play with Florida coming to Austin next.
4. Ohio State. Ryan Day moves to 45-0 against unranked opponents, but a close and very ugly win against Nebraska once again exposed some vulnerabilities on defense heading into another monster road trip against Penn State next week that will tell us more about the top of the Big Ten.
3. Penn State. There’s some concern for starting quarterback Drew Allar after he left Saturday’s win at Wisconsin with an injury, but backup Beau Pribula played well in relief, scoring the go-ahead touchdown to keep this team undefeated heading into that date against the Buckeyes.
2. Georgia. Off this week, the Bulldogs are riding high after a signature win at then-No. 1 Texas and after taking on Florida have another big road date, at Ole Miss, before hosting Tennessee the week after in what will be a critical late-season prove-it moment for this team.
1. Oregon. Dillon Gabriel moved into second place all-time in college football history in career passing yardage and touchdowns as the Ducks eclipsed 500 total yards in a dominant victory over ranked Illinois, and now look ahead to a date at Michigan next weekend.
More … When the Top 25 rankings come out
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