College football rankings: AP Top 25 poll predictions for Week 10
As we survey the fallout from Saturday's latest games, let's take a look at the AP Top 25 College Football Rankings heading into Week 10.
Who is moving forward? Who is moving down?
Note: This isn't our best team ranking, but our predictions for how the top 25 voters will slot into Sunday's official poll.
Dropped out: Navy, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Illinois
25. Memphis. Obviously there aren't many other teams for voters to choose from at the bottom of this week's rankings, as the candidates voted in last week lost their games, but the Tigers could get some votes after going to 7. 1 and sits fourth in the AAC standings.
24. Tulane. Ditto for the Green Wave, which could benefit from a lack of other obvious ranked teams, but is tied for second place in the AAC and on a 5-game winning streak.
23. Colorado. Shedeur Sanders passed for 300 yards and Travis Hunter caught 2 touchdown passes as the Buffaloes moved past Cincinnati and had 6 wins for the first time since 2016, taking a major step in the right direction in Deion Sanders' second year, 4-1 in Big 12 play.
22. Washington State. John Metter led two fourth quarter touchdown drives to take and hold a late lead at San Diego State and lead the Cougars to a 7-1 record with the only blemish being a loss against ranked Boise State.
21. Army. Off this weekend, the Black Knights are first nationally in rushing yards and last nationally in passing yards per game, and after defeating Navy, extended their hold on top of the AAC standings with a date next Saturday against Air Force, and a Notre Dame team that clobbered the Midshipmen two weeks after that. .
20. SMU. Despite enduring 6 turnovers and Duke needing overtime, the Mustangs pulled out a close win, their third away from home, and moved to 7-1 with a date against undefeated Pitt.
19. Ole Miss. Despite trailing at halftime, the Rebels came back to hold the Sooners scoreless in the second half and Jackson Dart passed for 300 yards and scored 16 points, moving to 2-2 in SEC play with next at Arkansas and a home date against Georgia. The week after that.
18. LSU. Garrett Nussmeier helped give the Tigers a 17-7 halftime lead at Texas A&M, 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 off Kyle McCord 5 times and returned 3 interceptions for touchdowns in a defensive blitz that hurt Syracuse and kept the team undefeated and into the ACC title race in November.
16. Boise State. Even on a relatively slow night, Ashton Genty ran for 128 yards and a game-winning touchdown as the Broncos outlasted UNLV in a crucial road test for this Group of Five playoff, still atop the Mountain West and with a 3-point loss to current No. 1 Oregon. The only error in the record.
15. State of Kansas. Avery Johnson played turnover-free football and the Wildcats rushed for 226 yards to hold rival Kansas to a close, moving to 4-1 in Big 12 play and still tied for the top of the conference with a date at Houston next week, against an unranked opponent before league rival Iowa State's finale. First of 3 games.
14. Alabama. Rebounding from a slow start, the Crimson Tide ran for 271 yards and 4 touchdowns and forced 3 turnovers from Missouri to improve to 3-2 in SEC play awaiting a date at LSU.
13. Indiana. A 67-yard pick-six set the tone for the Hoosiers, who dominated Washington for the first time since 1967 and moved closer to playoff contention for the first time since 1967, and 1 of 2 teams nationally never to back down. . time in this season.
12. Notre Dame. Forcing 6 turnovers against an undefeated Navy team is an important step for the Irish as they continue to work their way back from the NIU loss, now averaging 31 points in 6 games and giving the selection committee more to work with.
11. Iowa State. This weekend, the Cyclones needed some late-game heroics to beat UCF and remain undefeated the previous week, and while this team is strong in most defensive situations, their run-stop is a concern, second-worst in the conference, something big in the next few weeks. Watch it go up against two of the best rushing teams in 12.
10. BYU. Facing a significant test in a cross-country road game against a talented UCF team, the Cougars went on a 17-0 run and scored 30 points in six straight games to go undefeated at 8-0, and still in the Big 12 title hunt, right in a crowd. And so, too, is the College Football Playoff race.
9. Clemson. Idle in Week 9, the Tigers are riding a 6-game winning streak since the opener loss, scoring 164 combined points in that span and 27 points behind the No. 8 scoring offense in winning those games and sitting next weekend at home against Louisville. atop the ACC standings.
8. Texas A&M. Marcell Reed came off the bench and ran for 3 touchdowns to lead an impressive comeback win over LSU, keeping the Aggies undefeated in SEC play and in the conference standings and looking like a playoff team.
7. Tennessee. Inactive this weekend, the Vols sit at 6-1 among a short list of SEC title contenders playing the best defense in college football, haven't allowed more than 17 points in a game all season and have the only big test on their schedule with just one game at Georgia.
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 kept the Hurricanes undefeated and no other ranked team between them in the final four games in the ACC title chase.
5. Texas. Quin Yers had 3 touchdown passes, but also 2 interceptions and the Longhorns scored just 6 second-half points and allowed a late touchdown to make it a 3-point game, but pulled away from Vanderbilt with a close win, going 3. 1 SEC game with Florida coming up next in Austin.
4. Ohio State. Ryan Day went 45-0 against unranked opponents, but a close and very ugly win against Nebraska once again exposed some weaknesses 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 is some concern about starting quarterback Drew Aller coming off an injury at Wisconsin on Saturday, but backup Beau Prybula played well in relief, scoring the go-ahead touchdown to keep the team undefeated on that date against the Buckeyes.
2. Georgia. This week, the Bulldogs are riding high after a signature win at then-No. 1 have another big road date after games with Texas and Florida, before hosting Ole Miss, Tennessee later in the week in what will be a pivotal moment for this team.
1. Oregon. Dillon Gabriel moved into second all-time in college football history in career passing yards and touchdowns as the Ducks reached 500 total yards in a dominant win over ranked Illinois and now looks ahead to a date at Michigan next weekend.
More… when the top 25 rankings come out
–
More college football from SI: Top 25 ranking | schedule | team
Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | ranking | Pics