The Latest: Big shakeups in store for the college football top 10 of the AP Top 25 coming soon
Struggles by several top 10 teams in Week 7 of college football should send shockwaves through the latest AP Top 25 rankings.
No. 3 Oregon suffered its first loss of the season, delivered by No. 7 Indiana in a 30-20 road win. No. 4 Ole Miss pulled out a 24-21 victory over Washington State in a game that shouldn’t have been close. And No. 6 Oklahoma was outperformed by the Texas Longhorns, whose stint as an unranked team will likely be short-lived after a convincing 23-6 win.
So how will the top of the poll shake out? Follow live updates from The Associated Press below for poll projections, game recaps, analysis and voters answering fan questions, all in one place.
Here's the latest:
Knocking on the door
USC, Texas and Utah are likely to return to the rankings after big-time wins on Saturday.
Cincinnati could crack the poll following its fifth straight win, a 20-11 victory over UCF. The Bearcats received the most votes of any unranked team last week after a convincing win against Iowa State.
Nebraska came out on top against Maryland in a battle between AP Top 25 hopefuls. The Cornhuskers improved to 5-1 with a 34-31 win and could see their first ranking of the season.
Whose stock is up?
No. 7 Indiana is poised to crack the top five after outscoring No. 3 Oregon 30-20 in Ducks’ territory.
Other Saturday highlights included unranked USC, Texas and Utah teams delivering big-time wins against ranked opponents.
The Trojans could return to the rankings after outplaying No. 15 Michigan, beating the Wolverines 31-13. Texas came out on top of the Red River Rivalry, beating No. 6 Oklahoma 23-6. Utah rounded out competition for the day with a dominant 42-10 win against No. 21 Arizona State.
No. 9 Texas Tech could see its highest ranking of the season after a 42-17 win against Kansas.
Hear from a voter: What potential does Alabama have for a national title bid?
Alabama’s opening season loss to FSU will weigh down its record. However, three straight Top 25 wins in SEC play have them as the frontrunner to win the conference.
Their biggest strength right now is the defense coming up big late in games and the brilliance of QB Ty Simpson as one of the best passers in the country.
Stock down
No. 3 Oregon is set to slip out of the top five after falling to No. 7 Indiana at home. The Ducks ranked in the top three for the past two weeks after beating Penn State.
No. 4 Ole Miss could fall in the poll after unexpectedly struggling against Washington State. The Rebels pulled out a 24-21 win, but could see a slight drop off in the rankings after the uninspiring outing.
No. 6 Oklahoma could drop out of the top 10 for the first time in weeks after losing to an unranked Texas team on Saturday.
Saturday results pave the way for a top 10 shakeup
Two top 10 teams lost on Saturday, paving the way for movement in Sunday's poll.
No. 3 Oregon hopes to hang on to its top 10 status after a loss to No. 7 Indiana. And No. 6 Oklahoma has a substantial fall at stake after losing to Texas in a matchup that wasn’t particularly close.
No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 8 Alabama and No. 9 Texas Tech each racked up a win Saturday and could benefit from losses by Oklahoma and Oregon.
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 been doing it since 1936.
AP employees don’t vote themselves, but they do choose the voters. AP Top 25 voters are about 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.
