The Latest: Expect a shuffle in the AP Top 25 rankings
Look for some teams to leapfrog in this week’s AP Top 25 college football rankings, dropping at 2 p.m. ET.
No. 16 Georgia Tech had the week off but should move up in the poll thanks to losses by No. 12 Virginia and No. 14 Louisville. The 8-1 Yellow Jackets are atop the Atlantic Coast Conference in the race for the league’s playoff berth.
The big Big 12 showdown saw No. 9 Texas Tech hand No. 8 BYU its first loss of the season, 29-7.
Victory didn’t come as easily for No. 6 Oregon in its 18-16 win over Iowa or for No. 2 Indiana, which barely edged Penn State in a 27-24 thriller.
No. 3 Texas A&M made the case for a promotion with a solid win over No. 19 Missouri.
What will it mean for the rankings?
Read more on what to expect, and follow live updates below for ranking projections, game recaps and exclusive voter insight, all in one place.
Here's the latest:
Hear from a voter: Will Texas Tech land in the top 5?
I ranked Texas Tech seventh.
It’s having a great season but is just behind Georgia and Ole Miss in my poll. It will need those teams, or others, to stumble to move into the top five.
David Jablonski is a sports reporter for the Dayton Daily News and has been an AP Top 25 college football voter for six years. You can follow him on X: @davidpjablonski.
ACC front-runners lose in Week 11
By MAURA CAREY
No. 12 Virginia and No. 14 Louisville both lost in Week 11, improving an idle Georgia Tech team’s chances at the ACC Championship game.
Virginia lost 16-9 to Wake Forest on Saturday. Cavaliers’ quarterback Chandler Morris went down with an injury early in the game and Virginia failed to find the end zone under backup quarterback Daniel Kaelin.
Louisville fell 29-26 in an overtime thriller against California, marking the Cardinals’ second conference loss this season.
Who might rise and fall in this week’s poll
Stock up: Texas Tech, Miami, Notre Dame, USC, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt.
Stock down: BYU, Memphis, Missouri, Washington, Virginia, Louisville.
Knocking on the door
James Madison is chasing the Group of Five spot in the College Football Playoff, with this weekend’s 35-23 win against Marshall strengthening its resume.
The Dukes are on a seven-game winning streak and top the Sun Belt with a perfect 6-0 conference record. They’re 8-1 overall. The team’s only loss was early in the season against Louisville, which went on to crack the rankings.
Inside a voter’s ballot: Ranking the top 3
By DAVID JABLONSKI
It was a busy day in the top 25 with six teams losing, including one defeated team and some close calls involving top-10 teams.
Fortunately, my dog Fergus woke me up at 6 a.m., so I had plenty of time to analyze the results. I had to balance that with attending to my 7-year-old son’s needs. That’s the challenge every Sunday morning.
I moved Texas A&M up a spot on my ballot, past Indiana, to reward the Aggies for their victory against Missouri. Anyone putting Texas A&M at No. 1, ahead of Ohio State, wouldn’t be wrong.
Ohio State, Texas A&M and Indiana should all receive first-place votes this week. I like to mix it up with my poll, especially with the top spot, but I wasn’t ready to drop the Buckeyes.
Vanderbilt, Oregon and Indiana escape close ones
Indiana, Oregon and Vanderbilt narrowly avoided losses on Saturday.
The Hoosier’s Fernando Mendoza found Omar Cooper Jr. in the back of the end zone for a touchdown with 36 seconds remaining in the fourth against Penn State, turning a 26-24 deficit into a 27-24 lead. The Nittany Lions couldn’t answer and Indiana improved to 10-0.
Oregon’s 18-16 win against Iowa also came down to the final whistle. Iowa scored a touchdown to take a late one-point lead, but Oregon responded with a game-winning field goal in the final three seconds.
Vanderbilt allowed an Auburn touchdown and two-point conversion late in the fourth to force overtime, but Diego Pavia and Co. came out on top with a game-winning touchdown in OT.
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, 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.
There is a 1-to-25 point system, with a team voted No. 1 receiving 25 points down to 1 point for a 25th-place vote. After that, it’s simple: The poll lists the teams with the most points from 1 to 25, and others receiving votes are also noted.
Voting is done online, and the tabulation is automated.
