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My AP Top 25 ballot: Will Miami-Notre Dame be a top-five matchup?

Holy Toledo! UCF moves up, and the Rockets move in
 
Published Nov. 5, 2017

Another wild weekend of college football means more turnover in my latest AP Top 25 ballot.

Miami's 28-10 win over Virginia Tech convinced me that the Hurricanes are a legitimate College Football Playoff contender. Accordingly, they jumped up to No. 6 in my rankings, barely behind Clemson. If UM beats Notre Dame (up to No. 3 on my ballot), this week, the 'Canes should be a top-three team.

Wisconsin finally put together what I considered a nice win (a four-score triumph over Indiana), so I felt OK putting the Badgers at No. 7.

The two-loss teams are a jumbled mess. I ranked Ohio State ahead of the others (at No. 10), followed by Auburn. UCF rose two spots to No. 12 thanks to a win at SMU. I dropped the Hokies down four spots to 17th, just ahead of Washington State.

I broke one of my general rules by keeping Iowa State ranked (at No. 22) but not putting West Virginia back in…even though they have the same 6-3 record and the Mountaineers just beat the Cyclones. I did so because the resumes aren't quite comparable; Iowa State has two wins over top-eight teams, and the 'Eers are 1-3 against good teams.

Arizona, Stanford (not the same, at all, with a banged-up Bryce Love) and North Carolina State dropped off my ballot. Iowa, Michigan and Toledo join the party. That means, in my eyes, USF is at best the No. 4 Group of Five team (behind UCF, Memphis and the Rockets), even after a nice win at UConn. Toledo and the Bulls have the same record and the same number of great wins (zero). Toledo has a better loss and has played a tougher schedule (according to the Sagarin Ratings), which is why I have some MACtion in my top 25.

Here's the AP Top 25 ballot I submitted Sunday morning:

1.       Alabama (9-0)

2.       Georgia (9-0)

3.       Notre Dame (8-1)

4.       Oklahoma (8-1)

5.       Clemson (8-1)

6.       Miami (8-0)

7.       Wisconsin (9-0)

8.       TCU (8-1)

9.       Washington (8-1)

10.   Ohio State (7-2)

11.   Auburn (7-2)

12.   UCF (8-0)

13.   Oklahoma State (7-2)

14.   USC (8-2)

15.   Michigan State (7-2)

16.   Penn State (7-2)

17.   Virginia Tech (7-2)

18.   Washington State (8-2)

19.   Mississippi State (7-2)

20.   Memphis (8-1)

21.   Iowa (6-3)

22.   Iowa State (6-3)

23.   Michigan (7-2)

24.   LSU (6-3)

25.   Toledo (8-1)