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)