Our AP Top 25 ballot: Ranking Ohio State, FSU, Washington and Liberty

Shaky starts by Ohio State and Florida State didn’t change their spot on my Associated Press Top 25 ballot, while Washington, Oklahoma State and Louisville made big jumps after impressive wins.

The Buckeyes remain No. 1 after a 35-16 win over Rutgers and former Bucs coach Greg Schiano. Ohio State still hasn’t allowed a team to score more than 17 points and has beaten four top-40 teams (according to ESPN’s Football Power Index). That’s a better resume than Georgia (which impressed me with its win over Missouri).

Though the Seminoles’ 24-7 victory at Pitt was underwhelming, I try not to penalize teams for winning conference games on the road. I also must consider the fact that FSU was without standout receivers Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman — and still won by three scores. Not bad.

Washington passed Michigan and took fourth on my ballot thanks to a 52-42 win at USC. The Huskies now have beaten at least three opponents (Oregon, Arizona and the Trojans) that are markedly better than the Wolverines’ toughest foe (Rutgers). Michigan will finally get a test against Penn State. Until then, I’m choosing strength of schedule over the domination of bad teams.

Other AP Top 25 thoughts

• Louisville — FSU’s presumptive opponent in the ACC title game — continues to confuse me. The Cardinals had tight games early against Indiana and Georgia Tech, beat Notre Dame by two scores, lost to Pitt by 17 and have now beaten Duke and Virginia Tech by a combined 57-3 in the last two weeks. I moved them up seven spots to No. 11 as the lowest one-loss team and ahead of any two-loss clubs.

• I feel better about Texas and Alabama as potential playoff crashers after they beat Kansas State and LSU. But I didn’t have any room for the Longhorns or Crimson Tide to rise; I still think Oregon is the best one-loss team, and the Ducks’ 63-19 obliteration of Cal reinforced my belief.

• I’ve written a lot about the Pac-12 being a jumbled mess. The Big 12 is getting there, too. Oklahoma State jumped six spots to No. 14 after a three-point win over Bedlam rival Oklahoma. After losing to South Alabama and Iowa State, the Cowboys are on a five-game winning streak with triumphs over three teams I have ranked (Kansas State, Kansas and the Sooners). They, clearly, have figured out how to use star running back Ollie Gordon. Kansas went from unranked to 17th. That’s partially because of a win at tricky Iowa State but also because the 7-2 Jayhawks must be ahead of the 7-2 Sooners they beat a week ago.

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• LSU only dropped two spots to 15th after a 14-point loss at Alabama. That’s a product of losses by comparable teams (Notre Dame, Missouri) and its strength of schedule, including a win over the Tigers (who also slipped two spots). The injury to Jayden Daniels was a factor, too; LSU was competitive before he left.

• Notre Dame is down nine spots to 21st after suffering its third loss, at Clemson. All three defeats were against solid competition — yes, the Tigers still qualify as solid — and its wins include triumphs over Duke and USC plus routs of North Carolina State and Pitt.

• UCLA, Air Force and USC all exited my ballot this week after their losses. They made room for Kansas, North Carolina and 9-0 Liberty. Among the teams I also considered: Duke, Toledo, Fresno State, Arizona and SMU.

Matt Baker’s AP Top 25 ballot

1. Ohio State

2. Georgia

3. Florida State

4. Washington

5. Michigan

6. Oregon

7. Texas

8. Alabama

9. Mississippi

10. Penn State

11. Louisville

12. Oregon State

13. Utah

14. Oklahoma State

15. LSU

16. Missouri

17. Kansas

18. Oklahoma

19. Kansas State

20. Tennessee

21. Notre Dame

22. Tulane

23. James Madison

24. North Carolina

25. Liberty

AP Top 25

1. Georgia (9-0)

2. Michigan (9-0)

3. Ohio State (9-0)

4. Florida State (9-0)

5. Washington (9-0)

6. Oregon (8-1)

7. Texas (8-1)

8. Alabama (8-1)

9. Penn State (8-1)

10. Mississippi (8-1)

11. Louisville (8-1)

12. Oregon State (7-2)

13. Utah (7-2)

14. Tennessee (7-2)

15. Oklahoma State (7-2)

16. Missouri (7-2)

17. Oklahoma (7-2)

18. LSU (6-3)

19. Kansas (7-2)

20. Tulane (8-1)

21. James Madison (9-0)

22. Notre Dame (7-3)

23. Arizona (6-3)

24. North Carolina (7-2)

25. Liberty (9-0)

Others receiving votes: Fresno St. 73, Kansas St. 73, Southern Cal 46, Air Force 26, Toledo 25, UCLA 11, Iowa 6, SMU 5, Duke 4, West Virginia 3, Texas A&M 1, NC State 1, Clemson 1.

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