AP Top 25: Football and Basketball

The mood and general feeling surrounding this week is completely opposite for the football and basketball teams at Carolina. The basketball team bumped up to number 3 in the country after Wednesday’s opponent Indiana dropped one to Fort Wayne a week ago. Sitting just behind Kentucky and Villanova, the Heels are hoping to keep the momentum going and handle the Hoosiers on the road in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. This team is coming off a dominant performance in Maui, situated right where they want to be.

The Tar Heels on the field, however, are not where they wanted to be whatsoever. The football team, now unranked, stumbled against the Wolfpack on Friday. The loss sealed the Coastal victory for Virginia Tech, and UNC will wait for their bowl assignment. Two teams at very different points in their seasons, but maybe the basketball team can share a little bit of their optimism with the football squad. Hopefully, better things ahead for Coach Fedora and company in Chapel Hill. Let’s take a look at the status of the rest of the AP Top 25 field in both football and basketball.

Football

1. Alabama, 12-0
2. Ohio State, 11-1
3. Clemson, 11-1
4. Washington, 11-1
5. Michigan, 10-2
6. Wisconsin, 10-2
7. Oklahoma, 9-2
8. Penn State, 10-2
9. Colorado, 10-2
10. USC, 9-3
11. Oklahoma State, 9-1
12. Florida State, 9-3
13. Western Michigan, 12-0
14. West Virginia, 9-2
15. Florida, 8-3
16. Louisville, 9-3
17. Stanford, 9-3
18. Auburn, 8-4
19. Virginia Tech, 9-3
20. Navy, 9-2
21. LSU, 7-4
22. Iowa, 8-4
23. Nebraska, 9-3
24. Pittsburgh

South Florida, 10-2

Selection Sunday is rapidly approaching, and soon the AP poll will not matter because of the College Football Playoff final ranking announcement. It will be interesting to see who slides into that fourth spot, with Michigan likely dropping out of contention.

Even though Carolina football will be left out of championship weekend, it will surely be one that college football fans will not want to miss. Colorado visits Washington for the Pac-12 Championship on Friday, and then Alabama battles Florida for the SEC Championship on Saturday. Also on Saturday, Clemson takes on Virginia Tech to stay in playoff contention, and Wisconsin has Penn State for the Big Ten Championship.

All of these games lead up to the announcement of the College Football Playoff, and the rest of the bowl games. As of yesterday, SB Nation’s Jason Kirk has UNC slotted for the Belk Bowl in Charlotte facing Kentucky. Other projections like CBS’s Jerry Palm put Carolina in the TaxSlayer bowl against Tennessee in Charlotte. Check out the projections for all the bowl games at both of those links, and tune in on Sunday to find out where the Heels will be headed next.

Basketball

1. Kentucky, 6-0
2. Villanova, 6-0
3. North Carolina, 7-0
4. Kansas, 5-1
5. Duke, 6-1
6. Virginia, 6-0
7. Xavier, 6-0
8. Gonzaga, 6-0
9. Baylor, 6-0
10. Creighton, 6-0
11. UCLA, 7-0
12. Saint Mary’s, 5-0
13. Indiana, 4-1
14. Louisville, 5-1
15. Purdue, 5-1
16. Arizona, 5-1
17. Wisconsin, 5-2
18. Butler, 6-0
19. Iowa State, 5-1
20. South Carolina, 6-0
21. Rhode Island, 6-0
22. Syracuse, 4-1
23. Oregon, 4-2
24. Florida, 6-1
25. West Virginia, 4-1

Notes on the Basketball Top 25

• Florida, South Carolina, and Butler are the new arrivals to the rankings this week. Florida beat Miami last week, and South Carolina had some quality wins against Michigan and Miami
• Except for Kentucky and Villanova, everyone in the top 10 was bumped up a few spots with #3 Indiana losing to IPFW. The Tar Heels took over the number three spot ahead of their match up with Indiana in Bloomington
• Out of the top 10, five of those teams are not particularly well-liked by Carolina fans for various reasons. Some are hated more than others, but it might be slightly frustrating jockeying for position with the likes of Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Villanova, and Creighton down the stretch
• Five ACC teams make up the Top 25 in the early going, which seems slightly low considering teams like Maryland and Miami have made appearances in years past. Florida State dropped from the #25 spot this week after losing to Temple in the NIT Season Kickoff. Still, the ACC is one of the most represented conferences

Wednesday Night Hoops this week

#15 Purdue at #14 Louisville - 7:15 on ESPN

Ohio State at #6 Virginia - 9:15 on ESPN2

#3 North Carolina at #13 Indiana - 9:15 on ESPN

There you have it, the AP Top 25 rankings for football and basketball. The Carolina football team will likely be excluded from the rankings for the rest of this season, but the basketball team looks like it is full steam ahead. If the Heels can prevent a loss to Indiana, it’s looking like a top five matchup with Kentucky on December 17th. Exiting times for UNC Basketball.