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College Football AP Poll: Week 9

Bye, Ohio State. It’s been real.

By Brandon Anderson
NCAA Football: Ohio State at Purdue Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

It’s no secret that this year for UNC fans college football has been miserable. However, for those that are able to also enjoy the game outside of their favorite team, it’s been kind of a fun year. I’ll get to exactly what I mean by that in the “biggest losers” section, but right now let’s jump into this week’s AP poll:

AP Top 25

  1. Alabama
  2. Clemson
  3. Notre Dame
  4. LSU
  5. Michigan
  6. Texas
  7. Georgia
  8. Oklahoma
  9. Florida
  10. UCF
  11. Ohio State
  12. Kentucky
  13. West Virginia
  14. Washington State
  15. Washington
  16. Texas A&M
  17. Penn State
  18. Iowa
  19. Oregon
  20. Wisconsin
  21. South Florida
  22. North Carolina State
  23. Utah
  24. Stanford
  25. Appalachian State

Where is UNC?

Oh, you’re asking me about UNC basketball, right? Of course you are. You wouldn’t seriously ask me about UNC football. So, to answer your question, UNC is ranked #8 in the AP’s Preseason Top 25 poll. I hope that satisfied your curiosity.

Biggest Losers

  • Ohio State, Oregon, and NC State all took losses this past weekend that sent them on a treacherous slide down the rankings. The Wolfpack took quite the beating in Death Valley against Clemson, though even though the score makes that loss look pretty bad, there’s no shame in losing to the Tigers. Ohio State’s loss, however, raises a whole other level of questions in comparison. Bear in mind that Purdue lost to Northwestern and Eastern Michigan to start the season. Rest In Peace to their playoff hopes.

Winners

  • Essentially every team that is now ahead of Ohio State managed to benefit from their demise. Most importantly, LSU has now snuck into what would be the playoff picture if the AP poll was the definitive ranking (because we all know the committee will do committee-type things).
  • Washington State also found themselves benefitting quite a bit from a dominant win against Oregon. They jumped out ahead of the Ducks in the first half and never looked back, which sets up what should be a good game this weekend against Stanford.

On the Outside Looking In

Texas Tech, Utah State, and San Diego State found themselves right outside of the top 25 this week. If Texas Tech can find a way to get past Iowa State, they’ll have a chance to take out the Sooners at AT&T Stadium.

Conference Breakdown

AAC - 2

ACC - 2

Big 10 - 5

Big 12 - 3

Independent - 1

Pac 12 - 5

SEC - 6

Sun Belt - 1

Top 25 Games This Week

#9 Florida at #7 Georgia on 10/27 at 3:30 PM EST

#18 Iowa at Penn State on 10/27 at 3:30 PM EST

#14 Washington State at #24 Stanford at 7:00 PM EST

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