AP Top 25 Poll: Week Four

It’s been a boring couple weeks for UNC football fans, as the Tar Heels were off for the second consecutive week. This week it was for the already scheduled bye week, but it’s been quite a weird start to a weird season.

However, it wasn’t a boring week in college football. Multiple blueblood powerhouses fell over the weekend. That plus the addition of some soon to return teams has lead to some pretty drastic changes in the AP Top 25 poll. Let’s take a look at the new edition and where the Heels landed in it.

AP Top 25

1. Clemson Tigers (55 First Place Votes)
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (3)
3. Florida Gators
4. Georgia Bulldogs
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
6. Ohio State Buckeyes (4)
7. Auburn Tigers
8. Miami Hurricanes
9. Texas Longhorns
10. Penn State Nittany Lions
11. UCF Golden Knights
12. North Carolina Tar Heels
13. Texas A&M Aggies
14. Oregon Ducks
15. Cincinnati Bearcats
16. Mississippi State Bulldogs
17. Oklahoma State Cowboys
18. Oklahoma Sooners
19. Wisconsin Badgers
20. LSU Tigers
21. Tennessee Volunteers
22. BYU Cougars
23. Michigan Wolverines
24. Pittsburgh Panthers
25. Memphis Tigers

Where is UNC?

Despite not taking the field for a second straight weekend, the Tar Heels were again on the move in this week’s poll. However, this time it was on the move downward, as they fell a spot to #12.

Last week, we mentioned how they could see a change in ranking even in off week because some teams ahead of the Heels had tough matchups. Well that was the case as both LSU and Oklahoma fell. However, UNC ended up dropping despite that due to another reason. With the Big Ten and Pac-12 both announcing comebacks, their teams are again eligible to receive votes. Two Big Ten teams in Ohio State and Penn State both vaulted over Carolina and into the top 10. If those two teams hadn’t been up for votes, UNC likely would be making their first top 10 appearance since 2015.

Biggest Winners

Besides the two aforementioned Big Ten teams making the jump from unranked to #6 and #10, the biggest spot-gainer was Miami, who are up four spots to #8. The Hurricanes continued their hot start to the season, crushing Florida State 52-10.

Besides the new teams, only three others, Florida, Notre Dame, and UCF, moved up more than one spot.

Biggest Losers

Two playoff teams, including last year’s national champion, both took massive drops following losses. Oklahoma fell the most, dropping 15 spots after blowing a 28-7 lead and losing to Kansas State. Meanwhile, the post-Joe Burrow era started on a down note, as LSU lost to Mississippi State, leading to a 14 spot drop.

Also, pour one out for Louisiana, who fell from #19 to unranked, mainly because of the addition of the Big Ten/Pac-12 teams and not because of a loss.

Conference Breakdown

• ACC: 5
• American: 3
• Big 12: 4
• Big Ten: 3
• Independent: 1
• Pac-12: 1
• SEC: 8

Marquee Top 25 Matchups This Week

• #13 Texas A&M (1-0) at #2 Alabama (1-0) (Saturday, 3:30 PM ET, CBS)
• #25 Memphis (1-0) at SMU (3-0) (Saturday, 3:30 PM ET, ESPN2)
• #7 Auburn (1-0) at #4 Georgia (1-0) (Saturday, 7:30 PM ET, ESPN)