Here’s the latest AP Top 25. I’ve added a few of my ACC-centric thoughts on it below.
SCHOOL |
RECORD |
POINTS |
PREVIOUS |
| 1. Alabama (52) | 8-0 | 1,491 | 1 |
| 2. Oregon (2) | 8-0 | 1,418 | 2 |
| 3. Florida St. (6) | 8-0 | 1,409 | 3 |
| 4. Ohio St. | 9-0 | 1,315 | 4 |
| 5. Baylor | 7-0 | 1,234 | 5 |
| 6. Stanford | 7-1 | 1,214 | 6 |
| 7. Auburn | 8-1 | 1,082 | 8 |
| 8. Clemson | 8-1 | 1,059 | 9 |
| 9. Missouri | 8-1 | 956 | 10 |
| 10. LSU | 7-2 | 863 | 11 |
| 11. Texas A&M | 7-2 | 861 | 12 |
| 12. Oklahoma | 7-1 | 816 | 13 |
| 13. South Carolina | 7-2 | 769 | 14 |
| 14. Miami | 7-1 | 737 | 7 |
| 15. Oklahoma St. | 7-1 | 662 | 18 |
| 16. UCLA | 6-2 | 515 | 17 |
| 17. Fresno St. | 8-0 | 493 | 16 |
| 18. Michigan St. | 8-1 | 478 | 24 |
| 19. UCF | 6-1 | 472 | 19 |
| 20. Louisville | 7-1 | 385 | 20 |
| 21. Wisconsin | 6-2 | 342 | 22 |
| 22. N. Illinois | 9-0 | 322 | 21 |
| 23. Arizona St. | 6-2 | 197 | 25 |
| 24. Notre Dame | 7-2 | 164 | NR |
| 25. Texas Tech | 7-2 | 102 | 15 |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:
Texas 34, Georgia 32, BYU 28, Mississippi 17, Houston 9, Minnesota 7, Michigan 6, Washington 6, Ball St. 4, Duke 1.
NOTES:
* Yep, that’s FSU stealing first place votes from both Oregon and Alabama. And the Seminoles also leapfrogged the Ducks in the all-important BCS Standings. Of course, that may just be temporary, as FSU got a bump from beating Miami, and the Ducks would get the same this Thursday if they beat Stanford … which is why Tallahassee will be like Palo Alto East this week. FSU’s schedule is soft the next three weeks and Florida isn’t playing like, well … Florida right now. In other words, the Seminoles’ domination is making an impression on AP voters, but they made help to stay grab one of the top two spots in the BCS standings by season’s end.
* Remember how I told you why voters punished Virginia Tech so severely for its loss to Duke? Similar logic applies with Miami. The Canes had slipped by three inferior teams and then were outclassed by FSU. So a large drop – in this case from No. 7 to No. 14 – was inevitable. Also just as important – no one else around Miami in the standings lost, making it hard for the Canes to have a soft landing.
* Clemson, meanwhile, appears to have stabilized. Its 59-10 destruction of Virginia now allows voters to view the Maryland game as a case of FSU-hangover. Next up is an always dicey game with Georgia Tech. Get through that and then solve the riddle of the Gamecocks, and the Tigers are in great position for an at-large BCS bowl berth.
* Not sure what happened, but Duke lost one of its two votes during the bye week. And no, that does not mean that the Blue Devils’ lone vote is from Steve Spurrier. Wrong poll, snarky folks.