AP Top 25 Teams Move Up and Down in Week 11

The first full weekend of November football saw several AP Top 25 teams rest, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t much action happening across the country as some of college football’s postseason contenders took the field to prove it . games on Saturday.

Happy Valley failed to live up to its name for the home team in the early window as a battle of four top Big Ten opponents met with one team looking to end a long losing streak against its rival while the other looked to avoid what would have been a costly second loss.

Other results in Saturday’s announcement showed seven ranked teams lost in the field, including SEC and ACC powerhouses in the Palmetto State, and an undefeated ACC opponent failed to make it past a critical primetime road test.

Which teams will move into the top 25 of the AP college football rankings this week?

Let’s try to predict who will rise and fall in the polls heading into Week 11.

Last week’s ranking: #3

It’s starting to get monotonous. Moreover, this year everything was different.

Many analysts predicted that Penn State would finally overcome Ohio State, coming in undefeated, playing at home and having more breathing room thanks to the expanded playoffs.

Instead, it was another sluggish performance on both sides of the ball that led to an eighth straight loss to the Buckeyes, not so much raising but directly answering questions about head coach James Franklin’s performance against top-ranked opponents.

Franklin fell to 1-13 against AP top-5 opponents, including 11 straight losses, just 3-18 against top-10 teams, and fell to 1-10 against Ohio State.

In four trips to the red zone, the Nittany Lions made two field goals and no touchdowns, scoring just 6 of 20 points.

The punt was a failed attempt by the Penn State offense to punt from the Buckeyes’ 3- and then 2-yard line, a four-play failure that ended in a turnover on downs and effectively ended the team’s title hopes. ball again.

Only twice in Andy Kotelnicki’s career as an offensive coordinator has his team been held out of the end zone, and Jim Knowles is responsible for both: in 2021 against Knowles’ Oklahoma State defense and on Saturday against his Buckeyes.

In the era of the four-team playoff, a loss would effectively end Penn State’s national title hopes, but with no ranked teams on the schedule, an 11-1 record is more than possible, and with it the possibility of the Playoff could be considered. off college football.

As for now, the top 25 AP voters will punish the Nittany Lions for not living up to their potential as the No. 3 team, but may not be too harsh on their ballots given recent precedent.

Texas remained in the top five after losing to Georgia as the No. 1 team a few weeks ago, and while that may be too much to ask, Penn State should cling to a top-ten spot.

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Last week’s ranking: #4

It’s hard to overstate how important this win was for Ohio State.

The pressure was mounting: The loss to Oregon still loomed large, head coach Ryan Day was coming under fire for his performance against top-ranked opponents, and a second loss would give the selection committee even more ammunition to keep this team out. playoffs

Will Howard was the first to admit that he didn’t have a great game, throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown on his first pass, getting awkwardly close to the goal line on a carry that resulted in a touchback, and missing what could have been a first half touchdown.

But he also threw for two touchdowns, and after the Buckeyes called a defensive stand from 2 yards out, the quarterback was instrumental in sealing the win, bringing in the top drive to run out the clock and running on the final first down to grab the win. This.

This may not be the offense we expected from Ohio State this season, but this team can still beat one of their biggest conference rivals and is playing more physical football, which could prove very useful as we head into the postseason.

An Ohio win could create a dilemma for some of AP’s top 25 voters. Typically, wins for the No. 1 and No. 2 teams mean Oregon and Georgia, respectively, will remain in their respective spots.

But some ballots might entertain the No. 2 Buckeyes, considering the team was a 1-point road loser against the No. 1 team, won on the road against the No. 3 team, and after Georgia struggled get rid of the unrated team. Florida.

Our bet is that these top two teams won’t go away and Ohio State will move into the No. 3 spot in the rankings that was previously held by Penn State.

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Last week’s ranking: #18

Pitt was one of eight remaining undefeated teams in college football entering Saturday, but there were some questions about the quality of competition behind that 7-0 record.

A road game against one-loss SMU, the Panthers hoped, would have quelled those concerns and bolstered their ACC title hopes.

But the offense was unable to generate much momentum, scoring 3 points in the first half and the defense largely unable to contain the Mustangs’ capable weapons in a 48-25 loss.

The margin of loss to top-ranked Pitt will give AP voters pause, but probably not enough to knock the team off the rankings entirely.

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Last week’s ranking: #20

On the other side of the Metroplex rout, the Mustangs impressed with a balanced, aggressive offensive game plan that outlasted Pittsburgh’s strong defense to earn a convincing win.

The win catapulted SMU into second place in the ACC standings and an 8-1 record, with three very winnable games to follow: against BC, at Virginia and against Cal.

And with other teams higher in the rankings losing their games, the Mustangs should have plenty of room to move up in the polls, almost certainly into the top 15.

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Kansas State and Iowa State entered this weekend as promising Big 12 title contenders, but after stunning losses to unranked opponents, both are falling in the rankings and struggling in November.

Both were within striking distance of contending for the Big 12 title but were pushed back hard after being upset by Houston and Texas Tech, respectively.

Iowa State was No. 11 and off to its best start since 1938, one of two undefeated teams remaining in the conference, and poised to compete for the Big 12 title and, by proxy, make the playoffs.

Now, the Cyclones have no real margin for error as they advance in a crowded field near the top of the Big 12 with Colorado sitting just behind in the standings.

Same with Kansas State, which was No. 17 in the poll this week but whose solid rushing attack, ranked No. 9 in the FBS this weekend, hit a wall against the ignored Cougars.

K-State finished with just 89 yards on the ground and a meager 2.6 yards per carry average, and the offense scored just 3 points in the second half, giving up 14 in the fourth quarter alone.

AP voters will likely knock the Cyclones out of the top 15, while the Wildcats face a worst-case scenario of falling out of the poll and, at best, a bottom-five finish.

Don’t look now, but Colorado suddenly finds itself in second place in the Big 12 standings with a 4-1 conference record and 6-2 overall.

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Last week’s ranking: #5

With one of the top four teams in the AP ranking sure to lose this weekend, the fifth-ranked Hurricanes were expected to move up in the poll, assuming they could win.

And while Duke made that call far more questionable than expected by leading Miami 28-17 in the third quarter on the road with inspired play, it fell to Cam Ward to revive the Canes’ fortunes, and that’s exactly what he’s done all season.

Ward led Miami 36-3 midway through the third quarter, once again reminding everyone that this offense can score at will when it has the will to.

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Last week’s ranking: #10

There are no more undefeated teams in SEC play after Texas A&M suffered a 44-20 road loss to South Carolina to fall to 5-1 in the conference.

A real disappointment for the Aggies, whose superior defense failed to live up to its reputation on the road, giving up over 500 yards while their offense failed to score a single point in the second half.

That will force the top 25 AP voters to reassess A&M’s place in the rankings, with the middle third expecting some major changes after losing to several ranked teams.

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— Clemson fell flat on its face after a week of inactivity, failing to accomplish much in a surprise home loss to unranked Louisville and slipping from No. 11 in the rankings.

– Ole Miss should make a jump in the rankings after beating Arkansas 63-31 as Jackson Dart had 6 touchdown passes and the Rebels moved to 3-2 in SEC play with Georgia next.

— Boise State will take advantage of other changes in the polls from higher-ranked teams coming off a 56-24 win over San Diego State and sitting at 7-1 with a loss to top-ranked Oregon.

— Indiana should get more votes in the Week 11 rankings after coming back from a 10-0 deficit to crush Michigan State on the road to move to 9-0 for the first time in program history and firmly in contention for the College Football Playoff.

— Vanderbilt received votes last week but could move back into the rankings this week with a 10-point win over Auburn that lifts the Dores to 3-2 in SEC play.

— Missouri could fall out of the rankings after hanging on to No. 25 last week despite a 34-0 loss to Alabama because AP voters were unable to find a replacement to fill out the bottom of their ballots.

— Same with Illinois, which was expected to fall out of the polls last week and almost certainly will this week after falling to 6-3 after its second straight loss.

— Minnesota, the team that beat the Illini on the road, could move up in the rankings this week after winning its fourth straight game and going 4-2 in Big Ten play.

And… We’re projecting a top 25 AP ranking in Week 11.

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