AP top 25 voters were once again faced with the most important decision they can make in a season, that of naming a new No. 1 team in the college football rankings.
They can thank Texas for that, after the former top-ranked SEC title contender dropped a three-point decision against unranked rival Oklahoma, paving the way for another conference powerhouse to get a promotion to the No. 1 position in the poll.
That wasn’t the only move AP pollsters were faced with on their ballots in Week 7. What other changes were made to the college football rankings this week?
First-place votes in parentheses
- Georgia (66)
- Notre Dame (1)
- Miami (2)
- Ohio State
- Indiana (1)
- Alabama
- Texas
- BYU
- Ole Miss
- Texas Tech
- Utah
- UCLA
- Missouri
- Tennessee
- Kentucky
- Mississippi State
- Iowa
- Oklahoma State
- USC
- Houston
- Wake Forest
- LSU
- Boise State
- SMU
- Northwestern
What we got right, and wrong: Our projection for the AP poll in Week 7
AP voters make change at No. 1
Texas looked like a sure thing at No. 1 coming into this weekend. All they had to do was beat an underdog and unranked Oklahoma that seemingly couldn’t move the ball.
That was, until Arch Manning obliged that elite Sooner defense by handing them two interceptions that even OU’s meager unit was able to convert into the decisive points, dislodging the Longhorns from the top spot and dropping it right into the SEC champions’ laps.
Welcome aboard, Georgia, which gained 60 first-place votes this week. We’re used to it: the Bulldogs’ 40 appearances at No. 1 in this decade are the most of any program in college football. Coming off that gutsy win at Alabama, suddenly this looks like one of Kirby Smart’s teams from the title days.
Who jumped in the rankings?
Kentucky proved itself with a signature overtime win against LSU, catapulting 11 spots, the most of any team, and improving its vote share from 160 to 655. The 5-1 Wildcats go to Oklahoma next.
Another surprise Power Four insurgent, UCLA improved 9 places after an important, if ugly, 17-15 win at Oregon that keeps it undefeated and in very good position to make a run at the playoff. Not bad for Bob Chesney in his first season as coach.
Who the pollsters dropped in Week 7
Not too great of a fall for Texas, which was docked six places in the rankings after the Red River Shootout, but serious questions remain about the validity of this offense with Arch Manning at the helm as they pursue their SEC championship ambitions.
Oregon is out of the rankings entirely after a second loss to the season, falling effectively to No. 27 in the country, behind Wisconsin, and receiving just 86 votes, down from the 831 it had last week, and suddenly one of the national title faves from the Big Ten is in real trouble.
Likewise for LSU, which dropped 12 places, the most of any team in the Week 7 poll after that overtime loss at Kentucky, dropping Lane Kiffin to 13-13 on the road at Ole Miss and LSU, and throwing a wrench into those College Football Playoff ambitions that followed his hiring.
What teams just missed the AP poll?
Wisconsin 92, Oregon 86, Arizona 82, Nebraska 65, Oklahoma 44, James Madison 29, Florida 9, Duke 5, New Mexico 3, Oregon State 1.
Rankings: Coaches Poll | ESPN Top 25
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