Saturday’s chaos is going to tear the AP Top 25 apart.
Five teams ranked inside the top seven went down on Oct. 18, and the ripple effect figures to hit every corner of the poll. No.
1 Georgia, No. 2 Notre Dame, No.
5 Indiana, No. 6 Alabama and No.
7 Texas all lost, turning one day into a full-scale reset for college football’s ranking picture.
Notre Dame’s loss carries the most intrigue. The Fighting Irish were meeting their first ranked opponent of the season in No.
8 BYU on the road, and the finish came with controversy attached. One second was still on the clock after what looked like the final play, with Notre Dame still in position to make a last push.
Marcus Freeman and his team remain legitimate contenders, but the source of concern is whether they have enough experience to be fully “battle tested” before a game like this.
BYU’s win should push the Cougars up sharply, though exactly how far won’t be known until the rankings come out Sunday. That movement at the top will create a chain reaction, with a new No. 1 expected and a reshuffled top five.
Georgia and Indiana may not slide much despite losing, and Indiana’s spot is especially interesting after it came close to Ohio State. The Cougars’ rise will also affect the rest of the top 10.
Texas and Alabama may end up in the middle of the poll rather than tumbling all the way out of the top 15. The SEC’s depth could keep both teams closer to the top than a pair of losses might normally suggest. Tennessee, meanwhile, is positioned to move into the top 10, and Florida is set to come back into the rankings.
A projected poll had Ohio State at No. 1, followed by Miami, Georgia, Indiana and Ole Miss, with BYU at No. 6 and Tennessee at No. 7.
Notre Dame checked in at No. 8, Texas Tech at No. 9 and Utah at No.
- The rest of that projected top 25 listed UCLA, Alabama, Texas, Kentucky, Iowa, Houston, USC, LSU, Wake Forest, Missouri, Boise State, Oklahoma State, SMU, Northwestern and Florida.
Oregon also remains on the outside looking in for now. The Ducks received the 27th-most votes in the week 6 AP Poll, leaving them two spots short of the rankings.
A win over Nebraska should be enough to get Dan Lanning’s team back into the top 25, but the climb may not be dramatic even with all the upheaval around them. Oregon started the season at No. 2, so two early losses have already knocked it down considerably.
The Ducks’ résumé includes four ranked opponents so far, with two wins and two losses. One of those losses came when then-No.
18 Oklahoma State fell to then-No. 20 Houston, though Oklahoma State is still expected to stay ranked.
Oregon still has more chances ahead to strengthen its case, including games against No. 25 Northwestern and Ohio State.
The AP Top 25 Poll is set to be released at approximately 11 a.m. PT.
In Other News...
Indiana Showed Enough Against Ohio State To Fuel A Bigger Debate
Indianas unbeaten run ended in Bloomington, but the way the Hoosiers handled Ohio State left plenty more to chew on than the final score. In a 19-15 loss, Indiana stayed in the fight from start to finish and gave the Buckeyes enough problems to make the game feel far closer than the records suggested, even if the margin never quite turned in its favor.
The late failure to convert on fourth down loomed over everything after the final whistle, the kind of moment that turns a strong showing into a what-if discussion. Charlie Beckers 9 catches for 165 yards kept Indiana moving, while Jeremiah Smith finished with 4 receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown, and the Hoosiers now head into the aftermath with one loss and a much bigger conversation about how close they are to the sports elite. [Read more 🡒]
Cignetti Reveals What Cost Indiana In Painful Ohio State Loss
Curt Cignetti left the postgame podium sounding equal parts frustrated and encouraged after Indianas 19-15 loss to Ohio State, a game in which the Hoosiers had enough defensive resistance to stay in it but could not cash in on the offensive chances that came their way. He pointed to missed opportunities as the difference, with third-quarter turnovers helping swing the flow of the night, even as the defense kept finding ways to make life difficult for the Buckeyes.
Ferrells interceptions were among the standout moments Cignetti mentioned, part of a defensive effort that gave Indiana a chance deep into the game. The next step, he said, is turning a painful finish into a lesson and moving on quickly to Michigan, where the Hoosiers will need a cleaner performance if they want the result to go the other way. [Read more 🡒]
Indiana Was At The Center Of A Costly Officiating Controversy
Indiana found itself tied to another officiating flashpoint over the weekend, this time as a college football landscape still buzzing from a clock mistake in the Notre Dame-BYU game. The Big 12 acknowledged that error and said it would review its end-of-game officiating process, a reminder of how quickly one broken sequence can take over the conversation when a game ends with precious seconds still in question.
For Indiana fans, the frustration comes with a familiar edge because the Hoosiers were already part of a separate controversy in their own game against Ohio State. A roughing-the-passer call extended an Indiana drive and drew plenty of attention in a matchup the Buckeyes still won, leaving the Hoosiers connected to another night where officiating became part of the story instead of the football. [Read more 🡒]