The AP Top 25 is in for another shakeup, and Sunday’s release could feature some movement near the top after a weekend full of narrow escapes and a few notable upsets.
USC is one of the teams worth watching. The No.
18 Trojans got through a key test against Washington, and with the noise around coach Lincoln Riley continuing to build, they could move up when the new poll drops. The Trojans also sit in a Big Ten race that has already started to get scrambled, with No.
14 Iowa losing to No. 5 Ohio State while the conference continues to sort out its pecking order behind the Buckeyes, No.
6 Indiana and No. 15 Oregon.
Minnesota’s win over Michigan added another wrinkle, and USC now has upcoming games against Penn State and Wisconsin. Wisconsin, in particular, is a team that could enter the AP Top 25 sooner rather than later.
The SEC produced its biggest shock Saturday when No. 25 Missouri knocked off No.
8 Florida. That result sends Florida tumbling and should push Missouri up the rankings.
No. 7 Alabama also made a statement by pulling away from No.
16 Mississippi State, a result that likely sends the Bulldogs sliding.
Elsewhere, several teams survived but did not exactly impress. No.
10 BYU beat TCU by one possession. No.
12 Texas Tech had a tougher-than-it-looked day against Colorado, even if the final score made it seem more comfortable. No.
21 SMU also had to work to put away Boston College at home, which could hurt its case for a climb.
Ohio State’s road win over a top-15 opponent is another result that could move the needle. That raises the question of whether the Buckeyes will jump ahead of a less-tested team like No.
3 Notre Dame. Early-season rankings tend to shift the most, and with conference play now rolling, voters are getting a clearer picture of which teams are truly separating themselves.
Alabama’s case is also strong after its road dismantling of Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide are ranked behind Indiana right now, but that could change when the new poll is unveiled.
A projected AP Top 25 had Texas at No. 1, followed by Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami and Ohio State. Indiana, Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss and BYU rounded out the top 10 in one version, while another placed Texas, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Miami at the top, with Alabama moving to No. 7 and Florida down to No. 8.
The full projected field also included LSU, Texas Tech, Utah, Iowa, Oregon, Mississippi State, Tennessee, USC, Oklahoma State, Houston, SMU, Boise State, UCLA, Kentucky and Missouri.
The AP Poll is scheduled to be released at approximately 11 a.m. PT.
In Other News...
Mizzou Just Delivered The Bounce-Back Tigers Fans Desperately Needed
For a program looking to reset the mood in a hurry, Saturday gave Mizzou exactly the kind of response it had been searching for. The No. 25 Tigers knocked off No. 8 Florida 45-10, a result that stood out not just for the margin but for what it meant in the bigger picture, as Mizzous first regular-season win over a Top 10 opponent since 2013. It was the sort of complete performance that can change the temperature around a team in a single afternoon.
Mizzou did it by controlling the game at the line of scrimmage and making Floridas offense look out of sync from the start. The defense held star running back Jadan Baugh to 13 yards on 12 carries, while Jamal Roberts powered the offense with more than 200 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The passing game spread the ball around, Blake Craig added key field goals, and the Tigers left no doubt that this was the bounce-back performance their fans had been waiting for. [Read more 🡒]
Eli Drinkwitz Just Changed The Conversation Around Missouri
Saturdays rout of Florida did more than add another win to Missouris record. By taking down the No. 8 Gators 45-17, the Tigers delivered the kind of performance that can reset the tone around a program, and they did it by controlling the game in every phase. Missouri held Florida to just 42 rushing yards and finished with a 560 to 325 edge in total yardage, the sort of numbers that tell you this was no fluke.
For Eli Drinkwitz, it also marked another notable line on a rsum that is starting to look different than it did when he arrived in Columbia. He now has two top-10 wins during his tenure, and this one carried extra weight because of how thoroughly Missouri handled the moment. For a program trying to move from occasional spoiler to something more durable, a result like this changes the conversation in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Defense Just Made A Huge Statement Against No. 8 Florida
Missouris defense delivered the kind of night that can change the way people talk about a team, smothering No. 8 Florida in a 45-17 win and making the Gators look uncomfortable from the opening stretches. The Tigers took away the run, kept Jadan Baugh to 13 yards on 12 carries, and made Florida chase the game while the Mizzou offense turned the stops into points and steadily pulled away.
Kensley Louidor-Faustin was part of a front that kept the pressure on Floridas quarterback and helped produce multiple sacks, a sign that Missouris pass rush and run defense were working in sync. For a team trying to build real momentum in SEC play, the larger takeaway was less about one big play than the way the Tigers controlled both lines and left a top-10 opponent with few answers. [Read more 🡒]