The AP poll was released yesterday after a wild weekend of college football that saw then #2 Georgia lose to then #16 Ole Miss 28-10 and #4 Miami lose to unranked Georgia Tech 28-23. We also saw Boise State get moved down one spot, and pushed out of the top 12, despite winning their game against Nevada 28-21. The only newcomer in the top 12 is Ole Miss at No. 10 after their win over Georgia. Oregon still remains at No.1
Looking at the rest of the AP top 25, three new schools made their way into the ranked picture. Two schools from the SEC made their way in with South Carolina at No. 23 and Missouri at No.24. Rounding out the top 25 is Tulane coming off their 52-6 beatdown of Temple.
The Big Ten Dominates The AP Top 5
The Big Ten only had four teams qualify for the AP top 25 poll. Every single one of those teams landed in the top 5.
Coming in at No.5 is the surprise of the season, Indiana. The Hoosiers have been on a tear with new head coach Curt Cignetti, winning all but one of their games in dominating fashion and earning themselves a spot in the Big Ten championship conversation. They haven’t played anyone ranked yet but their time to test their metal will come in two weeks as they travel to Columbus to take on the No. 2 Buckeyes.
“Half of the folks out their are still saying ‘well they havent played anyone’, yeah but they’ve thrown everyone they have played in a wood chipper. They haven’t snuck past anyone. (qoute is from before the michigan game) They spotted Michigan state 10 and then just obliterated them.”- Josh Pate, CBS Sports
Coming in at No. 4 is Penn State, a team and a coach that still has everything to prove against top competition. During his career at Penn State, head coach James Franklin has a record of 1-23 against opponents ranked in the top 5. This stat does not show a good forecast for the Nittany Lions if they make the college football playoff because they will most likely have to play another top 5 team to win the championship.
Coming in at No.3 is the only non-Big Ten team, Texas. The Longhorns had a dominating win over Florida and would probably be ranked much higher if they hadn’t slipped against Georgia. No surprises here.
The two teams coming in second and first should surprise nobody. No. 2 Ohio State beat No. 4 Penn State by a touchdown a few weeks ago and lost to No.1 Oregon by a single point. They still have a chance to prove themselves against top competition as they play No.5 Indiana in two weeks. Oregon beat No. 2 Ohio State and No.13 Boise State while cruising through the rest of their schedule with little trouble. Until proven otherwise, Oregon will be the favorite to win the Big Ten and the National title.
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