Not a lot of action or movement in the top 25 following week 9, with five of the top 7 not playing, which keeps Ohio State, Baylor, Clemson, LSU and TCU in the top 5, in that order as well. No one new joining the top 10 while Notre Dame move up at the expense of Stanford, while North Carolina make it in for the first time this season and Texas A&M make it back, all at the expense of the ACC, with Pittsburgh and Duke getting bumped.
1. Ohio State Buckeyes (39 first place votes), 8-0: Didn’t play, didn’t move.
2. Baylor Bears (6), 7-0: Didn’t play, didn’t move.
3. Clemson Tigers (6), 8-0: Had a less than easy time against North Carolina State about half the way, beating them 56-41.
4. LSU Tigers (5), 7-0: Didn’t play, didn’t move.
5. TCU Horned Frogs (4), 8-0: Routed West Virginia 40-10 in an easy afternoon.
6. Michigan State Spartans, 8-0: Didn’t play, didn’t move.
7. Alabama Crimson Tide (1), 7-1: Didn’t play, didn’t move.
8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 7-1: Struggled a little bit in their Philadelphia visit but overcame Temple to ruin their undefeated season, winning 24-20.
9. Stanford Cardinal, 7-1: Lost one spot because of how close they came to losing against Washington State, escaping with a 30-28 win thanks to a missed field goal.
10. Iowa Hawkeyes, 8-0: Keep bouncing teams in the Big Ten, this time easily beating Maryland 31-15.
11. Florida Gators, 7-1: While beating Georgia isn’t such a big deal this season, the 27-3 victory makes a lot of people very happy, although doesn’t move them in the polls.
12. Oklahoma State Cowboys, 8-0: Struggled for about a half in the shootout with Texas Tech but took their offense and defense to another level in the second half, winning 70-53 and not moving.
13. Utah Utes, 7-1: Back on the winning horse, overcoming Oregon State 27-12 without it having an impact on the voters.
14. Oklahoma Sooners, 7-1: Didn’t move, as wins over Kansas, even 62-7 victories, don’t really impress anyone these days.
15. Memphis Tigers, 8-0: Moved up one spot following their 41-13 win over Tulane.
16. Michigan Wolverines, 6-2: Managed to hold on in Minnesota with a 29-26 win, but it cost them a spot in the rankings.
17. Florida State Seminoles, 7-1: Stayed put following their 45-21 win over Syracuse, playing with a backup quarterback and no Dalvin Cook, making it even more impressive.
18. Houston Cougars, 8-0: Part of the American Conference trifecta, beating up 34-0 on poor Vanderbilt.
19. Ole Miss Rebels, 7-2: Ole Miss beat Auburn 27-19 on the road. It didn’t move them up the rankings, but it made things a little bit sadder for the Tigers, which is always good to do to a division rival.
20. Toledo Rockets, 7-0: Didn’t play, didn’t move.
21. North Carolina Tar Heels, 7-1: Ranked for the first time this season following their 26-19 win over Pittsburgh to take control of the Coastal division in the ACC.
22. UCLA Bruins, 6-2: Moved up a couple of spots after a 35-31 win over Colorado.
23. Temple Owls, 7-1: Fall two spots after a tough, 24-20 home loss against Notre Dame.
24. Mississippi State Bulldogs, 6-2: Moved up one spot without playing.
25. Texas A&M Aggies, 6-2: Back in the rankings after a 35-28 win over South Carolina, showing voters really had no idea what to do.
Dropped from rankings: Duke, Pittsburgh