The Oregon Ducks had an AP-ranked college football team for precisely six years. On Sunday, Oregon was removed from the AP Top 25 after being stomped at home by Utah Saturday night. The last time Oregon was not ranked by the AP voters was September 26, 2009. The Ducks were ranked the next day after upsetting California, and they stayed in the AP poll while enjoying a high level of success as a program. The Ducks will be back in the rankings at some point, but they have some concerns to address in the eyes of the AP voters and anyone who watched them Saturday night.
Ohio State and Michigan State remain on top of the AP poll this week, the Buckeyes continuing to keep the top spot warm with 45 first-place votes. The Spartans picked up five first-place votes and remain second in the poll ahead of Ole Miss. The Rebels picked up 10 first-place votes this week after avoiding an upset bid by Vanderbilt. TCU was tied with Ole Miss last week but is now the fourth team in the poll after escaping Lubbock with a win against Texas Tech. No. 5 Baylor and No. 6 Notre Dame remained where they were a week ago following blowout wins, while No. 7 UCLA moved up two spots following a dismantling of Arizona in Tucson. UCLA passed over No. 8 Georgia and No. 9 LSU, and No. 10 Utah moved up eight spots to round out this week’s top 10. The Utes earned one first-place vote after improving to 4-0 with wins over Oregon and Michigan.
The Wolverines also make an appearance in this week’s AP poll. Jim Harbaugh has Michigan playing well heading into Big Ten play, and they will do so as the No. 22 team in the nation. No. 23 West Virginia, No. 24 Cal and No. 25 Florida all make their first appearances in the AP poll this week. No. 21 Mississippi State returned to the poll this week as well.
This week’s AP poll, with first-place votes noted, is below.
- Ohio State (45)
- Michigan State (5)
- Ole Miss (10)
- TCU
- Baylor
- Notre Dame
- UCLA
- Georgia
- LSU
- Utah (1)
- Florida State
- Clemson
- Alabama
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma
- Northwestern
- USC
- Stanford
- Wisconsin
- Oklahoma State
- Mississippi State
- Michigan
- West Virginia
- California
- Florida