AP Top 25 Poll shaken up following upset-filled Week 9 of college football

275133747_4796292347117549_592518599057046758_nby:Jonathan Wagner•10/30/22•

Jonathan Wagner

Even in weeks with perceived lighter slates, college football never fails to disappoint. There were some marquee matchups during Week 9, with three matchups between ranked teams. But the rest of the top 25 was upset-filled and filled with other surprises, too. After all of Week 9’s action, the new AP Top 25 Poll has been released.

The three ranked matchups this weekend were all drastically different. No. 2 Ohio State and No. 13 Penn State were engaged in a tight contest throughout, with the Buckeyes pulling away late and winning 44-31. No. 3 Tennessee was expected to win against No. 19 Kentucky, and the Vols did just that with a dominating 44-6 performance. No. 9 Oklahoma State and No. 22 Kansas State played on Saturday as well, and provided the biggest shock of the weekend. Kansas State not only won the game, but did so in dominating fashion with the final scoreboard reading 48-0.

The action didn’t stop after the ranked matchups, though. No. 11 Wake Forest couldn’t hold onto the ball on Saturday, and lost convincingly at the hands of Louisville. No. 16 Syracuse also struggled against Notre Dame, with the Orange falling 41-24 and dropping their second straight game. No. 20 Cincinnati also fell to UCF, while No. 25 South Carolina dropped its game 23-10 against Missouri.

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Other ranked teams narrowly avoided upsets over the weekend. No. 10 USC held on to beat Arizona 45-37, and No. 14 Utah edged out Washington State 21-17. No. 15 Ole Miss also held on 31-28 against Texas A&M, while No. 24 NC State survived after a second half resurgence against Virginia Tech.

After all of the surprises from Week 9, the AP Top 25 Poll has been updated. Some teams see some major rises and slides, while multiple new teams join the rankings as we enter Week 10.

AP Top 25 Poll following Week 9

  1. Georgia (8-0) (30 first-place votes)
  2. Ohio State (8-0) (15)
  3. Tennessee (8-0) (18)
  4. Michigan (8-0)
  5. Clemson (8-0)
  6. Alabama (7-1)
  7. TCU (8-0)
  8. Oregon (7-1)
  9. USC (7-1)
  10. UCLA (7-1)
  11. Ole Miss (8-1)
  12. Utah (6-2)
  13. Kansas State (6-2)
  14. Illinois (7-1)
  15. LSU (6-2)
  16. Penn State (6-2)
  17. North Carolina (7-1)
  18. Oklahoma State (6-2)
  19. Tulane (7-1)
  20. Wake Forest (6-2)
  21. NC State (6-2)
  22. Syracuse (6-2)
  23. Liberty (7-1)
  24. Oregon State (6-2)
  25. UCF (6-2)

NOTE: Ohio State and Tennessee are tied at No. 2 in this week’s poll.

Liberty, Oregon State, and UCF are the three new teams to join this week’s AP Top 25. They take the places of Kentucky (previously No. 19), Cincinnati (previously No. 20) and South Carolina (previously No. 25).

Texas was the top vote-getting team outside of this week’s rankings with 58 votes. The other teams to receive votes were Kentucky (57), Maryland (36), Cincinnati (32), Notre Dame (24), Washington (12), Arkansas (11), Baylor (9), Coastal Carolina (8), Florida State (8), Troy (7), Mississippi State (5), Boise State (4), East Carolina (2), South Carolina (2), Louisville (1) and UTSA (1).