AP top 25 teams move up and down in Week 11

The first full football weekend of November saw several teams in the AP top 25 rankings rest, but that doesn’t mean there was very consistent action across the country as some of college football’s postseason contenders were on the field to compete. to prove. matches on Saturday.

Happy Valley didn’t live up to its home team name early on, as a battle of the top four Big Ten rivals met with one team looking to end a long losing streak against its rival while the other hoped to do that. avoided what would have been a costly second loss.

Other results during Statement Saturday saw seven ranked teams lose on the field, including stunners in the SEC and ACC in the Palmetto State and an undefeated ACC contender failed to pass a critical road test in primetime.

Which teams will appear in the AP’s top 25 college football rankings this week?

Let’s try to predict who will go up and who will go down in the polls heading into week 11.

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

This is starting to get monotonous. Mainly because it felt different coming into this year.

More than a few analysts predicted Penn State would finally get one in Ohio State, coming in undefeated, playing at home and with more breathing room thanks to the expanded playoffs.

Instead, it was another sluggish performance on both sides of the ball that resulted in an eighth straight loss to the Buckeyes that didn’t so much raise as it did outright answer questions about head coach James Franklin’s performance against highly ranked opponents.

Franklin fell to 1-13 against top-five AP opponents, including 11 straight losses, just 3-18 against top-10 teams, and fell to 1-10 against Ohio State.

In four trips inside the red zone, the Nittany Lions came away with two field goals and no touchdowns, scoring just six total points inside the 20.

The final blow was a failed attempt by the Penn State offense to drive the ball in from the Buckeyes’ 3- and then 2-yard line, a four-play mishap that ended with a turnover on downs and effectively ended the team’s hope to achieve victory. ball again.

Only twice in Andy Kotelnicki’s career as offensive coordinator has his team been kept out of the end zone, and Jim Knowles is responsible for both: in 2021 against Knowles’ defense at Oklahoma State, and on Saturday against his Buckeyes.

In a four-team playoff era, the loss would be the practical end of Penn State’s national title hopes, but with no ranked teams scheduled in the future, an 11-1 finish is more than possible and this could bring a consideration into play. College Football Playoff.

At this point, the AP Top 25 voters will punish the Nittany Lions for not living up to their potential as a No. 3 team, but they may not be too hard on their ballots given recent precedent.

Texas remained in the top five after losing to Georgia as the No. 1 team a few weeks ago, and while that may be too much to ask, Penn State should hold on to a top 10 spot.

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Last week’s ranking: No. 4

It’s hard to overstate how important a win like this was for Ohio State.

The pressure was on: a loss to Oregon was still looming, head coach Ryan Day was facing heavy criticism for his performances against top-ranked opponents, and a second loss would have given the selection committee even more ammunition to shut this team out. keep. the play-off.

Will Howard was the first to admit he didn’t have a great game, throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown on his first pass, fumbling as he approached the goal line on a carry that resulted in a touchback, and missing what should have been can happen. There was a touchdown throw in the first half.

But he also led two touchdown drives, and after the Buckeyes’ defensive layup from two yards out, the quarterback was instrumental in sealing the victory, leading the final drive until the clock expired and setting himself up for the final ran down to position himself. It.

This may not be the type of offense we expected from Ohio State this season, but this team can still take down one of its top conference rivals and is playing a more physical brand of football that could come in very handy as we approach the postseason .

Ohio State’s win could create a dilemma for some AP top 25 voters. Normally, wins by the No. 1 and No. 2 teams would imply that Oregon and Georgia, respectively, would remain in place.

But some voting could entertain the Buckeyes at No. 2, as the team played with a 1-point loss against that No. 1 team on the road, won against the No. 3 team on the road, and after Georgia struggled to move the rankings aside to put Florida.

Our guess is that the top two teams don’t move and Ohio State moves into the third position in the rankings previously held by Penn State.

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Last week’s ranking: No. 18

Pitt was one of eight remaining undefeated teams in college football entering Saturday, but there were some questions about the quality of competition behind that 7-0 record.

Playing on the road against a one-loss SMU would, the Panthers hoped, alleviate those concerns and put their ACC title hopes on a firmer foundation.

But the offense failed to generate much momentum, scoring three points in the first half, and the defense was largely unable to contain the Mustangs’ skill weapons in a 48-25 loss.

The margin of defeat against the first-ranked team on Pitt’s schedule will give AP voters pause, but probably not enough to drop this team completely from the rankings.

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Last week’s ranking: No. 20

On the other side of that loss in the Metroplex, the Mustangs impressed with a balanced, aggressive offensive game plan that defeated a strong Pittsburgh defense in a statement victory.

The win moves SMU to second in the ACC standings and to an 8-1 record with three very winnable games to close, against BC, at Virginia and against Cal.

And with other teams higher up in the rankings losing their games, there should be plenty of room for the Mustangs to move up in the polls, almost certainly into the top 15.

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Kansas State and Iowa State emerged this weekend as promising Big 12 title contenders, but after stunning losses to unranked opponents, both are falling in the rankings and are in trouble entering November.

Both were within striking distance of making a run at the Big 12 Championship, but were set back in a big way after being upset by Houston and Texas Tech, respectively.

Iowa State was No. 11 and off to its best start since 1938, one of two undefeated teams to leave the conference poised to make a run at the Big 12 title and, by proxy, the playoffs.

Now the Cyclones have no real margin for error in a crowded field near the top of the Big 12, with Colorado close behind in the standings.

The same goes for Kansas State, which was No. 17 in this week’s poll, but whose solid offense, ranked 9th in the FBS this weekend, hit a wall against the overlooked Cougars.

K-State finished with just 89 yards on the ground and a paltry 2.6 yard per carry average, and the offense scored just 3 points in the second half while allowing 14 in the fourth quarter alone.

AP voters will likely drop the Cyclones out of the top 15, while the Wildcats are in danger of falling out of the poll at worst and into the bottom five at best.

Don’t look now, but Colorado suddenly finds itself tied for second in the Big 12 standings with a 4-1 conference record and 6-2 overall.

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Last week’s ranking: No. 5

With one of the top four teams in the AP rankings necessarily losing this weekend, the fifth-ranked Hurricanes were expected to rise in the poll, provided they could win.

And while Duke made that proposal much weaker than predicted and Miami led 28-17 in the third quarter en route to an inspired performance, it was up to Cam Ward to revive the Canes’ fortunes, and that is what he has done all season.

As of midway through the third quarter, Ward led Miami by a score of 36-3, once again reminding everyone that this offense can score at will when it feels like it.

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Last week’s ranking: No. 10

There are no undefeated teams left in SEC play after Texas A&M collapsed on the road in a stunning 44-20 loss at South Carolina to fall to 5-1 in the conference.

Quite a letdown for the Aggies, whose stellar defense failed to live up to its road reputation, totaling more than 500 yards, while its offense didn’t score a point in the second half.

That will cause the AP Top 25 voters to reevaluate where A&M belongs in the rankings, the middle third of which is due to see some major changes after several ranked teams lost.

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-Clemson fell flat on its face coming off an inactive week. He couldn’t get much going in a surprise loss at home to unranked Louisville, and will drop from the No. 11 rankings.

– Ole Miss is poised to make a jump in the rankings after beating Arkansas in a 63-31 rout, as Jaxson Dart had six touchdown passes and the Rebels moved to 3-2 in SEC play with Georgia next.

– Boise State will benefit from other polls of higher-ranked teams losing after beating San Diego State 56-24 and are 7-1 with a loss to No. 1 Oregon.

– Indiana should get more votes in the Week 11 rankings after coming back from a 10-0 deficit to beat Michigan State on the road, moving to 9-0 for the first time in program history and definitely in contention for the College Football Playoff ended up.

-Vanderbilt received votes last week but could move back up the rankings this week after a 10-point win over Auburn that moves the ‘Dores to 3-2 in SEC play.

– Missouri could fall out of the rankings after holding on to the No. 25 ranking last week despite a 34-0 loss at Alabama because AP voters couldn’t find replacements to fill out the bottom of their ballots.

– The same goes for Illinois, which should have disappeared from the polls last week, and almost certainly will disappear this week, after falling to 6-3 after a second straight loss.

– Minnesota, the team that beat the Illini on the road, could move up the rankings this week after winning its fourth straight game and sitting at 4-2 in Big Ten play.

More … When the AP top 25 rankings are released

And… AP Top 25 Rankings Prediction for Week 11

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