New AP Top 25 college football poll. N.C. State makes season debut. Top five shuffles
It was a long climb back, but N.C. State football is again ranked among the Associated Press Top 25 teams.
Winners of five consecutive games, the Wolfpack landed at No. 21 in the new poll, released on Sunday.
The Wolfpack (9-3) had not previously been ranked this season. N.C. State spent the first 11 weeks of last season in the poll and made its final appearance at No. 25 in the Dec. 4, 2022, poll. The Pack dropped out of the season’s final poll last January after losing the Duke’s Mayo Bowl to Maryland.
N.C. State received votes last week but failed to crack the top 25. That changed after the Wolfpack routed rival North Carolina, 39-20, Saturday night at Carter-Finley Stadium.
At the top of the poll, Georgia (12-0) remained No. 1 but Michigan (12-0) moved up to No. 2 after its win over previously unbeaten Ohio State on Saturday. The Buckeyes (11-1) dropped four spots to No. 6.
No. 3 Washington (12-0), No. 4 Florida State (12-0) and No. 5 Oregon (11-1) round out the top five.
After losing 38-31 to unranked Kentucky on Saturday, Louisville dropped five spots to No. 15. The Cardinals play Florida State for the ACC championship Saturday at Charlotte.
Latest AP poll football rankings
Rk. | Team |
1 | Georgia |
2 | Michigan |
3 | Washington |
4 | Florida State |
5 | Oregon |
6 | Ohio State |
7 | Texas |
8 | Alabama |
9 | Missouri |
10 | Penn State |
11. | Mississippi |
12 | Oklahoma |
13 | LSU |
14 | Arizona |
15 | Louisville |
16 | Notre Dame |
17 | Tulane |
18 | Iowa |
19 | Oklahoma State |
20 | Liberty |
21 | N.C. State |
22 | Oregon State |
23 | Toledo |
24 | James Madison |
25 | SMU |
Steve Wiseman’s ballot
N.C. State received votes but did not crack the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll last week.
That was a mistake, and it should be corrected when this week’s new poll is released on Sunday.
The Wolfpack (9-3) won its fifth consecutive game Saturday night, rolling over rival North Carolina, 39-20, in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score.
The unbeaten teams that occupy the top of the poll, Georgia (12-0), Michigan (12-0), Washington (12-0) and Florida State (12-0), are hotter than N.C. State, but few others are.
Back at the top of the poll, Georgia and Michigan are the clear top two after Michigan beat Ohio State, 30-24, in Saturday’s battle of unbeaten teams. Because of that, I’m moving Washington up to No. 3 with Florida State at No. 4, followed by the one-loss teams: Ohio State, Oregon, Texas and Alabama.
I removed Kansas State and UNLV from my ballot after they lost to unranked teams on Saturday. Tennessee and Liberty enter.
| 1 | Georgia |
| 2 | Michigan |
| 3 | Washington |
| 4 | Florida State |
| 5 | Ohio State |
| 6 | Oregon |
| 7 | Texas |
| 8 | Alabama |
| 9 | Missouri |
| 10 | Penn State |
| 11 | Mississippi |
| 12 | Oklahoma |
| 13 | LSU |
| 14 | Tulane |
| 15 | Notre Dame |
| 16 | Arizona |
| 17 | Oklahoma State |
| 18 | NC State |
| 19 | Iowa |
| 20 | Louisville |
| 21 | SMU |
| 22 | Tennessee |
| 23 | Oregon State |
| 24 | Toledo |
| 25 | Liberty |
This story was originally published November 26, 2023 at 11:00 AM.