The Great Debate: Saturday’s results bring chaos to new AP Top 25 college football poll
Georgia’s Saturday night loss to Alabama opened up the top spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and Michigan grabbed it Sunday morning.
The Wolverines (13-0) received 51 first-place votes to become the first team other than the two-time defending national champion Bulldogs ranked No. 1 this season.
Washington (13-0) received 11 first-place votes and moved up one slot to No. 2 with Texas (12-1) and Florida State (13-0) in the third and fourth positions, emblematic of worthiness for College Football Playoff spots in the national voting panel’s opinion.
Georgia (12-1) fell all the way to No. 6, one spot behind Alabama (12-1).
The College Football Playoff committee’s official rankings, those that determine the four-team playoff and other New Year’s Six bowl pairings, will be released later Sunday.
Louisville (10-3), which lost to Florida State in Saturday night’s ACC championship game, fell just one spot to No. 16 to remain the second-highest rated ACC team. N.C. State (9-3) moved up two spots to No. 19.
Latest AP poll football rankings
Rk. | Team |
1 | Michigan |
2 | Washington |
3 | Texas |
4 | Florida State |
5 | Alabama |
6 | Georgia |
7 | Ohio State |
8 | Oregon |
9 | Missouri |
10 | Penn State |
11. | Mississippi |
12 | Oklahoma |
13 | LSU |
14 | Arizona |
15 | Notre Dame |
16 | Louisville |
17 | SMU |
18 | Liberty |
19 | N.C. State |
20 | Iowa |
21 | Oregon State |
22 | Oklahoma State |
23 | Tulane |
24 | James Madison |
25 | Tennessee |
Steve Wiseman’s ballot
Slotted at No. 1 on ballots across the country all season, Georgia falls into the pit of 1-loss teams after losing, 27-24, to Alabama in Saturday night’s SEC Championship game.
So what should the top five of the poll look like on Sunday morning? And, more importantly, what will the College Football Playoff committee do when it picks the four teams for the playoff?
As for my ballot, I’m moving Michigan (13-0), which I’ve had No. 2 for months, up to the top spot after the Wolverines walloped Iowa, 26-0, for the Big Ten championship. I’m going with the two other undefeated Power 5 teams next in Pac-12 champion Washington (13-0) and ACC champion Florida State (13-0).
Texas (12-1) comes next based on its Big 12 championship and it’s 34-24 win at Alabama back on Sept. 10. On-field, head-to-head results matter, especially when both teams have just one loss. The Crimson Tide (12-1) come next, followed by the best team that didn’t win a league championship, Georgia (12-1).
Ohio State (12-1) and Oregon (12-1) have a cases to be ahead of the Bulldogs but I’m putting them next, followed by the nation’s top two-loss teams, Missouri (10-2) and Penn State (10-2).
Lower on the ballot, N.C. State (9-3) moves up to No. 16 as the second-highest ACC team on my ballot. It’s been a long climb but the Wolfpack are deserving.
Louisville (10-3), now on a two-game losing streak that included a loss to a mediocre Kentucky team, hangs on at No. 25, just behind another league title game runner-up, Iowa (10-3).
Toledo (11-2) falls off my ballot after losing, 23-14, to Miami (Ohio) in the Mid-American Conference title game. That opened up a spot for Troy (11-2) to jump in after the Trojans hammered Appalachian State, 49-23, in the Sun Belt title game.
| 1 | Michigan |
| 2 | Washington |
| 3 | Florida State |
| 4 | Texas |
| 5 | Alabama |
| 6 | Georgia |
| 7 | Ohio State |
| 8 | Oregon |
| 9 | Missouri |
| 10 | Penn State |
| 11 | Mississippi |
| 12 | Oklahoma |
| 13 | LSU |
| 14 | Notre Dame |
| 15 | Arizona |
| 16 | NC State |
| 17 | SMU |
| 18 | Tulane |
| 19 | Tennessee |
| 20 | Oklahoma St |
| 21 | Oregon State |
| 22 | Liberty |
| 23 | Troy |
| 24 | Iowa |
| 25 | Louisville |
This story was originally published December 3, 2023 at 9:30 AM.