Steve Wiseman’s AP Top 25 ballot: Oklahoma upset changes everything
For several weeks it didn’t look like anyone in college football’s upper echelon of teams would lose unless it was to a fellow top team.
That changed on Saturday when Oklahoma, one of this year’s super teams along with Clemson, Alabama, LSU and Ohio State, stumbled and suffered a 48-41 loss to unranked Kansas State.
With that, the Sooners fall down a peg in the sport’s pecking order, joining Georgia a step behind the others. Georgia looked like a College Football Playoff team until losing at home to unranked South Carolina earlier this month.
Georgia (7-1) and Oklahoma (7-1) remain solid teams, capable of playing their way back into playoff contention if others fall.
But for now, I’m moving Penn State (8-0) into the top five above both of them. Clemson (8-0), Alabama (8-0) and LSU (8-0) remain my top three, with Ohio State now No. 4 after an impressive 38-7 beatdown of Wisconsin on Saturday.
Penn State’s chance to crack the playoff group comes when the Nittany Lions play at Ohio State on Nov. 23. They also have to take care of another ranked team, Minnesota, on Nov. 9.
Florida (7-1) and Georgia play what amounts to a playoff consideration elimination game this Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla. The loser has two losses while the winner is in line to claim the SEC East and earn a chance to play either Alabama or LSU in the SEC title game.
Down the ballot, Michigan’s 45-14 whipping of Notre Dame caused the Irish to plummet out of my top 10 and caused a jumble among the second 10 teams on my ballot. The Wolverines are flawed -- not good enough to hang with the nation’s best teams -- but showed they have some skill. The Irish proved to be two steps below the best teams as well.
I had Texas at No. 15 on my ballot last week, giving the Longhorns credit because their only losses at that point were to LSU and Oklahoma. But a 37-27 loss to TCU is an entirely different matter. At 5-3, the Longhorns don’t belong in the Top 25.
Ranked teams Iowa State and Arizona State also suffered their third losses of the season on Saturday, falling to unranked teams Oklahoma State and UCLA. So the Cyclones and Sun Devils join the Longhorns in falling off my ballot.
Moving in are Kansas State (5-2) based on that huge win over Oklahoma, Memphis (7-1) and San Diego State (7-1).
Both Memphis and San Diego State received votes in last week’s poll, with Memphis finishing just outside the Top 25. They’ve done enough to merit inclusion now as others have fallen.
Other teams I considered for the final spot on my ballot included Central Florida and Navy. UCF came the closest to gaining the nod. The Knights have two losses, one to a ranked Cincinnati team and the other at mediocre Pittsburgh. I can overlook the Cincinnati loss. The Pitt one is too much to overcome for now.
Here’s the ballot I submitted to the Associated Press on Sunday morning, with last week’s ranking on my ballot in parenthesis:
Steve Wiseman’s AP Top 25 football ballot
Clemson (1)
Alabama (2)
LSU (3)
Ohio State (5)
Penn State (6)
Florida (7)
Oklahoma (4)
Georgia (8)
Utah (12)
Oregon (11)
Auburn (10)
Baylor (14)
Minnesota (16)
Michigan (19)
Notre Dame (9)
SMU (17)
Appalachian State (20)
Cincinnati (18)
Wisconsin (13)
Iowa (22)
Boise State (23)
Wake Forest (24)
Kansas State (NR)
Memphis (NR)
San Diego State (NR)