Steve Wiseman’s AP Top 25 college football ballot: Time for Appalachian State to be in
While the nation’s top teams continued to show they won’t be threatened by anyone but themselves this season, another round of upsets scattered across the nation will lead to upheaval in the Associated Press Top 25.
I kept the top six teams right where they were last week as Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, LSU and Oklahoma all won.
Georgia had the most impressive win, toppling fellow top-10 team Notre Dame, 23-17, at home.
Auburn’s 28-20 win at Texas A&M moves it up to No. 7, passing a Notre Dame team that doesn’t get penalized much for playing Georgia to a one-score game.
Wisconsin is a big mover this week thanks to its 35-14 walloping of Michigan. The Badgers took control in the first half and dominated the suspect Wolverines.
Michigan, I will note, dropped 12 spots on my ballot as this performance and that shaky double-overtime win over Army earlier this month leave plenty of doubts.
Texas stays right where it was last week, occupying the No. 10 spot after the Longhorns outlasted a pretty good Oklahoma State team 36-30 at home. Texas’ lone loss is to LSU.
Unbeatens Florida and Penn State begin a second 10 that saw plenty of changes.
Losses by Utah and Central Florida opened up this area for prime movement.
Oregon (3-1), whose lone loss came on a neutral field to Auburn back on Aug. 31, moves back up to No. 13.
Iowa, Boise State, California and Virginia, also all unbeaten, come next.
Cal’s resume grew more impressive as the Golden Bears won 28-20 at Ole Miss. Coupled with its 20-19 win at Washington on Sept. 7, Cal has two road wins over Power Five teams.
Sneaky good Wake Forest (4-0) deserves to be at No. 19 with Washington moving back up to No. 20 after it pounded BYU 45-19 in Provo, Utah.
That loss dropped the Cougars off my ballot, where they had been No. 25 last week.
It was a bad week to be a Cougar. Washington State’s version dropped off my ballot, too, after blowing a 32-point second-half lead, at home, to lose 67-63 IN REGULATION to previously winless UCLA.
Never change, Pac-12 after dark.
The final five spots on my ballot are occupied by fallen stars and plucky newcomers.
Michigan (2-1) lands at No. 21 while Southern California (3-1) enters the poll at No. 22.
Utah and Central Florida each fall 11 spots to land at Nos. 23 and 24.
Welcome to the top 25, Appalachian State. That was an impressive win at Chapel Hill on Saturday.
Here’s the ballot I submitted to the AP Sunday, with last week’s ranking on my ballot in parenthesis.
Steve Wiseman’s AP Top 25 football ballot
Clemson (1)
Alabama (2)
Georgia (3)
Ohio State (4)
LSU (5)
Oklahoma (6)
Auburn (8)
Notre Dame (7)
Wisconsin (16)
Texas (10)
Florida (14)
Penn State (15)
Oregon (18)
Iowa (17)
Boise State (19)
California (23)
Virginia (21)
Texas A&M (11)
Wake Forest (22)
Washington (24)
Michigan (9)
Southern California (NR)
Utah (12)
Central Florida (13)
Appalachian State (NR)
This story was originally published September 22, 2019 at 12:05 PM with the headline "Steve Wiseman’s AP Top 25 college football ballot: Time for Appalachian State to be in."