College Sports

After wins, NC State moves up and Wake Forest falls in latest AP poll for college football

N.C. State made a big leap, Wake Forest dipped and Miami barely held on to a spot in the latest AP Top 25 college football poll released on Sunday.

The 63-member national panel voted the Wolfpack (3-0) No. 12 after N.C. State beat Texas Tech 27-14 at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday night. That’s an improvement of four spots for the Wolfpack from last week.

N.C. State started the season at No. 13 but fell to No. 18 after it avoided an upset loss and beat East Carolina, 21-20, on Sept. 3.

The No. 12 ranking is the best the Wolfpack has received since reaching No. 10 during the 2002 season.

Wake Forest (3-0) remained undefeated but the panel lost some respect as the Demon Deacons stopped a late two-point conversion attempt to edge Liberty, 37-36. Wake Forest is now No. 21 after falling two spots.

No. 25 Miami (2-1) plummeted 12 spots after losing 17-9 at Texas A&M Saturday night.

Overall, No. 13 Oregon jumped 10 places after hammering BYU, 41-20. The Cougars fell seven spots to No. 19.

Penn State (3-0) rose eight spots to No. 14 after it rocked Auburn 41-12.

Michigan State, No. 11 last week, fell out of the poll after losing 39-28 at Washington. That result caused the Huskies to enter the poll at No. 18.

App State and North Carolina remain just a few spots outside the AP Top 25 rankings. The Mountaineers received 77 votes (28th) from the national panel; the Tar Heels received 72 (29th).

Latest AP Top 25 rankings

Rk.

Team

1

Georgia

2

Alabama

3

Ohio State

4

Michigan

5

Clemson

6

Oklahoma

7

USC

8

Kentucky

9

Oklahoma State

10

Arkansas

11

Tennessee

12

N.C. State

13

Utah

14

Penn State

15

Oregon

16

Mississippi

17

Baylor

18

Washington

19

BYU

20

Florida

21

Wake Forest

22

Texas

23

Texas A&M

24

Pittsburgh

25

Miami

Steve Wiseman’s latest AP poll ballot

1Georgia
2Alabama
3Ohio State
4Clemson
5Oklahoma
6Michigan
7USC
8

Oklahoma State

9Kentucky
10Penn State
11Washington
12Arkansas
13Oregon
14Mississippi
15N.C. State
16Tennessee
17BYU
18Baylor
19Utah
20Pitt
21Wake Forest
22Florida
23Cincinnati
24Texas
25Texas A&M

This story was originally published September 18, 2022 at 11:00 AM.

Steve Wiseman
The News & Observer
Steve Wiseman was named Raleigh News & Observer and Durham Herald-Sun sports editor in May 2025. He covered Duke athletics, beginning in 2010, prior to his current assignment. In the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest, he placed in the top 10 in beat writing in 2019, 2021 and 2022, breaking news in 2019, event coverage in 2025 and explanatory writing in 2018. Before coming to Durham in 2010, Steve worked for The State (Columbia, SC), Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, S.C.), The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.), Charlotte Observer and Hickory (NC) Daily Record covering beats including the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, University of South Carolina athletics and the S.C. General Assembly. He’s won numerous state-level press association awards. Steve graduated from Illinois State University in 1989. 
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