My AP top 25 ballot: Cincinnati Bearcats enter playoff mix, Oregon Ducks drop out
The Big 12’s biggest victory of the weekend came from one of its future members.
The Cincinnati Bearcats defeated Notre Dame on the road 24-13 on Saturday and validated themselves as a playoff contender.
At 4-0 with wins over Indiana and the Fighting Irish, Cincinnati could become the first team from outside the power conferences to reach the playoff if it goes undefeated in the American Athletic Conference.
Marquee wins are usually what holds back teams like Cincinnati in the playoff debate, but the Bearcats have one. Before Saturday, Notre Dame was undefeated and ranked in the top 10. The Bearcats will no doubt root for the Irish to win the remainder of their games in hopes of building up their resume as much as possible.
It will be interesting to see where Cincinnati is ranked this week. They entered Saturday ranked seventh nationally. I had the Bearcats ranked sixth.
They are sure to move up. But how much?
I ranked them fourth this week, putting them in the playoff if it began today. The top three spots of Alabama, Georgia and Iowa were no-brainers for me. You could make an argument for Cincinnati, Oklahoma and Penn State next. They are all undefeated and have some nice wins. But winning at Notre Dame is the best of the bunch, so I gave Cincinnati the nod.
Welcome to the playoff mix, Bearcats.
This week’s other big winners
I thought long and hard about ranking Kentucky last week. There was no more debate after the Wildcats beat Kentucky on Saturday.
Kentucky, which is now 5-0 with three SEC victories, not only entered my top 25 this week, it jumped all the way up to No. 11.
I like to reward teams that are still undefeated at this point in the season, and Kentucky is clearly a surprise team in the nation’s top conference.
Oklahoma State also benefited from a flood of losses in the middle of the top 25. The Cowboys won their second straight game against a ranked opponent on Saturday and beat Baylor to climb up to No. 7 in my poll.
Texas also jumped up to No. 17 after beating TCU behind star running back Bijan Robinson. We all wrote off the Longhorns too early when they lost to Arkansas. They deserve to be ranked again this week.
Saying goodbye
Four teams dropped out of my top 25 this week.
I said farewell to Fresno State, UCLA and Texas A&M after they all suffered their second losses of the season. The Bulldogs inexplicably lost at Hawaii, the Bruins couldn’t keep up with Arizona State and the Aggies got wrecked by Mississippi State.
There’s no reason to keep ranking any of them.
Baylor was a closer call. But without truly knowing how good its win over Iowa State was last week, I dropped the Bears off my ballot following their loss to Oklahoma State. They could get a call back in the future, though.
New to the top 25
Say hello to Kentucky, Wake Forest, Arizona State and San Diego State.
They all joined my top 25 this week.
The Sun Devils improved to 4-1 with a win at UCLA. The other three are undefeated teams. It’s hard not to rank a team with a perfect record right now.
On my radar
I considered voting for Auburn, Baylor, Iowa State, Pittsburgh and Western Michigan.
If they keep winning, they might be in my top 25 next week.
My AP top 25 ballot
Last week’s ranking in parentheses.
1. Alabama (1)
2. Georgia (2)
3. Iowa (5)
4. Cincinnati (6)
5. Oklahoma (5)
6. Penn State (7)
7. Oklahoma State (14)
8. BYU (10)
9. Michigan State (16)
10. Michigan (18)
11. Kentucky (NR)
12. Oregon (3)
13. Ohio State (12)
14. Coastal Carolina (15)
15. Notre Dame (8)
16. Arkansas (9)
17. Texas (21)
18. Florida (11)
19. Ole Miss (13)
20. Wake Forest (NR)
21. North Carolina State (23)
22. SMU (24)
23. Arizona State (NR)
24. San Diego State (NR)
25. UTSA (25)
Dropped Out: Texas A&M, Baylor, Fresno State, UCLA
This story was originally published October 3, 2021 at 6:23 AM with the headline "My AP top 25 ballot: Cincinnati Bearcats enter playoff mix, Oregon Ducks drop out."