My AP top 25 ballot: Auburn, Purdue make big climbs while BYU, Florida, Iowa tumble
Two teams that were unranked last week will almost certainly find a home in the top 25 when the national polls are released on Sunday.
Auburn improved to 5-2 with a convincing road victory over Arkansas. I have been slow to vote for the Tigers, but they have played a hard schedule and their only losses have come against Penn State and Georgia. They deserve a number next to their name, and I voted them at No. 20.
Purdue also deserves a spot in the top 25. I was quick to write off the Boilermakers when they lost to Minnesota. That is honestly still a bad loss. But beating Iowa 24-7 on the road more than makes up for it. The Hawkeyes were ranked second nationally, and Purdue dominated them. That’s a heck of a victory. At 4-2 with wins over Oregon State, Illinois and Iowa I made room for them near the bottom of my ballot at No. 21.
Moving down
Speaking of Iowa, it feels good to no longer be voting the Hawkeyes so close to No. 1.
They deserved to be ranked No. 2 last week. They had impressive victories over Iowa State and Penn State. They made Maryland and Indiana look like high school teams. But they were winning with smoke and mirrors. Analytic experts argued they should be rated closer to No. 15. Opposing teams weren’t going to turn the ball over against them at an astronomic rate all season.
It was hard to believe they were actually the nation’s second best team.
Purdue played a much cleaner game against Iowa and won because of it. I dropped Iowa to No. 8.
BYU also took a tumble to No. 23. The Cougars might be better than any team in the Pac-12 South Division, but they have lost back-to-back games against Boise State and Baylor.
New Playoff Four
If the playoff started today, my four teams would be Georgia, Cincinnati, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
Most voters will probably agree with me on the first three teams and not the Cowboys. I get that. But I remain high on Mike Gundy’s team. Nobody makes winning ugly look better than Oklahoma State. Its past four wins have come against Boise State, Kansas State, Baylor and Texas.
And the Cowboys were impressive on defense against the Longhorns, as they forced Texas to punt or turn the ball over on its final six drives on Saturday.
As long as they stay undefeated, they will have a shot at the playoff.
On my radar
I considered voting for several teams in the ACC this week. Pittsburgh, Virginia, Clemson and North Carolina State all get a honorable mention. At least one of them will probably be in my top 25 next week. I also have my eye on Air Force and Nevada, who are both off to strong starts in the Mountain West.
My AP top 25 ballot
*Last week’s ranking in parentheses
1. Georgia (1)
2. Cincinnati (3)
3. Oklahoma (4)
4. Oklahoma State (5)
5. Michigan State (6)
6. Michigan (7)
7. Alabama (9)
8. Iowa (2)
9. Penn State (10)
10. Oregon (11)
11. Ohio State (12)
12. Kentucky (8)
13. Ole Miss (15)
14. Coastal Carolina (13)
15. Notre Dame (14)
16. Wake Forest (18)
17. Baylor (22)
18. SMU (19)
19. Texas A&M (20)
20. Auburn (NR)
21. Purdue (NR)
22. Iowa State (NR)
23. BYU (16)
24. UTSA (25)
25. San Diego State (NR)
Dropped Out: Arizona State, Arkansas, Florida, Texas.
This story was originally published October 17, 2021 at 8:31 AM with the headline "My AP top 25 ballot: Auburn, Purdue make big climbs while BYU, Florida, Iowa tumble."