Others Receiving Votes: Northwestern No. 26; Oregon No. 27.

Of course, two 3-loss SEC teams, Florida and South Carolina, are ranked.

After a bad showing against UNC, Miami remains AP No. 1.

I predict the PO Committee will rank Georgia No. 1.

Of note yesterday. In the last minute of regulation time, the Minnesota kicker and the Indiana kicker both made 60-yard FGs to send the game into OT.

Another close-call win for the Hoosiers with an invigorated USC coming to town on 11/14.

On3

College Football Rankings: AP Poll Top 25 after Week 9 re...

The latest AP Poll Top 25 rankings are here following a solid Week 9 of college football. Things cooled down a bit compared to the chaos of the last two

OK, a couple of thoughts: No. 18 USC 6-2 is ranked behind five 2-loss SEC teams, behind 2-loss Houston, and 2-loss No. 11 Ohio State, which the Trojans defeated 30-18.

5-3 South Carolina No. 23 and 5-3 Florida No. 25 are ranked. 2-loss Northwestern and 2-loss SMU lost competitive games on the road and are not ranked.

Ten SEC teams are ranked. 10! In-conference losses are minimized, and in-conference wins are magnified. Will the PO Committee follow suit?

No. 18 and No. 21 Iowa return to the top 25, which they should have not have left.

Northwestern, with competitive road losses at No. 6 Indiana and No. 27 Oregon, drops out of the Poll in favor of two 3-loss SEC teams? 🤬🤬🤬

Honestly where would you even rank the Ducks? Are they the horrible team just begging to lose to Illinois? Are they the team that lit up USC? Are they the team that made Northwestern look bad? Are they the team that looked bad against Northwestern?

How can a team be ranked higher than a team they lost to?!

Do head-to-head matchups only matter in the playoffs?

Why do we bother to play the games each week?!

4 minutes ago, The Kamikaze Kid said:

Honestly where would you even rank the Ducks? Are they the horrible team just begging to lose to Illinois? Are they the team that lit up USC? Are they the team that made Northwestern look bad? Are they the team that looked bad against Northwestern?

Great take, KK.

I was not happy to see 2-loss NW at 26, but happy to see 3-loss OBD at 27. And I was not happy to see 2-loss Ohio State ranked No. 11 and not happy to see 2-loss SC ranked No. 18, but I was happy to see this considering next week's game in Columbus.

Week 10 is loaded with great matchups.

If ten SEC teams are in the committee's top 25, DUCK!

Using the AP Poll, nine SEC teams, 56.25% of the conference, would be in a 24-team PO field; five Big Ten teams.

24 team PO probably a good move

ESPN/FPI Updated Strength of Record (SOR) Rankings -

OBD No. 28 SOR/ 21 Strength of Schedule (SOS)/ 26 Remaining SOS/

41 in Game Control/ 82 (😧) in performance vs. predicted performance.

https://www.espn.com/college-football/fpi/_/view/resume

No. 28 Oregon is 3-1 vs. the Strength of Record Top 25.

Loss to No. 3 UCLA. Wins against No. 14 USC, No. 19 Boise State, and No. 24 Northwestern.

7 Big Ten teams are ranked in the SOR Top 25; 8 SEC teams.

2 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:

Ten SEC teams are ranked. 10! In-conference losses are minimized, and in-conference wins are magnified. Will the PO Committee follow suit?

This nonsense that you illustrate is why I am glad for the 24 team Playoff; regardless of the corrupt rankings....you can earn your NC on the field.

Thank you for your coverage Jon!

ESPN's Bill Connelly's Playoff Tiers (Tears?)

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/50348637/connelly-cfp-tiers-contenders-week-9

5 hours ago, Charles Fischer said:

I am glad for the 24 team Playoff

I am too. However, the only reason the SEC changed their mind was because they went to a 9 league game schedule and saw what it does to the top 12.

20 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:

OK, a couple of thoughts: No. 18 USC 6-2 is ranked behind five 2-loss SEC teams, behind 2-loss Houston, and 2-loss No. 11 Ohio State, which the Trojans defeated 30-18.

5-3 South Carolina No. 23 and 5-3 Florida No. 25 are ranked. 2-loss Northwestern and 2-loss SMU lost competitive games on the road and are not ranked.

Ten SEC teams are ranked. 10! In-conference losses are minimized, and in-conference wins are magnified. Will the PO Committee follow suit?

No. 18 and No. 21 Iowa return to the top 25, which they should have not have left.

Northwestern, with competitive road losses at No. 6 Indiana and No. 27 Oregon, drops out of the Poll in favor of two 3-loss SEC teams? 🤬🤬🤬

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The SEC is once again overrated. Surprise, surprise! But even so 10 top 25 teams. No, no way! the voters should be ashamed of their pro-SEC bias!

13 hours ago, Jon Joseph said:

ESPN's Bill Connelly's Playoff Tiers (Tears?)

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/50348637/connelly-cfp-tiers-contenders-week-9

He also did an analytics combined with strength of schedule ranking that had the Ducks at #25. A win at Ohio St. and suddenly the Ducks are back in consideration. May not get there (really an outside shot) but it's possible.

20 hours ago, DanLduck said:

How can a team be ranked higher than a team they lost to?!

Do head-to-head matchups only matter in the playoffs?

Why do we bother to play the games each week?!

This was ND's biggest complaint last season. The Irish lost to Miami in Week 1, and Miami doesn't jump ND before the final ranking?

Notre Dame being ranked above Miami before the final ranking on 12/7/2025 is a result of a media company and not the NCAA, managing the postseason. The myriad rankings by the CFB committee benefit ESPN's bottom line, while causing unnecessary confusion.

Oregon is 3-1 against ESPN's Strength of Record rankings updated through Week 9. Wins against No. 24 Northwestern, No. 19 Boise State, and No. 14 USC—loss to No. 3 UCLA.

Oklahoma State, after the Week 9 loss, 51-49 at Iowa State, dropped out of the AP Top 25 and the SOR Top 25, and Illinois never made the SOR or AP Top 25. Nebraska choked its way to another loss, this time to UW.

USC and Iowa are back in the AP Top 25, but never should have dropped out. 2-loss Northwestern, instead of falling to No. 26 in the AP, should have remained ranked. Instead, 3-loss South Carolina and 3-loss Florida are ranked.

As ESPN's Bill Connelly recently noted, the SEC was paid to play a ninth conference game and should not ipso facto benefit in the rankings from playing nine games.

BTW, No. 6 Indiana is one of the many Big Ten teams with QB injury issues.

Indiana was historically bad when B1G HQ created the conference schedules in 2023; Indiana, after playing nine straight games, has a much-needed Week 10 bye. No other P4 conference asked its defending champion to play nine straight games to start the season.

The Trojans are also off this week, SC's 2nd bye because it played a Week 0 game. SC plays Indiana in Bloomington in Week 11.

I won't be surprised if three 2-loss SEC teams, Alabama, best out-of-conference (OOC) win against FSU, Texas, solid OOC win over Ohio State with a healthy Julian Sayin, and Ole Miss, best OOC win against Louisville, are in the PO committee's Top 12.

I think Ohio State could be ranked lower than No. 11 and bumped by G6 Boise State, out of the committee's first-ranking PO field. I hope I (again) am in error.

It will help Oregon's playoff chances if the Buckeyes are ranked in the top 10 before Saturday's game in Columbus.

Beat Brutus!

CFB 2026 - All Glory is fleeting. And, Brother, can you spare me a QB?

SI

Forde-Yard Dash: Examining College Football’s Most Danger...

Wisconsin went from storming the field after beating USC to getting shut out by Iowa, showing how no team seems capable of staying comfortable for long.

CBS Sports on tomorrow's PO committee CFB rankings -

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-playoff-rankings-top-25-2026-first-what-to-expect/

Is 2026 Indiana this season's 2014 FSU? 😁

Saturday Down South

5 college football ideas I'm buying or selling after Week 9

Let's break down 5 college football ideas following Week 9, including a predicting involving Miami and Notre Dame this week.

Get Ready for the Gurus of Grapevine -

SI

Forde-Yard Dash: 10 Biggest Power Brokers in the College...

The first CFP rankings will be released Tuesday as these people will bear the biggest weight over the weeks between now and Selection Sunday.

On3 Predicts the PO Committee's Top-25 -

Oregon is 3-1 vs. this predicted Top-25 - Six B1G teams are in this Top-25 -

No. 5 UCLA 8-0, No. 6 Indiana 8-1, No. 10 Ohio State 6-2, No. 15 USC 7-2, No. 22 Iowa 6-2, and No. 25 Northwestern 6-2.

10 SEC teams in the Top 25, including 3-loss No. 20 South Carolina and 3-loss No. 21 Florida.

On3's prediction shows the PO committee buying Greg Sankey's SEC schedule strength argument. Greg certainly has a point after the SEC went 10-2 against P4 opponents out of conference. But ten of the 16 SEC teams ranked?

Greg's SOS point is also strengthened by the Preseason AP Poll Top-25 Oregon, Michigan, Penn State, and Washington not in the Week 9-10 AP Top-25.

On3

College Football Playoff Prediction: Projecting committee...

The first edition of the 2026 College Football Playoff rankings will debut on Tuesday night, when the selection committee reveals its first go at things.