College Football Rankings: Projecting the New AP Top 25 Poll After Week 10

Chaos reigned once again across college football, as eight of the AP top 25 teams in the rankings lost their games on Saturday.

That includes the No. 1 position, after another undefeated team went down on the road, affording what will be a fifth change at the top of the poll late in the season.

That forces the pollsters to rethink who belongs where in the new rankings coming out of the first November football action.

Projecting the AP Top 25 College Football Rankings for Week 11

Dropping out this week: No. 19 Missouri, No. 25 Florida

25. SMU (Last week: NR). AP voters placed the Mustangs at 29 nationally with 27 total votes a week ago. Taking out Virginia Tech in a dominant 51-28 victory and with a matchup against Wake Forest next could propel this team forward in a meaningful way.

24. Arizona (24). The Wildcats beat a meager TCU, but needed some late miracles to pull it off.

23. LSU (15). Lane Kiffin's team has defeated lesser-quality SEC opponents and no wins against CFP ranked teams. Now they're coming off a 31-13 loss to Alabama that drops Kiffin to 0-6 against the Tide.

22. South Carolina (23). Once upon a time, the Gamecocks were 0-3 in SEC play. Now they're on a four-game win streak - including against ranked Florida and Tennessee - and just got past Texas A&M.

21. Ole Miss (12). Getting pounded at home by Georgia, the Rebels could prove to be the biggest negative mover in the AP poll this week.

On the outside looking in

20. New Mexico (22). The Lobos took a stronger hold atop the Mountain West standings after taking out Nevada and ranking No. 1 nationally in scoring defense.

19. Iowa (21). More consistency from the Hawkeyes, who took out Northwestern on the road to improve to 7-2.

18. Ohio State (11). Two straight losses now for Ryan Day's team, whose playoff hopes may finally be toast after getting handled at home by Oregon. Wins against Indiana and Iowa should still help keep this team ranked.

17. Boise State (20). Not having their starting quarterback didn't prevent the Broncos from piling on 64 points to smash Colorado State and move to 8-1.

16. USC (18). Off on Saturday, the Trojans return at Indiana next week.

The middle of the pack

15. Houston (17). The Cougars beat Cincinnati to move to 7-2, with those two losses to Utah and Texas Tech, the class of the Big 12.

14. Oregon (NR). AP voters have no trouble promoting the Ducks after dominating Ohio State on the road. They also have that win over USC, who beat the Buckeyes.

13. Kentucky (8). A four-touchdown loss at Tennessee takes some of the shine off the Wildcats, but their wins against LSU and South Carolina still look good to AP voters.

12. Tennessee (16). More strong defense and a solid rushing attack combined to help the Vols smash rival Kentucky in a 34-6 rout, combined with being 7-2 with wins against two then top-ten teams, will result in a nice positive move for Big Orange.

11. Wake Forest (14). Cupcake week went well for the Demon Deacons, who pulverized Merrimack by a 77-0 count. They sit second in the ACC.

Rounding out the top ten

10. BYU (7). The win over Notre Dame looks better now, and the Cougars rattled off 20 unanswered points in a losing cause against rival Utah. Those factors could cushion their fall in the new rankings.

9. Texas Tech (13). Higher ranked teams losing and the Red Raiders winning a shootout against West Virginia allows them to rise in the poll and sit more firmly in second place in the Big 12.

8. Texas (10). Good Arch showed up in an important road win against ranked Missouri, reaffirming the Longhorns' place as one of the 12 best teams in the country.

7. Indiana (6). Idle this weekend, the Hoosiers get some needed time off to nurse banged up quarterback Josh Hoover back to health going against USC next.

6. Alabama (9). Still the best two-loss team in college football, the Crimson Tide reinforced that identity by dominating ranked LSU on the road.

The best of the best

5. Miami (1). AP voters have shown they're unlikely to severely punish a No. 1 team that loses on the road to a ranked opponent in a close game.

4. UCLA (5). The Bruins covered 300 yards in the air in an explosive win at Minnesota to stay undefeated through 9 games.

3. Notre Dame (4). Some pollsters may argue the Irish deserve to be the No. 1 team in the poll after taking out the top-ranked Hurricanes, but the rest of their resume doesn't compare with what the Utes and Bulldogs have done in total.

2. Utah (3). Expect more first-place votes for the Utes after beating ranked BYU at home and moving definitively into the top spot in the Big 12 standings.

1. Georgia (2). Dismantling ranked Ole Miss by a 42-7 count combined with the Hurricane loss is more than enough for the reigning SEC champs to move back to No. 1.

More: College Football AP Top 25 Teams Moving Up, Down in the New Rankings

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq as College Football Rankings: Projecting the New AP Top 25 Poll After Week 10.