Current Ranked Teams That Will Finish the Season Outside the Top 25
For many college football programs, climbing into the Top 25 is an accomplishment. Staying there for the remainder of the season is an entirely different story.
Some schools have earned a rare position in the poll, but many of them won't stick around. A few power-conference teams won't hang on much longer, either.
Week 7's AP Top 25—not the Amway Coaches Poll—is the basis of this list, which focuses on five Football Bowl Subdivision programs that will eventually fall out of the ranking.
Although a given program might not relinquish a spot immediately, we project the following schools won't be included in the final poll.
No. 25 Navy Midshipmen
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Despite not having a single vote the previous week, Navy earned a place in the rankings after upsetting sixth-ranked Houston.
But the team's margin for error is nonexistent. One loss means the Midshipmen will be rocketed from the polls as quickly as they entered.
Navy is approaching the toughest part of its slate. After hosting Memphis, the Mids travel to South Florida before taking on Notre Dame at a neutral site.
Maneuvering that stretch 3-0 is highly unlikely, and a two-loss "Group of Five" team rarely receives a nod over a comparable power-conference program. Navy should be a quality squad just outside of the Top 25.
No. 23 Auburn Tigers
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After dropping games to Clemson and Texas A&M, Gus Malzahn likely faced a must-win situation against LSU. Including that thrilling victory in the Hot Seat Tiger Bowl, Auburn has gone 3-0.
But the difficulty of the schedule is about to rise.
Malzahn and Co. host Arkansas and travel to each of Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama. It doesn't get much tougher than that.
Unless the Tigers manage to finish that stretch 3-1, they're headed to the "others receiving votes" section of the poll.
No. 20 West Virginia Mountaineers
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Through six weeks, 11 FBS teams boast an undefeated record. West Virginia is perhaps the most unsuspecting of them all.
Some good things must come to an end, though.
While victories over Missouri, BYU and Kansas State are respectable, the Mountaineers are approaching their biggest challenges of the season. West Virginia's next three games are opposite Texas Tech, TCU and Oklahoma State.
Unfortunately for the 'Eers, that's merely a warm-up to what arrives later. They'll take on both Oklahoma and Baylor during the final three weeks of the campaign.
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No. 18 Florida Gators
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The possibility Florida's game with LSU would be cancelled caused a panic in the SEC, particularly among Tennessee fans.
However, the worst-case scenario for the SEC of win percentage deciding the East Division is no longer a factor. Now, the focus turns to a flawed, inconsistent team and a brutal five-week stretch.
Now that LSU has been rescheduled and moved to Baton Rouge, the Gators' lone remaining home game is South Carolina. Otherwise, they have a neutral-site outing with Georgia and travel to Arkansas, LSU and Florida State—the first three of which are SEC tilts.
Florida won't sweep its conference foes, and the 'Noles will deliver the knockout—or, more precisely, the knock-out-of-the-poll—punch.
No. 10 Nebraska Cornhuskers
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Nebraska is a perfect example of how framing can be used to appeal to either side of the debate.
On one hand, the Cornhuskers are only a Top 10 team right now because everybody else is losing. Conversely, that's not Nebraska's problem. Style points don't matter.
As long as you're winning, that is.
In Week 7, the Huskers head to Indiana, who is feisty at home. After hosting Purdue, Nebraska travels to both Wisconsin and Ohio State. Both of the latter Big Ten battles are probable losses.
Then, even if Mike Riley's team defeats Iowa and claims the West Division crown thanks to a tiebreaker over Wisconsin, the outlook is murky. Either Michigan or Ohio State would be favored in the conference championship game and would drop the Huskers out of the Top 25.
All recruiting information via Scout. Stats from cfbstats.com or B/R research. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report CFB Writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.
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