AP College Football Poll 2017: Top 25 Rankings for Week 10

A week after a sense of stasis atop the college football polls, chaos returned in full force Saturday.

Three undefeated teams, highlighted by No. 2 Penn State, saw their chances of a playoff berth dashed or greatly diminished. The result was a new-look Top 25 that will satisfy those who believe the SEC is college football's best conference and potentially anger certain people in the state of Wisconsin.  

Alabama remains undaunted as the nation's clear No. 1 and is now followed by fellow SEC member Georgia, which received two first-place votes. One-loss Ohio State leapfrogged undefeated Wisconsin after taking down Penn State, and Notre Dame now rounds out the Top Five.

Here is a look at how the entire Top 25 played out:

1. Alabama

2. Georgia

3. Ohio State

4. Wisconsin

5. Notre Dame

6. Clemson

7. Penn State

8. Oklahoma

9. Miami

10. TCU

11. Oklahoma State

12. Washington

13. Virginia Tech

14. Iowa State

15. UCF

16. Auburn

17. USC

18. Stanford

19. LSU

20. North Carolina State

21. Mississippi State

22. Memphis

23. Arizona

24. Michigan State

25. Washington State

The Buckeyes rallied from a 35-20 deficit entering the fourth quarter, with quarterback JT Barrett having the performance of a lifetime and clearly establishing himself in the Heisman race. Barrett threw for 328 yards and four touchdowns on 33-of-38 passing, including completions on his final 16 attempts. He also added 95 yards on 17 carries.

"I think I've had him for five years. I've seen it ever since he's been playing for us," Meyer told reporters. "I heard about this J.T. Barrett guy, and he came on as a redshirt freshman. And he wasn't tall enough, wasn't this or that. But he's tough as a lion and he has an incredible skill to lead others."

The Buckeyes held Saquon Barkley, the overwhelming Heisman favorite entering this weekend, to 44 yards on 21 carries. Barkley returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and had a 36-yard touchdown run in the second quarter but was bottled up entirely in the second half.

"They were blitzing, bringing pressures," Barkley said after the game, per Mike Jensen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "Adding an extra guy, adding extra hats in the run game. Scheme-wise, that’s really all I saw. Their D-line made plays. Like I said, it’s a talented group. I’ve got to find a way to break tackles, to fight for extra yards, and make plays." 

The Lions dropped five spots to No. 7.

Also moving back six spots is No. 10 TCU, which fell in a 14-7 defensive battle at Iowa State. The Cyclones forced three turnovers and did not allow an offensive touchdown the entire contest. Nearly all of their offensive production came on two first-half touchdown drives, but Iowa State's defense was stellar enough to hold on for the win.

"All you want to do is get your team to November and have them playing for something," Iowa State coach Matt Campbell told reporters. "And we’re finally there. We made it."

Michigan State and Washington State also took big tumbles following losses to unranked opponents. The Spartans dropped a 39-31 triple-overtime thriller on the road at Northwestern, while Arizona ran up and down the field on its way to a 58-37 win over Washington State.

The Cougars have dropped two of their last three games by huge margins.

Arizona and Mississippi State moved into the rankings, replacing South Florida and West Virginia. South Florida moved out of the ranks of the unbeaten with a 28-24 loss to Houston.