NCAA Football Rankings 2018: Predicting Top Movers in Week 7 Top 25 Standings
The first weekend of October has become the prime weekend for upsets in college football.
According to ESPN's Chris Fallica, over the previous four seasons 17 ranked teams were upset by unranked opponents, and that trend continued on Saturday as five more teams were dropped by unranked foes.
All the upsets means a significant shakeup in the latest Associated Press Top 25, which will be released on Sunday afternoon. Here's a look at how the voters may shuffle up the rankings:
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1. Alabama (last week: 1)
2. Georgia (2)
3. Ohio State (3)
4. Clemson (4)
5. Notre Dame (6)
6. West Virginia (9)
7. Penn State (11)
8. Washington (10)
9. UCF (12)
10. LSU (5)
11. Texas (19)
12. Oklahoma (7)
13. Michigan (15)
14. Wisconsin (16)
15. Florida (22)
16. Miami (17)
17. Oregon (18)
18. Colorado (21)
19. N.C. State (23)
20. South Florida (NR)
21. Kentucky (13)
22. Mississippi State (NR)
23. Auburn (8)
24. Stanford (14)
25. Cincinnati (NR)
Dropped out: Michigan State (20), Virginia Tech (24), Oklahoma State (25)
9. UCF Knights
Despite going 13-0 in 2017, UCF didn't crack the Top 10 until the final AP Poll, after upsetting Auburn in the Peach Bowl. And while it has probably taken the voters too long to give the Knights they respect they deserve again this season, three losses by Top-10 teams likely opens the door for UCF to rise.
Quarterback McKenzie Milton led UCF to a convincing 48-20 victory over SMU on Saturday, the Knights 18th consecutive victory.
UCF hosts Memphis in Week 7, which could be the toughest remaining test on its schedule. According to ESPN's FPI, UCF is given a 52.2 percent chance to win, their only remaining game under the 60 percent threshold.
To have a shot at the playoff, UCF must run the table, so that showdown at Memphis will be one of the biggest regular season games in school history.
11. Texas Longhorns
Texas is still only a few weeks removed from losing to Maryland, so let's pump the brakes on declarations that the Longhorns are back. This is a program that expects to compete for championships on a yearly basis, so as long as they're still stumbling against Maryland and barely hanging on against Tulsa (they won 27-20), the Longhorns are not back.
That said, Longhorns fans are starting to see why Tom Herman is the man who likely will lead this program back to its expected heights in the near future.
For much of the afternoon on Saturday, it was clear Oklahoma had the more talented roster. However, Herman's squad was able to control the clock, protect the football and capitalize on Oklahoma's mistakes—three key ingredients for an upset.
For the third consecutive game Texas did not commit a turnover, their longest streak since at least 2000, according to Sports-Reference.
As long as Herman's squad is protecting the ball, they're going to be able to hang with anyone in the Big 12.
Tough tests still await against Oklahoma State and West Virginia, but Texas should rise significantly in the rankings and be considered a potential threat to win the Big 12.
21. Kentucky
Figuring out where to place Kentucky will be one of the toughest challenges for voters this week. The Wildcats suffered their first defeat of the season in overtime at Texas A&M—a scenario which could lead some voters to only drop them by a few spots.
However, some voters—especially those who watched the game—may punish Kentucky for a completely inept offensive performance.
During regulation, the Kentucky offense did not run a single play in Texas A&M territory and were out-gained 390 to 178. To make matters worse, in overtime Kentucky ran just three plays and never put the ball in the hands of its star running back Benny Snell Jr.
Despite the close score, Kentucky did not look like a Top 25 team and if enough voters paid close attention to their performance, the Wildcats will likely slide to the back end of the rankings.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
