NCAA Football Rankings 2020: Predicting Week 10 Movers Based on Latest Results
Upsets are one of the best things about college football from a neutral perspective.
In Week 9, four Top 25 teams fell to unranked foes, and those results could create another rearrangement of the rankings ahead of Week 10.
Oklahoma State lost its inside path to the College Football Playoff through an upset to Texas at home, Michigan lost to a rival on home soil, North Carolina fell on the road for the second time and Kansas State failed to gain ground on Oklahoma State by tripping up on its travels.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
The expected drops of those programs, plus the fall Penn State should take after losing to Ohio State, opens up space for Group of Five teams and upstart Power Five squads to move up in the Week 10 rankings.
Predicting Top Poll Movers for Week 10
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State entered Week 9 as the only realistic playoff contender in the Big 12.
Mike Gundy's team failed to live up to that billing by dropping an overtime result to Texas to give the conference zero unbeaten teams going into November.
The Cowboys outgained the Longhorns 530-287, but they could not put away the visitors because of turnovers. Spencer Sanders threw an interception and lost three fumbles. The giveaways kept Texas in the game, and Tom Herman's side outclassed the No. 6 team in the nation.
Sam Ehlinger appeared to win the contest in the fourth quarter, but Sanders engineered a comeback that produced a game-tying field goal. Ehlinger threw another touchdown pass in overtime, and his Oklahoma State counterpart failed to respond.
Oklahoma State dropped to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big 12 and now sits beneath Iowa State and Kansas State in the Big 12 standings.
The Cowboys could drop out of the top 10 after wins by Cincinnati, Texas A&M, Florida and BYU. They could squeeze in front of Miami at No. 11 since the Hurricanes were inactive, but there is also a chance they tumble anywhere from No. 13 to No.16, where a reorganization will happen.
Michigan
Michigan's loss to Michigan State moved Jim Harbaugh's home record against the Spartans and Ohio State to 1-6.
Saturday's defeat will go down as one of the more crushing results of the Harbaugh era given the different paths the Wolverines and Spartans took to get there.
Michigan's offense was unstoppable against Minnesota, but we now know that performance could be more to do with the Golden Gophers defense after they allowed 45 points to Maryland on Friday.
Michigan State opened the Mel Tucker era with a home loss to Rutgers and came into Michigan Stadium as a 20-plus-point underdog.
The Spartans flipped everyone's pre-game view of the contest by winning 27-24, and if it were not for a late touchdown by the Wolverines, the margin of victory would have been 10.
Joe Milton was still effective in the pocket with 300 yards, and the Wolverines produced three rushing touchdowns, but Michigan State was flat out better for stretches of the contest.
The loss to an unranked team at home should cost Michigan at least five or six positions in the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll.
Since Michigan was one of four teams ranked from No. 13 to No. 18 that lost in Week 9, a major reshuffling could occur in the middle of the poll, which could mean Marshall and Coastal Carolina move up multiple spots while the Wolverines, North Carolina and Kansas State drop closer to the bottom.
North Carolina
A strong case could be made for North Carolina to tumble out of the Top 25 from No. 15.
The Tar Heels dropped their second straight road game Saturday in a 44-41 loss to Virginia.
Each of North Carolina's past three results may not have much value in the eyes of the voters since it beat NC State handily without its starting quarterback.
On Saturday, the Tar Heels had the more productive offense with 536 total yards, but they allowed four fourth-down conversions and 27 first-half points.
North Carolina's expected fall is more notable than those of Kansas State or Penn State because it was ranked in the top five before its October 17 defeat to Florida State.
Indiana, Marshall, Coastal Carolina, SMU, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Boise State could all move ahead of the Tar Heels, who might get lucky and remain on the bottom edge of the rankings.
North Carolina's poll status could come down to how voters compare it to undefeated Big Ten teams Northwestern and Purdue, as well as 6-0 Liberty and 5-1 Louisiana, both of whom received more than 50 votes in the Week 9 poll.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
