Tomorrow's Top 25 Today: Arkansas rises, Michigan jumps Ohio State
Projecting the new AP Top 25 college football rankings after Week 7
Prior to hosting Florida State two weeks ago, Miami was back up in the top 1o of the AP Top 25 for the first time in three years and on the verge of breaking through in a big way in year one with Mark Richt. After back-to-back home losses to the Seminoles and on Saturday to North Carolina, the Hurricanes are on the verge of falling out of the top 25.
Ohio State-Wisconsin and Arkansas-Ole Miss helped shake up the pecking order in the rankings and within their respective conference standings, but for the most part, the teams in the rankings last week are expected to be back the top 25 on Sunday. The one big question when trying to predict the mindset of voters is with Miami, a team that is better than a handful of ranked teams when healthy but is currently fielding a wounded unit in the toughest spot of its schedule.
Facing Florida State, North Carolina and Virginia Tech in successive weeks set Miami up to decide its Coastal Division fate in October, and after falling to the Tar Heels, the Hurricanes are in a must-win situation against the Hokies with only four days to prepare for the make-or-break game of the season. Virginia Tech will likely fall out of the top 25 after losing at Syracuse, but the Hurricanes have a shot to hang on should the voters think highly of the Tar Heels, a team that should return to the rankings after the road win.
Here's how we think the full top-25 will look on Sunday:
1. Alabama (previous AP Top 25 ranking -- 1): The 19th straight win for Nick Saban in this impressive run might have been the magnus opus for the 2016 regular season. The Crimson Tide showed down-to-down domination against Tennessee in a 49-10 win that didn't even feel that close.
2. Michigan (4): Off this week after beating Rutgers 78-0 and enjoying Ruth's Chris steaks at a discount (with or without milk).
3. Ohio State (2): Ohio State fans will cry foul about falling behind Michigan, but the wise ones will be thankful for a victory in a tough spot on the road in Madison.
4. Washington (5): The white-hot Huskies were off this week.
5. Clemson (3): The Tigers turned the ball over four times against NC State and needed both a missed field goal and an overtime interception to remain undefeated at home. All eyes on the Tigers moving forward after the narrow win that looked eerily similar to the kind of games division rival Florida State was winning in 2014.
6. Texas A&M (6): The Aggies, undefeated and prepping for Alabama, could move above Clemson, but I'm guessing they don't have enough support to quite make that jump.
7. Louisville (7): Will Louisville fall after catching a break with Duke's roughing the kicker penalty in the fourth quarter? Doubtful. Friday night narrow wins are routine wins in the minds of a voter on Sunday morning.
8. Wisconsin (8): The Badgers won't fall at all after going toe-to-toe with the Buckeyes.
9. Nebraska (10): There's not a lot that's particularly sexy about Nebraska's success, but avoiding a loss when the oddsmakers and experts from around the country were screaming for a potential upset is a good way to inspire confidence in sustained success.
10. Baylor (11): Blowing out Kansas does nothing to inspire confidence in sustained success.
11. Houston (13): Will voters penalize Houston for a controversial finish against Tusla? We'll see, but my bet is that their eyes were on Ohio State-Wisconsin.
12. Arkansas (22): Arkansas proved it belonged in the wide-open SEC West (non-Alabama division) with a win against the Rebels.
13. Florida State (14): Beating Wake Forest does very little for voters.
14. Ole Miss (12): Tough road loss moves the Rebels down in the rankings but only two spots below the Razorbacks.
15. Oklahoma (19): Back-to-back three-touchdown games for Dede Westbrook will have the Oklahoma wide receiver in a good spot to compete for a spot on the CBS Sports Midseason All-America team, coming soon to your favorite sports website.
16. West Virginia (20): I don't think that voters are ready to put the Mountaineers ahead of the Sooners, but West Virginia was never in a position to lose against Texas Tech on Saturday. Several members of the media thought this was a spot where WVU would be exposed, so expect a jump for ducking expectations.
17. Boise State (15): The Broncos outlasted Colorado State in Boise, but didn't do enough to move up.
18. Tennessee (9): The Vols will fall after their second straight loss, further than they did last week but not out of the rankings. Putting Tennessee in the top 10 is a move that suggests voters were rating this team as if it was fully healthy and it simply is far from its peak performance at this point in the season. A much-needed off week awaits the Vols as fans start to root for one more Florida loss in the SEC East title race.
19. Florida (18): The long layoff with the LSU game postponed might have contributed to a rusty performance, but my guess is that voters' eyes were elsewhere during the Gators' 40-14 win over Missouri.
20. Utah (21): Weird, weather-impacted game ends with a narrow 19-14 win that does little in the eyes of voters.
21. Auburn (23): The Tigers were off this week after a quick and thorough dismantling of Mississippi State last Saturday. With the Bulldogs forcing overtime at BYU, there might be a slight jump but hard to think much changes for the Tigers until they notch another SEC win.
22. Western Michigan (24): The Broncos absolutely waxed Akron on the road.
23. North Carolina (NR): The Tar Heels fly back into the rankings to pester the rest of the ACC thanks to a big game from wide receiver Bug Howard.
24. LSU (NR): Coach O must have given one heck of a halftime speech as the Tigers outscored Southern Miss 35-0 in a 45-10 win.
25. Navy (25): - Postponed game at ECU because of the lingering effects of Hurricane Matthew.
Teams falling out: Virginia Tech, Miami
















