Come Tuesday night, the Associated Press poll and the AFCA Coaches poll really lose meaning. That’s the cold fact, but for now, for today, here they are in all of their glory.
Defending national champion Georgia remains number one in both polls, and their margin widened in both – probably because No. 2 Michigan had an open date and the Bulldogs convincingly beat rival Florida at neutral-site Jacksonville.
Georgia has 48 of 63 possible first-place votes in the AP poll, and 58 of the 64 first-place votes in the coaches poll. That’s a fairly-good stranglehold on number one in both, and one would THINK the Bulldogs (8-0) would be number one in the College Football Playoff rankings. But the committee has thrown curveballs before, normally at the end of the season.
The top five are the same in both polls: Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, and Florida State – Michigan got three first-place votes, and Ohio State also got three, in the coaches poll. In the AP poll, the Wolverines got nine first-place votes. Ohio State and Florida State also each got three.
In the AP poll, Oregon is sixth, Texas seventh – in the coaches’ poll, it’s reversed. Oregon smashed Utah at Utah on Saturday, and Texas had little issues in Austin with Big 12 newcomer BYU.
Alabama, who had an open date before its matchup with No. 13 (in both polls) LSU this Saturday, is ranked eighth. Penn State had serious issues at home against Indiana, and that game was in doubt until the final minutes – but somehow, the Nittany Lions escaped a drop in either poll. Penn State is ninth in both.
Oklahoma, which was previously unbeaten but lost at 5-2 Kansas, dropped four spots to 10th in the AP poll, and dropped five spots to 11th in the coaches. Ole Miss moved up to No. 11 in the AP poll, and jumped the Sooners in the coaches poll to get into the top 10.
Of note is the placement of two-loss Notre Dame and two-loss LSU. Both are just outside the top 10, and 12 and 13, respectively, in both polls. But they’re both ahead of one-loss Missouri, one-loss Louisville, and unbeaten Air Force (17 in both polls, but undefeated).
Voters in the AP poll are Adam Cole, Adam Zucker, Arnie Just, Audrey Dahlgren, Blair Kerkhoff, Bob Asmussen, Brett McMurphy, Brian Fonseca, Brian Howell, Chad Leistikow, Chris Murray, Colten Bartholomew, Creg Stephenson, Dave Preston, Dave Reardon, David Briggs, David Jablonski, Don Williams, Emily Adams, Emily Leiker, Garland Gillen, Greg Madia, James Williams, Jared McDonald, John Clay, John Pierson, Johnny McGonigal, Jon Wilner, Jordan Crammer, Jordan Guskey, Josh Furlong, Kate Rogerson, Kayla Anderson, Kirk Bohls, Kirk Kenney, Marc Weiszer, Matt Baker, Matt Brown, Matt Murschel, Michael Lev, Mike Barber, Mike Berardino, Mike Niziolek, Mike Vorel, Pete Martini, Randy Johnson, Rece Davis, Robert Cessna, Ron Counts, Ryan Aber, Ryan Thorburn, Scott Rabalais, Scott Springer, Sean Reider, Stefan Krajisnik, Stephen Hargis, Steve Wiseman, Steven Johnson, Tom D’Angelo, Tom Murphy, Tony Garcia, Trevor Hass and Zach Klein.
As mentioned, the first set of College Football Playoff rankings are released Tuesday night; that’ll be at 6 p.m. Central Standard Time on ESPN. As soon as they’re released, we’ll have them here on TFB.
Here’s the AP poll.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 POLL (released Sunday, October 29):
| 1. Georgia (48) 8-0 | 1,553 |
| 2. Michigan (9) 8-0 | 1,494 |
| 3. Ohio State (3) 8-0 | 1,446 |
| 4. Florida State (3) 8-0 | 1,421 |
| 5. Washington 8-0 | 1,327 |
| 6. Oregon 7-1 | 1,235 |
| 7. Texas 7-1 | 1,189 |
| 8. Alabama 7-1 | 1,114 |
| 9. Penn State 7-1 | 1,044 |
| 10. Oklahoma 7-1 | 1,010 |
| 11. Ole Miss 7-1 | 990 |
| 12. Notre Dame 7-2 | 847 |
| 13. LSU 6-2 | 816 |
| 14. Missouri 7-1 | 714 |
| 15. Louisville 7-1 | 666 |
| 16. Oregon State 6-2 | 557 |
| 17. Air Force 8-0 | 526 |
| 18. Utah 6-2 | 510 |
| 19. Tennessee 6-2 | 473 |
| 20. UCLA 6-2 | 331 |
| 21. Tulane 7-1 | 303 |
| 22. Kansas 6-2 | 250 |
| 23. James Madison 8-0 | 192 |
| 24. Southern Cal 7-2 | 139 |
| 25. Kansas State 6-2 | 167 |
Others receiving votes: Oklahoma State 77, North Carolina 54, Liberty 47, Fresno State 16, Miami 11, Arizona 6, Toledo 3, Rutgers 2. Dropped from rankings: North Carolina, Duke.
Here’s the coaches poll.
USA TODAY / SPORTS AFCA COACHES POLL (released Sunday, October 29):
| 1. Georgia (58) 8-0 | 1,590 |
| 2. Michigan (3) 8-0 | 1,522 |
| 3. Ohio State (3) 8-0 | 1,454 |
| 4. Florida State 8-0 | 1,439 |
| 5. Washington 8-0 | 1,344 |
| 6. Texas 7-1 | 1,212 |
| 7. Oregon 7-1 | 1,211 |
| 8. Alabama 7-1 | 1,187 |
| 9. Penn State 7-1 | 1,072 |
| 10. Ole Miss 7-1 | 1,021 |
| 11. Oklahoma 7-1 | 948 |
| 12. Notre Dame 7-2 | 847 |
| 13. LSU 6-2 | 809 |
| 14. Missouri 7-1 | 714 |
| 15. Louisville 7-1 | 701 |
| 16. Tennessee 6-2 | 553 |
| 17. Air Force 8-0 | 523 |
| 18. Utah 6-2 | 509 |
| 19. Oregon State 6-2 | 465 |
| 20. UCLA 6-2 | 309 |
| 21. Tulane 7-1 | 304 |
| 22. Southern Cal 7-2 | 239 |
| 23. Kansas 6-2 | 182 |
| 24. James Madison 8-0 | 169 |
| 25. North Carolina 6-2 | 120 |
Others receiving votes: Kansas State 85, Oklahoma State 62, Fresno State 51, Miami 35, Duke 33, Iowa 20, Arizona 18, Liberty 15, SMU 6, Florida 3, Toledo 1, UNLV 1, Kentucky 1. Dropped from rankings: Duke.
