The final College Football Playoff rankings and the revised Associated Press top 25 poll will be released on Sunday afternoon. Conference championship weekend is over.
I’ll be releasing my top 25 ballot items each week as an AP voter this season, giving you an inside look at how I make my decisions.
Following Penn State’s loss to Oregon in the Big Ten championship game, this is my AP top 25 ballot.
(Prior rankings on the ballot from last week are enclosed in parenthesis.)
Memphis was dropped (25)
25. UNLV (22)
Marshall (NR) 24
23. Duke (23)
22. Colorado (21)
21. Syracuse (20)
Marshall, welcome to the ballot for the first time this season. Former Penn State running backs coach Charles Huff led the Thundering Herd to a 10-3 record this season. And they finished it off with a resounding victory in the Sun Belt title game at Louisiana.
Despite their offensive struggles, UNLV lost by just two scores to Boise State in the Mountain West title game. To fully remove the Rebels from the standings in favor of a team that didn’t play this weekend would be unjust. You’ll also notice a recurring pattern on this ballot: I generally don’t criticize teams that went above and above.
20. Illinois (19)
19. BYU (18)
18. Iowa State (17)
17. Army (24)
16. Miami (15)
Well done, Army. I believed the Black Knights would be unable to handle Tulane’s offensive power. In addition to the defense’s brutal play, quarterback Bryson Daily had a memorable night in the AAC title game. I’m excited for the Army-Navy game next week.
15. South Carolina (13)
14. Ole Miss (12)
13. Alabama (11)
12. SMU (5)
11. Clemson (16)
This is when things become complicated. All year long, I had a strong affection for SMU, and Saturday night was no exception. I continue to believe that Rhett Lashlee’s squad is deserving of a spot in the College Football Playoffs. But following the ACC title game, I felt obliged to support Clemson over the Mustangs.
I am aware that this implies giving Clemson a higher rating than South Carolina following the Tigers’ home loss to the Gamecocks in the regular season finale. This time of year, however, the poll is a chaos.
10. Arizona State (14)
9. Boise State (10).
8. Indiana (9)
7. Tennessee (8)
6. The University of Ohio (7)
What an Arizona State performance. In the Big 12 championship, what began as a close game swiftly devolved into a landslide in the second half. The Sun Devils’ opportunistic defense prevented the Cyclones from making a comeback, and Cam Skattebo ran all over Iowa State.
After finishing last in the preseason league poll, Arizona State moved up to a CFP position in its first season in the Big 12. What a story.
5. (4) Notre Dame
4. Texas (2)
3. The University of Pennsylvania (3)
2. Georgia (6)
1. Oregon (1)
Once more, I’m attempting to avoid disparaging teams that participated in their conference finals. The Longhorns didn’t look good at all, which is the only reason I dropped Texas behind Penn State. Despite moving the ball on Georgia, they were unable to score. Then, after Carson Beck was injured, they lost to a substitute quarterback in overtime. Steve Sarkisian doesn’t look very good in this. (Side note: Arch Manning might be a good choice for the Longhorns to start in the CFP.)
I was impressed after Penn State’s defeat over Oregon in Indianapolis. A pair of turnovers and a few unusual penalties put the Nittany Lions in a bad position. However, they faced up against the nation’s top team in a shootout.
Ohio State, whose humiliating defeat to Michigan forced the Nittany Lions into the Big Ten championship game in the first place, may be favored by some voters over Penn State. I understand that Penn State’s addition of a second defeat might influence the head-to-head outcome. However, the Buckeyes’ shortcomings versus Michigan shouldn’t be held against the Nittany Lions.
Stories by
Johnny McGonigal
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