The first full weekend of November saw many teams ranked in the AP top 25 get tapped, but that doesn’t mean there was major action across the country as some of college football’s postseason contenders were on the field to prove it. matches on Saturday.

Happy Valley did not live up to its name in the first window for the home team in a battle of top-four ranked Big Ten rivals, as one team looked to end a long losing streak against its rival while the other team hoped to win. Avoid a second costly loss.

Other results included in Saturday’s release saw seven ranked teams lose on the field, including stunners in the SEC and ACC in the Palmetto State, and an undefeated ACC contender failed a critical road test in prime time.

Which teams in AP’s top 25 college football rankings will be in action this week?

As we enter Week 11, let’s try to predict who will rise and who will fall in the polls.

Last week’s ranking: 3rd place

This job is starting to get monotonous. Especially because coming this year feels different.

Several analysts predicted that Penn State would finally beat Ohio State, go undefeated, play at home, and have more breathing room thanks to an expanded playoff.

Instead, it was another sluggish performance on both sides of the ball, resulting in the Buckeyes’ eighth straight loss; This didn’t escalate as much as directly answering questions about head coach James Franklin’s performance against top competition.

Franklin fell to 1-13 against AP top-five opponents; 11 of those were straight losses, going just 3-18 against top-10 teams and falling to 1-10 against Ohio State.

On four trips inside the red zone, the Nittany Lions left the game with 2 field goals and no touchdowns, scoring just 6 total points out of 20.

The final blow was a failed attempt by Penn State’s offense from the Buckeyes’ 3-yard line, then the 2-yard line; A four-game setback resulted in turnovers on downs, effectively ending the team’s hopes of winning. ball again.

Only twice in his career as Andy Kotelnicki’s offensive coordinator has his team been held out of the end zone, and Jim Knowles is responsible for both: in 2021 against Knowles’ defense at Oklahoma State and on Saturday against the Buckeyes.

In a four-team playoff era, this defeat could practically mean the end of Penn State’s national title hopes, but with no ranked teams on the schedule moving forward, an 11-1 result is more than possible and could be taken into consideration next term . College Football Playoff.

For now, AP top 25 voters will punish the Nittany Lions for not living up to their potential as the No. 3 team, but given recent precedent they may not be too harsh on the ballot.

Texas remains in the top five after losing to Georgia as the No. 1 team a few weeks ago, and while that’s a lot, Penn State should be in the top 10.

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Last week’s ranking: 4th place

It’s hard to overstate how important a win like this is for Ohio State.

The pressure was on: A loss to Oregon still loomed large, head coach Ryan Day was facing intense criticism for his performance against top-tier opponents, and a second loss could give the selection committee more ammunition to keep this team out. playoffs

Will Howard was the first to admit that he didn’t play a perfect game; He made a return interception for a touchdown on his first pass, fumbled and missed a move that resulted in a touchback as he approached the goal line. There was a goal scored in the first half.

But he also led two scoring drives and was instrumental in sealing the victory at quarterback following a Buckeyes’ defensive stop from 2 yards out, leading the final drive as the clock ticked down and running in himself on the final first down to clinch the game. BT.

This may not be the type of offense we’ve come to expect from Ohio State this season, but this team can still take down one of its primary conference rivals and plays a more physical style of football that could come in handy as we approach the postseason.

A win by Ohio State could create a dilemma for AP top 25 voters. Normally, wins for the No. 1 and No. 2 teams would mean Oregon and Georgia remain in place, respectively.

But considering the team has a 1-point road loss against the No. 1 team, won on the road against the No. 3 team, and Georgia has a hard time knocking it out of the rankings, the No. 2 Buckeyes might be entertained by some voting. Florida.

Our bet is that the top two teams will not move and Ohio State will settle for No. 3 in the rankings previously held by Penn State.

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Last week’s ranking: 18th place

Pitt was one of college football’s eight undefeated teams heading into Saturday, but there were some questions about the quality of the competition behind the 7-0 record.

The Panthers hoped that playing on the road against a one-loss SMU would assuage those concerns and put their ACC title hopes on a more solid footing.

But the offense couldn’t gain much momentum, scoring 3 points in the first half, and the defense was largely unable to contain the Mustangs’ skill weapons in a 48-25 loss.

Pitt’s margin of defeat against the top team on its schedule will give AP voters pause, but it probably won’t be enough to knock that team out of the rankings entirely.

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Last week’s ranking: 20th place

On the other side of the defeat in the Metroplex, the Mustangs impressed with a balanced, aggressive offensive game plan that outlasted the strong Pittsburgh defense in a clear victory.

The win moved SMU into second place in the ACC standings and an 8-1 record, facing three extremely winnable games against BC, at Virginia and against Cal.

And with other teams higher in the standings losing games, there should be plenty of room for the Mustangs to move up in the polls, almost certainly into the top 15.

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Kansas State and Iowa State came into this weekend as promising Big 12 title contenders, but after surprising losses to unranked opponents, both are moving down the rankings and struggling heading into November.

Both were within striking distance of making a run at the Big 12 championship, but were blown back in big fashion after being upset by Houston and Texas Tech, respectively.

Iowa State was ranked No. 11 and was off to its best start since 1938; One of only two teams left the conference undefeated and poised to make a run to the Big 12 title and the playoffs by proxy.

Now, in a crowded field near the top of the Big 12 with Colorado right behind them in the standings, the Cyclones have no margin for error moving forward.

Likewise, Kansas State, ranked No. 17 in this week’s poll but whose rushing attack ranks No. 9 in the FBS this weekend, hit a wall against the under-the-radar Cougars.

K-State finished with just 89 yards on the ground and 2.6 yards per carry, and the offense allowed 14 points in the fourth quarter alone while scoring just 3 points in the second half.

AP voters will likely knock the Cyclones out of the top 15, while the Wildcats are in danger of dropping out of the poll at worst and falling into the bottom five at best.

Don’t look now, but Colorado has suddenly moved into second place in the Big 12 standings with a 4-1 conference record and 6-2 overall mark.

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Last week’s ranking: 5th place

Since one of the top four teams in the AP rankings must lose this weekend, the fifth-place Hurricanes were expected to move up in the poll provided they could win.

Even though Duke came up with a much weaker bid than anticipated, and an inspired performance to lead Miami 28-17 in the third quarter, it fell to Cam Ward to revive the Canes’ fortunes, and he did so all season long.

Starting midway through the third quarter, Ward led Miami on a 36-3 scoring run that once again reminded everyone that this offense can score with its mind.

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Last week’s ranking: 10th place

There are no more undefeated teams in SEC play after Texas A&M collapsed on the road with a stunning 44-20 loss at South Carolina to drop to 5-1 in the conference.

It was quite a disappointment for the Aggies, whose excellent defense failed to live up to its reputation on the road, allowing over 500 total yards and its offense failing to score points in the second half.

This will allow AP’s top 25 voters to reevaluate where A&M fits in the rankings; the middle third of this is due to some big changes after the losses of several ranked teams.

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-Clemson fell flat on its face coming off its off week, failing to get much going in a surprise home loss to unranked Louisville and will fall from its 11th-seeded ranking.

– Ole Miss will make a jump in the standings after a 63-31 rout of Arkansas with Jaxson Dart scoring 6 goals and the Rebels moving to 3-2 in SEC play with Georgia.

– Boise State will benefit from other poll movement from the higher-ranked teams, who fell 7-1 with a loss to No. 1 Oregon after defeating San Diego State by a score of 56-24.

– Indiana should get more votes in the Week 11 rankings after outscoring Michigan State 10-0 on the road to improve to 9-0 for the first time in program history and move firmly into College Football Playoff contention.

-Vanderbilt received votes last week but could return to the rankings this week after a 10-point win at Auburn that moved the ‘Dores to 3-2 in SEC play.

– Missouri may fall behind in the rankings after maintaining its 25th place last week despite a 34-0 loss to Alabama, as AP voters are unable to find another name to fill out the bottom of their ballots.

– Ditto for Illinois, which had to drop off the ballot last week and will almost certainly drop this week as well after falling to 6-3 following its second straight defeat.

– Minnesota, the team that beat the Illini on the road, can get into the rankings this week after winning its fourth straight game and sitting at 4-2 in Big Ten play.

More… When AP’s top 25 rankings are announced

And…predicting the AP top 25 rankings for Week 11

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