The last weekend of October has been a playoff day of sorts for college football, as we’ve seen some contenders potentially separate themselves from the imitators, and now it’s time to sort things out in the AP top 25 rankings heading into Week 10.

It was a proving moment in the SEC, not just for Missouri against Alabama, but also for LSU and Texas A&M in a battle of the last two teams undefeated in conference play.

Ohio State rolled past Nebraska at home for a road date against Penn State and swept Wisconsin after an injury knocked quarterback Drew Allar out of the game.

In the battle between ranked opponents, Notre Dame made a definitive statement against previously undefeated Navy, and some changes were made to the rankings in this game as well.

Which teams in AP’s top 25 college football rankings will be in action this week? As we enter Week 10, let’s try to predict who will rise and who will fall in the polls.

Last week’s ranking: 14th place

The battle for first place in the SEC came down to the Aggies, who overcame a first-half deficit at home and dominated LSU for a signature 38-23 win.

The key to this turnaround was head coach Mike Elko’s decision to bench quarterback Conner Weigman in exchange for bench player Marcel Reed; This individual led the comeback with 3 rushing touchdowns and proved that he should be the starter moving forward.

A&M improved to 5-0 in SEC play for the first time in school history and now sits alone in the conference standings. With their only loss against a good Notre Dame team, the Aggies’ playoff performance looks very promising heading into November.

AP top 25 voters may be reluctant to put the Aggies in the top 10 due to other top-ranked teams winning or sitting idle this weekend, but beating the No. 8 team in the nation is enough to override those concerns and give the Aggies a chance it could be. Former location of LSU.

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Last week’s ranking: 8th place

It’s been a tale of two halves for Garrett Nussmeier, the SEC’s most productive quarterback on whom LSU’s offensive fate this season depends.

Behind a strong line and working with some dynamic receivers, Nussmeier led a 2-touchdown drive at Texas A&M that resulted in a 17-7 halftime advantage, but his 3 second-half interceptions ultimately doomed the Tigers’ attempt to preserve their perfect SEC record.

That would be enough for the top 25 AP voters to move the Tigers out of the top 10 of the rankings this week and potentially out of the top 15; other teams will win their games in the poll but will almost certainly still come out on top. 20.

Now LSU is facing 2 losses this year and in danger of finishing third with Alabama coming to Death Valley next week and the pressure is on to keep their playoff hopes alive.

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Last week’s ranking: 19th place

Kyle McCord’s play from hell helped Pitt to a 7-0 record and a top-three finish in the ACC standings; The Syracuse quarterback threw 5 interceptions, 3 of which were returned for touchdowns, against the Panthers’ defensive onslaught. A 41-13 defeat.

And suddenly the ACC title race includes the team voters picked to finish 13th in the preseason conference and no longer just win games behind an up-tempo offense like it did at the start of the 2024 season.

Defense has been Pat Narduzzi’s specialty over the past decade, and the dramatic resurgence of that unit, led by “The Sharks” with their dominant defensive rotation, is a significant development as Pitt looks to keep itself in the mix in the postseason. We are moving to November.

About this team, it will face SMU on the road next week and will face ACC favorite Clemson at home two weeks later.

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Last week’s ranking: 24th place

The Midshipmen were a popular pick to knock off the Irish or at least remain double-digit underdogs, but a number of turnovers on Saturday had other ideas for this team.

Navy had 5 turnovers for a total of 6 turnovers; This was the most turnovers in a single game for the team in the last 22 years, and these mistakes led to 28 points by Notre Dame as they lost by a score of 51–14.

There were questions about whether the Midshipmen built their fortress on sand, whether they achieved a 6-0 record by beating superior opponents, and those arguments sound more convincing after what transpired in New Jersey.

AP voters must remove Navy from the rankings this week and could even withdraw their entire votes given the margin, dealing a major blow to the team’s hopes as a Group of Five playoff contender.

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Lower-ranked teams losing games usually leaves room for schools that received votes the week before to move up the rankings, but that could be difficult this week as teams with a surplus also lose and the AP’s top 25 voters receive relatively few votes. You can choose from .

This could save losers like Vanderbilt and Illinois, which might otherwise easily fall off the ballot, or allow voters to get more creative when filling out the bottom of their ballots.

– Tulane could get some votes this week after improving to 6-2 on the year with a win over North Texas for its fifth straight win and tied for second place in the AAC.

-Following a 34-0 loss at Alabama in which quarterback Brady Cook was re-injured, Missouri should fall out of the rankings and playoff picture, exposing the team’s continued weaknesses across the roster due to the program’s inability to build upon it. successful 2023 trip.

-Vanderbilt moved up in the rankings for the first time in more than a decade last week and played close at home against Texas, fighting back to the end of the 3-point loss, but could fall off the ballot after falling to 5th. -3.

– Illinois has won 3 conference games by fairly close margins, but failed both tests against ranked opponents on the road at Penn State weeks ago and was criticized by Oregon on Saturday, probably enough to fall from 20th in the rankings. position this week.

– Boise State will get more votes in this week’s rankings after passing a tough road test against UNLV; Even though star tailback Ashton Jeanty hasn’t had his best game against a physical defense, the Broncos are still in the playoff hunt. So far only 3 point loss-No. 1 on Oregon resume.

More… Predicting AP top 25 rankings for Week 10

And… when the AP top 25 rankings were announced

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