Missouri QB Maty Mauck runs for a touchdown in a 36-17 win over Florida. Photo by Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Good luck making sense of the SEC.
Five ranked SEC teams lost Saturday, and now the second-highest ranked team from that conference is LSU, Georgia, Texas A&M, Florida, South Carolina … uh, Missouri.
There is a lot going on in this week’s poll, with Mizzou and Auburn making big jumps, and Florida State launching to No. 3 after it thrashed Clemson, 51-14.
There are plenty of ways to argue the order of the SEC teams, but the UCF-Louisville combo is non-negotiable.
Central Florida (6-1) won at Louisville (5-1) on Friday night and also has a victory at Penn State. There is no logical way to rank the Cardinals, whose best win is vs. Rutgers, ahead of the Knights, but that’s exactly what 22 of the 60 AP voters did.
As usual, several teams could replace those in the final few spots on my ballot. Arizona State, after its home win over Washington, ping-ponged back onto my ballot at No. 24. The Sun Devils are off this week before playing back-to-back road games at Washington State and Utah. ASU’s two losses this season have come away from Sun Devil Stadium.
I tried to keep some semblance of reason at the bottom of my ballot, as No. 22 Michigan beat No. 23 Notre Dame, which beat No. 24 ASU, which beat No. 25 Wisconsin.
Here is the rest of it:
| Gimino | Team | AP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | 1 |
| 2 | Oregon | 2 |
| 3 | Florida State | 3 |
| 4 | Ohio State | 4 |
| 5 | Missouri | 5 |
| 6 | Miami | 7 |
| 7 | Stanford | 8 |
| 8 | Baylor | 6 |
| 9 | UCLA | 12 |
| 10 | Clemson | 9 |
| 11 | Auburn | 11 |
| 12 | Texas Tech | 10 |
| 13 | LSU | 13 |
| 14 | Texas A&M | 14 |
| 15 | Oklahoma | 17 |
| 16 | Virginia Tech | 16 |
| 17 | South Carolina | 20 |
| 18 | UCF | 21 |
| 19 | Louisville | 18 |
| 20 | Fresno State | 15 |
| 21 | Oklahoma State | 19 |
| 22 | Michigan | 24 |
| 23 | Notre Dame | NR |
| 24 | Arizona State | NR |
| 25 | Wisconsin | 22 |