At the conclusion of each week’s games, the staff at the Student Section will team with writers from other Bloguin sites to publish a Top 25 poll. Here’s the latest installment, with some notes and analysis about our panel’s choices.
| Rank | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State (5) | 142 |
| 2 | Utah (1) | 141 |
| 3 | Clemson | 130 |
| 4 | Michigan State | 126 |
| 5 | LSU | 122 |
| 6 | TCU | 121 |
| 7 | Baylor | 115 |
| 8 | Florida State | 111 |
| 9 | Alabama | 100 |
| 10 | Iowa | 91 |
| 11 | Notre Dame | 84 |
| 12 | Stanford | 83 |
| 13 | Oklahoma State | 76 |
| 14 | Florida | 75 |
| 15 | Memphis | 74 |
| 16 | Houston | 61 |
| 17 | Toledo | 48 |
| Tie | Temple | 48 |
| 19 | Texas A&M | 43 |
| Tie | Michigan | 43 |
| 21 | Oklahoma | 41 |
| 22 | Duke | 21 |
| 23 | California | 18 |
| 24 | Mississippi | 14 |
| 25 | Pittsburgh | 9 |
| Others receiving votes: North Carolina 3, Navy 3, Wisconsin 2, Northwestern 2, Utah State 2, UCLA 1 | ||
| Voters: Bart Doan, Kevin Causey, Joe Dexter, Allen Kenney, Andrew Coppens, Terry Johnson | ||
Notes and Observations
- Managing Editor Matt Zemek will vote in this poll, but will not cast a ballot until the first Monday in November
- According to our voters, the race for the top spot is a two-team race between Ohio State and Utah.
- Yet, everyone isn’t sold on both teams as playoff contenders, as each appeared lower than fourth on at least one ballot.
- The Buckeyes have topped our poll in every week but one, when Ole Miss occupied the top spot.
- By virtue of its victory over the Rebels, Memphis enters the rankings at No. 15 after narrowly missing the cut last week.
- It’s also worth noting that the voters chose not to penalize Ole Miss for losing to a solid Tiger team. The Rebels remain in the rankings at No. 24.
- Although it’s a relatively subjective topic, it’s clear that our voters chose to reward teams for beating quality competition, moving Michigan State and LSU up after each posted impressive victories this weekend.
- Unfortunately, this came at Baylor’s expense. Despite throttling West Virginia 62-38, the Bears fell from third to seventh.
- Pittsburgh entered the poll this week at No. 25 after failing to receive a vote last week. The Panthers’ victory over Georgia Tech proved that their defense — which ranks 17th nationally in total defense — is for real.
