Week 7 AP Top 25 breakdown
The ACC’s No. 1 Clemson, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 5 University of North Carolina all break top 5 rankings
October 14, 2020
The AP Poll released its rankings for week six of the college football season Oct. 11.
The SEC representatives took a dip in the ranking after No. 2 Alabama scratched out a close win, No. 10 Florida and now-unranked LSU lost, and Mississippi State now seems to be a one-week wonder.
The Big 12 still looks shaky after the Red River Rivalry went into four overtimes and a battle between No. 22 Kansas State and Texas Christian University went down to the last play.
Surprisingly, the only dominant conference right now is the ACC, with three teams ranked in the top five.
Let’s see what the AP Poll got right and what the poll got wrong in this week’s rankings.
What is right:
No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 5 University of North Carolina moved up as the University of Florida and No. 13 University of Miami moved down. Miami’s loss to No. 1 Clemson on the road warrants them only dropping six spots this week.
No. 11 Texas A&M jumped 10 spots after they defeated Florida and crushed the Gators’ hopes and dreams of making the College Football Playoff this year. This dropped current No. 10 Florida six spots in the polls.
Texas A&M has looked inconsistent most of the season after barely beating Vanderbilt in their first game, and then getting blown out by Alabama. Now the Aggies are in the New Year’s Six bowl games discussion after this crucial win.
Notre Dame and UNC both look like serious contenders to overthrow Clemson’s dominant reign in the ACC. Notre Dame looked great against Florida State at home and played well on both sides of the ball. UNC is a very high scoring team, and even though their defense allowed 45 points, they put up 56 points against a talented Virginia Tech team.
This year has the potential of having two teams from the ACC play in the CFP for the first time ever. Time will tell if UNC and Notre Dame can keep their momentum rolling.
What is wrong:
No. 3 Georgia and No. 2 Alabama needed to swap places after this week. Alabama allowed 48 points to Ole Miss and barely came out with a road victory. Usually, a team shouldn’t drop in the rankings after a win, but after a scrappy win over an unranked Ole Miss, they need to drop a spot.
No. 8 Cincinnati’s spot in the top 10 is questionable, as the Bearcats just haven’t faced any relevant teams. With a blowout against the still winless Austin Peay Governors in week one, a win against the formerly ranked Army in week two, and a 21-point victory over the struggling South Florida Bulls, Cincinnati should not be cracking the top 10.
Auburn dropping just two spots is generous considering they barely survived against unranked Arkansas at home due to a controversial call. Auburn looked great in their week one win against then-No. 23 Kentucky but looked sluggish after their bad loss to Georgia in week two. Due to how they looked against the Razorbacks, they should fall a little more.
No. 20 Iowa State and No. 22 Kansas State moved up the rankings despite both having previous losses to their names. Both Iowa State and KSU beat a struggling Texas Tech (1-3) and had impressive wins against a struggling Oklahoma Sooners (2-2), but their losses against Arkansas State and No. 21 University of Louisiana raise concerns.
Notable matchups for Week 7:
No. 2 Alabama hosts No. 3 Georgia on Saturday at 5 p.m. on CBS
No. 11 Texas A&M travels to Mississippi State on Saturday at 1 p.m. on the SEC Network
No. 10 Florida plays LSU on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN
No. 13 Miami hosts Pittsburgh on Saturday at 9 a.m. on the ACC Network