Although the Week 9 schedule didn’t set up a handful of ranked games, the results of another chaotic week in college football have led to more than a handful of top 25 teams suffering losses. The changes will lead to big changes in the college football rankings, none more impactful than USC’s victory over Ohio State in Los Angeles. USC was previously unranked after falling from the AP Top 25 poll following a 17-7 loss to Wisconsin. The Trojans endured immense pressure all week after the loss, feeling the weight of an underperforming offense and the threat of a top-two ranked Ohio State opponent. USC answered their offensive questions immediately and took an early lead, riding that momentum to a signature rain-soaked victory for Lincoln Riley. It marked his first win against a top-five opponent as USC coach, and will launch the Trojans back into the top 25. As for Ohio State, they are predicted to be among the lucky ones who lost in Week 9, but won’t fall too far, thanks to wins against the likes of Indiana and Iowa in conference play. But with teams like SMU, Northwestern, Arizona, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin suffering losses on Saturday, the door is open for many newcomers to the standings. Here’s what we expect the new AP Top 25 to look like on Sunday after Week 9: 1. Miami (last week – 1): Even though the No. 1 team in the country was trailing in the second half, the upset alert always seemed a little premature while Malachi Toney was on the field. The Miami wide receiver, a Heisman Trophy contender, was absolutely electric in the Hurricanes’ 38-35 victory, finishing with seven catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns. 2. Georgia (3): The Bulldogs took advantage of Florida’s early mistakes for easy points and took advantage of another strong defensive performance to claim a sixth straight victory in the Cocktail Party rivalry. At 7-1 overall and a convincing win against a quality team, Georgia may get a couple of first-place votes, but the overall rating will remain unchanged for most voters. 3. Notre Dame (5): It took a minute for Notre Dame to hit its stride, but voters won’t be quick to overreact one way or another to a 35-13 win against Navy. All eyes are on next week’s matchup with Miami, where a firmer judgment can be made on the Fighting Irish as a top-five team. 4. Utah (6): In a week where a couple of big teams got off to a slow start, give Utah credit for sending an early message against Cincinnati. The Utes built a 42-6 halftime lead and then cruised along in the second half as attention turns to next Saturday’s matchup with BYU. The fact that the Bearcats had just defeated Texas Tech set up a potential spot of disappointment, but also allowed Utah’s dominance to validate an 8-0 record that will earn more respect from voters. 5. UCLA (7): Voters won’t be quick to make any major adjustments to the Bruins’ situation after beating Nevada 27-0. The shutout victory, highlighted by four defensive shutouts, keeps the best piece of UCLA’s ranking resume intact, and that’s the zero in the loss column. UCLA is now 8-0 overall, but its best win remains the win against three-loss Oregon earlier this month. 6. Indiana (4): Last week, the Hoosiers had just a one-point lead over Notre Dame (1,459 to 1,458) and a lead of less than 50 points compared to Utah. After another overtime win that featured little offensive production and a lot of scares, Indiana could be about to give up a couple spots to those other teams that were also fighting for a top-five position. Indiana’s resume doesn’t hold up well to intense scrutiny, with Nebraska and Northwestern the best wins and especially a “loss of quality” argument thanks to the four-point loss to Ohio State. 7. BYU (8): It looked like the Cougars were cruising along with a dominant defensive performance early and a 17-3 halftime lead, but a second-half charge by Arizona State left BYU sweating a little late in a 27-20 victory. Ultimately, the win, by any margin, should keep the Cougars solidly ahead of Kentucky and Alabama, who were out in Week 9. 8. Kentucky (9): The Wildcats were out in Week 9 and will return to action next week at Tennessee. 9. Alabama (10): The Crimson Tide was off in Week 9 and will return to action next week at LSU. 10. Texas (11): We didn’t anticipate too many changes after the Longhorns took advantage of a Kamario Taylor-less Mississippi State team and cruised to a 31-3 victory to improve to 6-2. 11. Ohio State (2): Ohio State’s fall in the rankings will affect on two fronts. First, Saturday night’s loss came to a previously unranked USC team and changes the analysis for the Buckeyes as they are now a two-loss team. But the other thing here is that Week 9 was the first time we saw Ohio State play four quarters without injured quarterback Julian Sayin, and the offensive production numbers reflect a group that isn’t operating at the same level as before. That will affect voters looking to rank Ohio State among other top teams and make them more likely to choose Texas’ head-to-head result as the anchor for the Buckeyes’ new ranking position. 12. Ole Miss (12): Playing at home in an early spot with Georgia coming to town next week, it would have been easy for Ole Miss to get caught in a dogfight with an Auburn team that can clearly throw punches with the SEC heavyweights. So let’s give the Rebels credit for handling business in a 45-17 victory. 13. Texas Tech (13): There’s an argument that Texas Tech’s resume was noticeably improved with a win against Arizona, but we also don’t expect voters to overreact to a one-score home win as a top-15 team. Although important for the establishment of a new offense led by Thomas Castellanos, the victory keeps the Red Raiders in virtually the same place in the standings. 14. Wake Forest (14): Among Wake Forest’s many highlights in a 51-7 win over Virginia was another outstanding day for Carlos Hernandez. The Demon Deacons wide receiver had eight receptions on nine targets for 136 yards and a touchdown, marking the fourth time he has reached 100 yards in a game this season. Wake Forest is now 7-1 overall and will face FCS Merrimack next week before heading to SMU with a chance to reach the ACC Championship Game in November. 15. LSU (15): The Tigers were off in Week 9 and will return to action next week against Alabama in Baton Rouge. 16. Tennessee (16): The Vols were out in Week 9 and will return to action next week against Kentucky. 17. USC (NR): Lincoln Riley believes in this team and has now guided the Trojans back into the thick of the Big Ten title race with a key head-to-head victory against Ohio State. Now the challenge for the Trojans will be to close the deal with more big wins, as they will be on the College Football Playoff Selection Committee’s radar and likely ranked in Tuesday’s first CFP rankings. 18. Houston (18): The Cougars were off in Week 9 and will return to action next week against Cincinnati. 19. Boise State (20): The Broncos are currently in action against Texas State. 20. Missouri (23): Ahmad Hardy returned to the lineup, and Missouri returned to its winning ways with a 34-10 rival victory at Arkansas to improve the Tigers to 6-2 on the season. It’s been 21 days since Missouri’s last win, so voters should feel better about having Eli Drinkwitz’s group as a top-25 team, and that standings status sets up a very interesting matchup with Texas in Columbia next weekend. 21. Iowa (NR): In last week’s voting, Iowa finished 26th in voting points and closer to 25th-place Wisconsin than Wisconsin is to 24th-place Oklahoma. A complete dismantling of the Badgers will spark a rise into the top 25, garnering some of those Wisconsin votes along with a level of respect for the dominant nature of the win. 22. South Carolina (NR): It seemed like three seasons in one for South Carolina, which has now built a three-game winning streak with victories against Florida, Tennessee and Oklahoma after a three-game losing streak that had the conversation at full volume. The Gamecocks crushed the Sooners on Saturday, posting a 42-25 victory in Norman behind another stellar performance from LaNorris Sellers. 23. New Mexico (NR): The Lobos had already appeared on several ballots last week, and now at 7-1 they could stand out as a more attractive option compared to some teams on the cut line with multiple losses. 24. Oregon (NR): The Ducks have a chaotic collection of wins and losses, with wins against USC and Northwestern, but are also weighed down by a trio of losses against UCLA, Oklahoma State and Illinois. Beating the Wildcats in Week 9 could spark a bounce in the standings as three-loss teams receive more consideration, and given some of the other upheavals, the door is open for Oregon to rank among the top three-loss teams in the country. 25. Florida (17): The Gators’ woeful offensive performance could result in a quick rebound from the top 25 even as the Gators have some of the best wins in the country. The reasons for keeping Florida in the rankings are high-profile wins against Ole Miss and Texas, but as it stands, this team has lost three of its last four and currently looks stuck in the mud offensively. Projected to drop out: No. 19 SMU, No. 20 Northwestern, No. 22 Arizona, No. 24 Oklahoma State, No. 25 Wisconsin
