25. Oklahoma. A 12-spot jump for the Sooners after defeating Iowa State on the road behind an improved defensive output and one fake FG that turned into a TD, and now OU has won two straight, moving to 5-3.
24. Illinois. Now at 7-1 for the first time since 2001, the Illini are the clear favorites in the Big Ten West thanks to a strong run game, but still have a game against Michigan to come.
23. Maryland. Off this past week, the Terps are riding a potent passing offense but have a tough schedule to finish out the season with games against Ohio State and Penn State.
22. Wisconsin. It’s not out of the picture that Wisky can run the table the rest of the way and finish 8-4, something Jim Leonhard wants to do as he proves he’s worth the full time head coaching position.
21. Florida State. Jordan Travis had a career day passing and the Noles ran for over 200 yards in the third straight game to rout Georgia Tech and move to 5-3 (3-3 ACC).
20. UCLA. The ugly loss at Oregon sticks out, but the Bruins took care of business against Stanford and are still in the Pac-12 title chase thanks to DTR and Zach Charbonnet, but the QB could be dealing with a new injury.
19. Minnesota. Mo Ibrahim ran for 159 yards and three touchdowns as the Gophers ended their 3-game losing skid by stomping Rutgers, but the Big Ten West looks out of reach with losses to Purdue and Illinois.
18. Notre Dame. The Irish decided to be good on offense this week in an impressive win at ranked Syracuse and now comes a date against College Football Playoff hopeful Clemson at home.
17. Mississippi State. ESPN is still ranking the Bulldogs favorably despite losing two straight SEC games and scoring a combined 23 points in the process.
16. Kansas State. Backup quarterback Will Howard and Deuce Vaughn teamed up to pile on Oklahoma State in a surprising 48-0 rout and move into second place in the Big 12.
15. Baylor. That two-game losing streak still haunts the defending Big 12 champs, but the Bears are on a 2-game win streak now after smashing Texas Tech and a crucial game against K-State is coming in two weeks.
14. TCU. The ESPN rankings are less kind to the Horned Frogs than AP top 25 voters owing to some close play early in games, but this is still an undefeated team in the lead for the Big 12 behind college football’s No. 3 offense.
13. Ole Miss. The Rebels had to hold off an inspired A&M team that made a change at quarterback, but ran for almost 400 yards to stay at one loss and in the thick of the SEC West chase with the Alabama game still to come.
12. Penn State. James Franklin is now just 1-10 against top 5 teams and 0-2 this year against the class of the Big Ten East after watching Ohio State erase his team’s second half lead.
11. Oregon. Bo Nix loves life on the West Coast, throwing 17 TDs and running for 8 more as the Ducks have won seven straight and scored 40-plus each time out, but the Georgia loss still sticks out here.
10. USC. Caleb Williams and the Trojans’ skill targets are among college football’s best, but this defense still let Arizona make it interesting this past week, something to watch with tougher opponents ahead.
9. LSU. Brian Kelly has turned things around from losses to FSU and Tennessee and has the Tigers within distance of the SEC West title chase and Alabama coming into Death Valley this weekend.
8. Utah. The defending Pac-12 champs are in for a fight with new contenders in the league, and now quarterback Cameron Rising is on injury watch.
7. Clemson. Still perfect and the favorites in the ACC, this offense has made strides but doesn’t quite have the power and speed of its College Football Playoff teams.
6. Texas. ESPN still insists on putting the Longhorns in the top 10 of its rankings despite all evidence to the contrary, but projects they are 18.6 points better than an average team, hence this position. Sometimes the computers are just wrong.
5. Tennessee. Most analysts think the Vols have a case as the No. 1 team in college football, but the index is keeping them out of the top four right now. A win over Georgia next week would change that.
4. Michigan. An impressive win over rival MSU keeps the maize and blue perfect, as it needs to be going into Columbus to get back to the playoff. This game was a little close most of the night against a reeling Spartans team and UM pulled away only on a late special teams gaffe.
3. Georgia. College football’s defending national champions did what they had to against Florida, but the Gators’ second-half comeback bid may not portend well for when the Dawgs line up against the Vols.
2. Alabama. Off this past week, the Tide are back on the road for Week 10 against a resurgent LSU with no margin for error, already at one loss and playing for its CFP life every weekend.
1. Ohio State. A sluggish first half almost doomed the Buckeyes at Happy Valley, but one brilliant showing from J.T. Tuimoloau and a huge comeback by this offense keeps the Big Ten faves undefeated and still the FPI’s odds-on favorite to make the College Football Playoff.