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Josh Furlong’s AP Top 25: Texas wins in bye week as chaos erupts and uncertainty abounds
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Josh Furlong’s AP Top 25: Texas wins in bye week as chaos erupts and uncertainty abounds

SALT LAKE CITY — As ESPN’s Rece Davis’ vocal cords gave out on him, he was forced to make the call as a substitute play-by-play analyst on what capped an otherwise unwieldy day.

But Davis saw the game to the end, when California – and their all-consuming Calgorithm – narrowly missed to hand No. 8 Miami a defeat. Instead, it was a remarkable Hurricanes comeback to – and I don’t use that lightly – steal a 39-38 win on the road to the Bears.

Miami used a 29-3 effort to get the win, but the Hurricanes got some help from the officials, who missed a seemingly textbook targeting call that forced the Bears to punt the ball away to Miami late. And then a missed call on the goal line gave Miami the winning score.

Kudos to Miami for an incredible comeback after looking dead, but the late missed calls spoil the ending to what could have been yet another addition to several ranked teams falling victim to the “Blood Weekend.”

Five teams in the top 11 lost this weekend – and all but one came against unranked opponents. A total of seven teams in the Associated Press Top 25 dropped a game this weekend.

As such, none of the following gives me much confidence.

The following is the ballot I submitted to the Associated Press that will be counted in the consensus rankings released Sunday afternoon.

1.Texas

It was a perfect time for a bye week, and no one benefited from it more than the Longhorns. Steve Sarkisian’s program was skipped by Alabama last week, but it was short-lived. Given all the unrest across the country, is there really a top team right now?

A Red River Rivalry game never had any drama, so Texas should be fine next week…

2. Ohio State

The Buckeyes have more or less cruised through the season so far on their way to a 5-0 record. Their defense had a bye this week — yes, that’s a shot at Iowa’s offense — but the offense found a rhythm, especially in the second half, to rally past the Hawkeyes in a 35-7 victory.

But next week, a big game against Oregon looms…on the road…across the country. That has certainly gone well for teams heading west this season.

3. Georgia

Someone has to be number 3, and I think that could be Georgia. I maintain that the Bulldogs are still a solid team that has all the talent and ability to compete for a national championship; However, this is the most hesitant I have been in years to rate Georgia so highly.

We live in wild times.

4. Penn State

Penn State keeps winning, so I think that’s a good reason to move them up in the rankings this week. The Nittany Lions’ win over Illinois still holds up, but I can see this being a bit of a paper tiger situation. I still want to see more of a test of fully trusting Penn State.

5. Oregon

Aside from the scare in Week 1 against FCS Idaho and a close win over what appears to be a very good Boise State team, Oregon looks more like the team we all expected them to be in the preseason projections. The Ducks next welcome Ohio State to Eugene, which should tell us a lot more about both teams.

6. Miami

Look, it’s not easy to travel across the country for a late kickoff, and yet Miami found a way to make it happen. Cal exposed some issues at Miami, but the team stood firm when it mattered most and rebounded remarkably in a rough environment. The Hurricanes are the favorite in the ACC, but Clemson is starting to make a case.

7. Notre Dame

Notre Dame had a bye, so no more chances to lose to a team like Northern Illinois. It still remains one of the most inexplicable losses, but a win over Texas A&M is starting to look even better; and the Fighting Irish are also coming off a win over Louisville, though they just lost to SMU.

8. Alabama

Call it a letdown after a big win over Georgia, but Alabama was absolutely pushed by Vanderbilt — a team that has never sniffed close to a win over the Crimson Tide in as long as anyone can remember. The Crimson Tide defense is flawed and it was exposed on Saturday.

Alabama is still probably better than some of the teams above them, but a loss drops them this week.

9. Tennessee

Tennessee lost to an unranked team, but Arkansas has been incredibly tough to play this season. For a team that has been able to make a lot of offensive plays this season, good defense has proven to be able to slow down the Vols quite quickly.

10. Ole ma’am

Entering the season, Ole Miss had all the intangibles (on paper) to really do some damage in the SEC. Some questions remain, but the Rebels answered the call on the road and took care of business against a strong South Carolina team.

The team still needs a signature win to really show their worth, which is why I still have the Rebels among the Vols. A meeting with LSU next week should provide a solution.

tournament visualization

Failure: Michigan, Louisville

Check-in: Indiana, Vanderbilt

Under consideration (alphabetical): Arizona State, Arkansas, Army, Colorado, Liberty, Memphis, Navy, Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Washington, Washington State

If you can’t see my full ballot below, click here.

table visualization

Key points for this article were generated using large language models and reviewed by our editorial staff. The article itself is written exclusively by humans.