The top five in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 college football poll stayed intact, with Georgia (No.1), No.2 Alabama, No.3 Ohio State, No.4 Michigan, and No.5 Clemson all holding their places.
Tennessee moved up three spots to the No.8 ranking, its highest since 2006, after knocking Florida out of the top 25 with a 38-33 win. NC State jumped two spots to No.10, its highest ranking since 2002.
Oklahoma dropped 12 spots to No.18 after a stunning home upset loss to Kansas State. Oklahoma started slow, finding itself down 14 less than five minutes into the game.
Kansas State’s senior quarterback Adrian Martinez caused the Sooners’ defense problems all night as he ran for four touchdowns. Entering the game, Oklahoma was allowing just over 118 rushing yards a game, but Martinez and running back Deuce Vaugh eclipsed that number in the first half alone with 150 combined rushing yards by halftime.
The Oklahoma offense was good, with quarterback Dillon Gabriel throwing for 330 yards and four touchdowns. However, it was not enough to overcome the sloppy run defense and 11 penalties that cost the Sooners 87 yards.
It is Oklahoma’s first loss in a Big 12 opener since 2020, which also came against Kansas State.
Next for the Sooners, they will make two straight trips to the DFW region — first to Fort Worth to face an unbeaten TCU team, then to Dallas to face a Texas team that was knocked out of the top 25 with an overtime loss to unranked Texas Tech.
After the win, Kansas State moves into the top 25 for the first time this season as the fourth-highest ranked Big 12 team at No.25.
Also making their season debut in the top 25 this week are No.21 Minnesota (4-0) and No.23 Florida State (4-0). Minnesota crushed Michigan State 34-7 on the road, while Florida State completed a 44-14 rout over Boston College.
Oklahoma’s upset loss to Kansas State created room for teams to move up, including USC to No.6, Kentucky to No.7.
The highest-ranked Big 12 team is Oklahoma State at No.9. The Cowboys had an open week this past weekend, but they have a massive matchup looming this weekend as they travel to Waco to face No.16 Baylor in a rematch of last season’s Big 12 championship game.
Oklahoma State beat Baylor in Stillwater last year 24-14 before losing a heartbreaker in the Big 12 championship game, coming up just inches short on a goal-line stop in the 21-16 loss at AT&T Stadium.
Oklahoma State should be the more rested team, as they were off while Baylor escaped with a tough 31-24 road win over Iowa State.
Baylor moved up one spot in this week’s ranking after the gritty win. Baylor set the tone early with a 12-play, 77-yard touchdown drive on the game’s opening possession.
Bears quarterback Blake Shapen enjoyed maybe the best performance of his career against Iowa State, going 19-for-26 for 238 yards and three touchdowns. While freshman running back, Richard Reese is showing he may be this season’s breakout star as he was the leading rusher with 78 yards on 21 attempts for one touchdown.
Besides Oklahoma State-Baylor, there are four other ranked versus ranked matchups this week.
No.10 NC State will be at No.5 Clemson for the 87th meeting between the schools but the first matching top 10 teams. No.7 Kentucky will be at No.14 Ole Miss for only the second ranked matchup between the schools, with the first coming in 1958.
No.22 Wake Forest will play at No.23 Florida State in what is also only the second ever meeting between the schools when both are ranked. The first was in 2008, a Wake victory.
No.2 Alabama will be at No.20 Arkansas. Alabama is 6-0 against Arkansas when both teams are ranked.
Arkansas slid 10 spots from No.10 after falling 23-21 to No.17 Texas A&M. The Aggies’ running game got going against Arkansas, with running back Devon Achane racking up 159-yards on 19 carries.
A&M started slow, trailing 14-0 after the opening quarter, with Arkansas having 170 yards of offense when the opening quarter ended, while A&M had a mere 28.
The Aggies were sparked by a couple of long runs from Achane and impressive defensive plays, helping A&M score 23 unanswered points through the second and third quarters to take control of the game.
Next up for the Aggies is a trip to Starkville to face a Mississippi State team whose quarterback Will Rogers is coming off a 409-yard, six-touchdown performance against Bowling Green.
Full AP Top 25 (First-Place Votes):
- Georgia (55), 4-0 Last week: 1
- Alabama (4), 4-0 Last week: 2
- Ohio State (4), 4-0 Last week: 3
- Michigan, 4-0 Last week: 4
- Clemson, 4-0 Last week: 5
- USC, 4-0 Last week: 7
- Kentucky, 4-0 Last week: 8
- Tennessee 4-0 Last week: 11
- Oklahoma State, 3-0 Last week: 9
- NC State, 4-0 Last week: 12
- Penn State, 4-0 Last week: 14
- Utah, 3-1 Last week: 13
- Oregon, 3-1, Last week: 15
- Ole Miss, 4-0 Last week: 16
- Washington 4-0 Last week: 18
- Baylor, 3-1 Last week: 17
- Texas A&M, 3-1 Last week: 23
- Oklahoma, 3-1 Last week: 6
- BYU, 3-1 Last week: 19
- Arkansas, 3-1 Last week: 10
- Minnesota, 4-0 Last week: NR
- Wake Forest, 3-1 Last week: 16
- Florida State, 4-0 Last week: NR
- Pittsburgh 3-1 Last week: NR
- Kansas State, 3-1 Last week: NR
Others receiving votes: Kansas 125, Cincinnati 60, Florida 56, Washington State 31, Syracuse 22, Oregon State 16, Texas Tech 11, North Carolina 9, LSU 7, UCLA 3, Tulane 3, TCU 1.
