CFB Top 25: Six Pac-12 teams listed, Washington up to No. 5
Washington received two first-place votes and jumped two spots past No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 7 Penn State, giving the Huskies their best ranking since reaching No. 5 on Oct. 8, 2017.
The last time Washington was ranked this highly this late in the season was 2016, when the Huskies made the College Football Playoff. That was the last time any Pac-12 team reached the four-team playoff.
In the game of the week, Washington beat Oregon 36-33 when the Ducks missed a field goal on the game's final play.
"This moment right now is really special for our program," Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer said after the game.
Oregon dropped one spot to No. 9, flip-flopping with No. 8 Texas.
North Carolina moved up two spots to a season-high No. 10 after beating Miami 41-31.
Southern California dropped eight spots to No. 18 after suffering its first loss of the season at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish jumped six places to No. 15.
Oregon State moved up three spots to No. 12, the Beavers' best rankings since reaching No. 7 in 2012.
Alabama held steady at No. 11 after beating Arkansas, extending its streak of being out of the top 10 to five weeks.
The Crimson Tide dropped out for the first time since 2015 on Sept. 17, when they fell to a season-low No. 13 after a sloppy performance in a victory over South Florida.
Alabama has won five straight since a Week 2 loss to Texas, but it hasn't been able to get back into the top 10.
The Tide have not spent this much of a season out of the top 10 since 2007, Nick Saban's first as coach, when Alabama finished 7-6.
The Tide are positioned to either get back into the top 10 or slip even farther next week when they host No. 17 Tennessee. After that, Alabama has a week off before hosting No. 19 LSU.
Alabama has not been out of the top 15 since Nov. 28, 2010, when the Tide lost to Auburn in their regular-season finale to fall to No. 17 at 9-3.
Air Force has finished 10-3 in each of the last two seasons, both times fueled by late winning streaks, but failed to make an appearance in the AP Top 25.
Now the Falcons are 6-0 for the first time since 2002 and ranked for the first time since the last three Top 25s of the 2019 season. Air Force finished that season 11-2 and No. 22 in the country.
The other teams to move into the Top 25 have been here earlier in the season.
— No. 20 Missouri bounced right back into the rankings after winning at Kentucky.
— No. 23 Tulane (5-1) is back after beating American Athletic Conference rival Memphis on Friday night.
— No. 24 Iowa (6-1) returns after seizing control of the Big Ten West by beating Wisconsin.
Dropping out this week were Washington State, Kansas, Kentucky and Miami, all of which lost for the second time this season.
Looking ahead, here are next weekend’s games with TWO ranked teams:
Looking ahead….Here are games this week involved two ranked teams:
--No. 7 Penn State at No. 3 Ohio State. Seventh straight meeting with both teams ranked.
--No. 17 Tennessee at No. 11 Alabama. Consecutive seasons with both teams ranked for the Third Saturday in October rivalry. That hasn't happened since 1995-96.
--No. 16 Duke at No. 4 Florida State. Only two ranked meetings previously and the Seminoles won them both by a combined 77 points.
--No. 14 Utah at No. 18 USC. Third straight meeting with both teams ranked after the Utes won both last year to take the Pac-12 title.
Checking out Top 25 teams:
All times Eastern
No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs
Previous ranking: 1
2023 record: 7-0
Week 7 result: Defeated Vanderbilt 37-20
Fact: Daijun Edwards had a career-high 146 rushing yards and a touchdown as the Bulldogs won their 24th straight game, the fourth longest streak in SEC history.
Next: Oct. 28 vs. Florida, 3:30 p.m., CBS
No. 2 Michigan Wolverines
Previous ranking: 2
2023 record: 7-0
Week 7 result: Defeated Indiana 52-7
Fact: The Wolverines are the first team in the AP Poll era (since 1936) to score 30 or more points and allow 10 or fewer points in each of its first seven games of a season.
Next: Saturday at Michigan State, 7:30 p.m., NBC
No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes
Previous ranking: 3
2023 record: 6-0
Week 7 result: Defeated Purdue 41-7
Fact: Marvin Harrison Jr. tied Chris Olave with 11 career games of more than 100 receiving yards, behind only David Boston in Buckeyes history.
Next: Saturday vs. Penn State, Noon, Fox
No. 4 Florida State Seminoles
Previous ranking: 4
2023 record: 6-0
Week 7 result: Defeated Syracuse 41-3
Fact: Keon Coleman became only the second FSU player in the past 25 years (joining Peter Warrick) with more than 100 receiving yards and 100 punt return yards in a single game.
Next: Saturday vs. Duke, 7:30 p.m., ABC
No. 5 Washington Huskies
Previous ranking: 7
2023 record: 6-0
Week 7 result: Defeated Oregon 36-33
Fact: Michael Penix Jr. threw for 302 yards and four scores. He has thrown for at least 300 yards in every game this season and became the sixth Washington QB to throw 50 career touchdowns.
Next: Saturday vs. Arizona State, 10:30 p.m., FS1
No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners
Previous ranking: 5
2023 record: 6-0
Week 7 result: Idle
Fact: The Sooners have had five consecutive games with multiple takeaways -- their longest streak since 2010.
Next: Saturday vs. UCF, Noon, ABC
No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions
Previous ranking: 6
2023 record: 6-0
Week 6 result: Defeated UMass 63-0
Fact: This was the Nittany Lions' largest shutout win since 1991 (81-0 over Cincinnati), as Penn State scored more than 30 points for the 13th straight game.
Next: Saturday at Ohio State, Noon, Fox
No. 8 Texas Longhorns
Previous ranking: 9
2023 record: 5-1
Week 7 result: Idle
Fact: Jonathon Brooks has gone over 100 rushing yards in four straight games, including 129 last week against Oklahoma.
Next: Saturday at Houston, 4 p.m., Fox
No. 9 Oregon Ducks
Previous ranking: 8
2023 record: 5-1
Week 7 result: Lost to Washington 36-33
Fact: The Ducks are 0-for-8 on fourth down in their last two losses, including, 0-for-3 against Washington.
Next: Saturday vs. Washington State, 3:30 p.m., ABC
No. 10 North Carolina Tar Heels
Previous ranking: 12
2023 record: 6-0
Week 7 result: Defeated Miami 41-24
Fact: Drake Maye is the only Tar Heels quarterback in the last 25 years to throw four touchdown passes with no interceptions against a Top 25 team.
Next: Saturday vs. Virginia, 6:30 p.m., CW
No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide
Previous ranking: 11
2023 record: 6-1
Week 7 result: Defeated Arkansas 24-21
Fact: Despite a late Razorbacks run, the Crimson Tide improved to 161-1 under Nick Saban when leading by double digits entering the fourth quarter. It was Saban's 200th victory at Alabama.
Next: Saturday vs. Tennessee, 3:30 p.m., CBS
No. 12 Oregon State Beavers
Previous ranking: 15
2023 record: 6-1
Week 7 result: Defeated UCLA
Fact: DJ Uiagalelei threw for 266 yards and won for the 17th straight time when throwing for at least 200 yards.
Next: Oct. 28 at Arizona
No. 13 Ole Miss Rebels
Previous ranking: 13
2023 record: 5-1
Week 7 result: Idle
Fact: The Rebels have overcome fourth-quarter deficits to win back-to-back games -- against LSU and Arkansas -- for the only time in the past 20 years.
Next: Saturday at Auburn, 7 p.m., ESPN
No. 14 Utah Utes
Previous ranking: 16
2023 record: 5-1
Week 7 result: Defeated Cal 34-14
Fact: The Utes ran for 317 yards in the game, more than Cal's total yardage of 254. The Utes have allowed only 73 points this year, their fewest through six games since 1994.
Next: Saturday at USC, 8 p.m., Fox
No. 15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Previous ranking: 21
2023 record: 6-2
Week 7 result: Defeated USC 48-20
Fact: Xavier Watts dominated on defense for the Irish with two interceptions, a fumble return for a touchdown and a forced fumble.
Next: Oct. 28 vs. Pitt, 3:30 p.m., NBC
No. 16 Duke Blue Devils
Previous ranking: 17
2023 record: 5-1
Week 7 result: Defeated NC State
Fact: Duke is allowing 9.8 points per game so far this season, which is only the second time in the last 50 years the Blue Devils have done that through six games.
Next: Saturday at Florida State, 7:30 p.m., ABC
No. 17 Tennessee Volunteers
Previous ranking: 19
2023 record: 5-1
Week 7 result: Defeated Texas A&M 20-13
Fact: The Vols have now won 13 consecutive home games, the fourth longest streak in FBS and their longest since they won 23 in a row from 1996-2000.
Next: Saturday at Alabama, 3:30 p.m., CBS
No. 18 USC Trojans
Previous ranking: 10
2023 record: 6-1
Week 7 result: Lost to Notre Dame 48-20
Fact: USC is the third team in the AP Poll era (since 1936) to allow 40 or more points in three straight games as a top-10 team.
Next: Saturday vs. Utah, 8 p.m., Fox
No. 19 LSU Tigers
Previous ranking: 22
2023 record: 5-2
Week 7 result: Defeated Auburn 48-18
Fact: Jayden Daniels is the first player in LSU history with 5,000 career passing yards and 1,000 career rushing yards.
Next: Saturday vs. Army, 7:30 p.m., SEC Network
No. 20 Missouri Tigers
Previous ranking: NR
2023 record: 6-1
Week 7 result: Defeated Kentucky 38-21
Fact: The Tigers have now won two SEC road games by 17 or more points in the past three weeks. Prior to those games, it had no such wins in the past four seasons.
Next: Saturday vs. South Carolina, 3:30 p.m., SEC Network
No. 21 Louisville Cardinals
Previous ranking: 14
2023 record: 6-1
Week 7 result: Lost to Pitt 38-21
Fact: The Cardinals have now lost three consecutive games as a top-15 team against unranked opponents.
Next: October 28 vs. Duke
No. 22 Air Force Falcons
Previous ranking: NR
2023 record: 6-0
Week 7 result: Defeated Wyoming 34-27
Fact: Led by Zac Larrier's 111 yards and Emmanuel Michel's 97, the Falcons racked up 357 rushing yards on Saturday.
Next: Saturday at Navy
No. 23 Tulane Green Wave
Previous ranking: NR
2023 record: 5-1
Week 7 result: Defeated Memphis 31-21
Fact: Tulane has now won seven straight road games, behind only Georgia and Michigan (and tied with North Carolina) among active streaks.
Next: Saturday vs. North Texas, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 24 Iowa Hawkeyes
Previous ranking: NR
2023 record: 6-1
Week 7 result: Defeated Wisconsin 15-6
Fact: The total for Iowa-Wisconsin closed 33.5 at Caesars Sportsbook, the fourth-lowest over-under in any game in the past 20 seasons. The other four games to close at 33.5 or below in that span all came either last season or this season, and three of those involved Iowa.
Next: Saturday vs. Minnesota, 3:30 p.m.
No. 25 UCLA Bruins
Previous ranking: 18
2023 record: 4-2
Week 7 result: Lost to Oregon State 36-24
Fact: The Bruins have now lost four straight games as a ranked team facing another AP Top 25 opponent.
Next: Saturday at Stanford, 10:30 p.m., ESPN