Don’t expect a seismic shakeup among teams at the top of the AP Top 25 rankings, which drop at 2 p.m. ET. Week 9 of college football unfolded largely as expected despite several close calls.
The real excitement unfolded beyond the top 10: Washington overthrew No. 23 Illinois, Memphis topped No. 18 South Florida and Houston knocked off No. 24 Arizona.
No. 22 Texas and No. 16 Virginia escaped overtime thrillers, with Texas beating Mississippi State and Virginia holding off UNC.
An undefeated No. 11 BYU made a strong case to crack the top 10 after dominating Iowa State, but it’ll be tough. All the top 10 teams prevailed in this week’s matchups, a stark difference compared with last week, when four top 10 teams stumbled.
This weekend, No. 7 Georgia Tech beat Syracuse, No. 4 Alabama held out vs. South Carolina, No. 10 Vanderbilt won over Missouri and No. 2 Indiana beat UCLA.
So which teams will move up?
Follow live updates from The Associated Press below for poll projections, game recaps, analysis and voter answers to fan questions, all in one place.
Who might rise and fall this week
Stock up: BYU, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Cincinnati.
Stock down: LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Florida.
Top 10 teams all hold strong in Week 9
Week 9 unfolded mostly as expected after four top 10 teams lost in Week 8.
Indiana, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M and Miami cruised past opponents. Alabama held off South Carolina and Vanderbilt edged Missouri in a last-minute thriller.
Oregon knocked off Wisconsin and Ole Miss returned to the win column with a victory over Oklahoma.
Ohio State and Georgia had the week off.
Who votes in the poll, and how does it work?
No organization has been ranking teams and naming a major college football national champion longer than The Associated Press, since 1936.
AP employees don’t vote themselves, but they do choose the voters. AP Top 25 voters comprise around 60 writers and broadcasters who cover college football for AP members and other select outlets. The goal is to have every state with a Football Bowl Subdivision school represented by at least one voter.
There is a 1-to-25 point system, with a team voted No. 1 receiving 25 points down to 1 point for a 25th-place vote. After that, it’s simple: The poll lists the teams with the most points from 1 to 25, and others receiving votes are also noted.
Voting is done online, and the tabulation is automated.
