Georgia is still the clear favourite at the top of the AP Top 25 poll following its victory over No. 14 Missouri, despite Ohio State being ranked first in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2023 season. What you should know is as follows:
The top five—Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State, and Washington—the final five unbeaten Power 5 teams—have appeared in all four of the previous polls.
Georgia was voted in first place 49 times out of 63 times, up one vote over the previous week. According to College Poll Archive, the Bulldogs have been ranked No. 1 for 21 straight polls, which ties them for the second-longest No. 1 streak ever.
Following the defeats of eight top-ranked teams in Week 10, including four of the top-five teams, Louisville, Oregon State, Utah, and Tennessee took up the first four positions outside of the top 10.
Following its defeat to Oklahoma State, which came into the poll at No. 15, Oklahoma fell seven spots to No. 17 in the rankings. After losing to Clemson, Notre Dame fell ten spots to No. 22.
The entire AP Top 25 following Week 10
Georgia (49) 1.
Michigan (n = 2)
3. Florida State (2); 4. Ohio State (3)
5. Oregon; 6. Washington
Tex. 7. Alabama 8.
Penn State, ninth
10. Miss Ole
11. The city of Louisville
12. State of Oregon14. Tennessee 13. Utah
15. State of Oklahoma 16. Missouri
Oklahoma 17. LSU 18.
Kansas (19)
Tulane 20. James Madison 21.
Notre Dame 22
24. North Carolina 23. Arizona
25. Equality
Fresno State 73, Kansas State 73, USC 46, Air Force 26, Toledo 25, UCLA 11, Iowa 6, SMU 5, Duke 4, West Virginia 3, Texas A&M 1, NC State 1, and Clemson 1 are the other teams that received votes.
Will the top rankings in the AP and CFP remain different?
The main reason Ohio State topped the first CFP rankings was resume-based: Georgia hadn’t defeated a single ranked team, while the Buckeyes had victories over two teams that were ranked in the top-15 in the previous week’s rankings—Penn State and Notre Dame. This week’s AP voters remained loyal to Georgia, and it’s possible that the selection committee will follow suit. After all, Georgia defeated Missouri to record its first victory over a team currently ranked, while Ohio State was pushed to the brink by Rutgers into the fourth quarter, and their victory over the Irish was somewhat tarnished by their defeat at the hands of Clemson.
Although Georgia’s resume has improved and it can be argued that it has played better football overall, Notre Dame is still ranked. Georgia will have an opportunity to present a stronger case the following two weeks against Tennessee and Ole Miss, both of whom are ranked, if it isn’t ranked first in the CFP rankings this week.
