AP college football poll reaction: What's next for each Top 25 team

ByESPN staff ESPN logo
Sunday, October 22, 2023

The new AP Top 25 college football poll is out.



Ohio State solidified its spot in the top five with a monster win over Penn State. Florida State, Oklahoma and Texas outlasted spirited upset bids. North Carolina was not as lucky, falling to Virginia.




What does it mean for the new AP Top 25? Let's break down the rankings.



Stats courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information.



All times Eastern





No. 1Georgia Bulldogs


Previous ranking: 1



2023 record:7-0



Week 8 result: Idle



Stat to know: The Dawgs enter next week's game against Florida on a 24-game winning streak -- the fourth longest in SEC history. They have also won 17 straight against SEC East opponents, which is also the fourth longest since divisions were created in 1992.



What's next:Saturday vs. Florida, 3:30 p.m., CBS





No. 2Michigan Wolverines


Previous ranking: 2



2023 record:8-0



Week 8 result:Defeated Michigan State 49-0



Stat to know:Michigan's 49 points was the most it has ever scored at Michigan State and accounted for its largest margin of victory in East Lansing.



What's next: Nov. 4 vs. Purdue





No. 3Ohio State Buckeyes


Previous ranking:3



2023 record:7-0



Week 8 result:Defeated Penn State 20-12



Stat to know:Marvin Harrison Jr. accounted for 50% of Ohio State's receptions with 11 and 57% of the team's receiving yards with 162.



What's next:Saturday at Wisconsin





No. 4Florida State Seminoles


Previous ranking:4



2023 record:7-0



Week 8 result:Defeated Duke 38-20



Stat to know:Jordan Travis became just the fourth ACC quarterback with at least 15 passing touchdowns and five rushing scores through seven games in the past 20 seasons.



What's next:Saturday at Wake Forest





No. 5Washington Huskies


Previous ranking:5



2023 record:7-0



Week 8 result:Defeated Arizona State 15-7



Stat to know:Washington finished with 13 rushing yards, its fewest in a win in the last 25 years.



What's next:Saturday at Stanford, 7 p.m., FS1





No. 6Oklahoma Sooners


Previous ranking:6



2023 record:7-0



Week 8 result:Defeated UCF 31-29



Stat to know:The Sooners were behind for 21:09 on Saturday after trailing for only 12:11 in their first six games combined, which was the least time trailing for any FBS team entering the day.



What's next:Saturday at Kansas, Noon, Fox





No. 7Texas Longhorns


Previous ranking: 8



2023 record: 6-1



Week 8 result: Defeated Houston 31-24



Stat to know: The Longhorns held Houston to just 14 rushing yards, the fewest they've allowed since 2018 (USC, minus-5 yards).



What's next: Saturday vs. BYU, 3:30 p.m.





No. 8Oregon Ducks


Previous ranking: 9



2023 record: 6-1



Week 8 result: Defeated Washington State 38-24



Stat to know: In a game in which he made 54th career start, the most by a quarterback in FBS history, Bo Nix completed 18 of 25 passes for 293 yards and three total touchdowns.



What's next: Saturday at Utah, 3:30 p.m., Fox






No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide


Previous ranking: 11



2023 record: 7-1



Week 8 result: Defeated Tennessee 34-20



Stat to know: Saturday marked the first time Alabama came back from a 13-point halftime deficit at home since 1995. It also tied the largest comeback from a halftime deficit in the Nick Saban era.



What's next: Nov. 4 vs. LSU





No. 10Penn State Nittany Lions


Previous ranking:7



2023 record:6-1



Week 8 result: Lost to Ohio State 20-12



Stat to know:The Nittany Lions were 1-for-16 on third downs, the worst conversion percentage by a ranked team (minimum 15 attempts) in the past 10 seasons. Entering Saturday, there were 1,224 instances of ranked teams having at least 15 third-down attempts.



What's next:Saturday vs. Indiana, Noon, CBS





No. 11Oregon State Beavers


Previous ranking: 12



2023 record:6-1



Week 8 result:Idle



Stat to know:The Beavers have scored at least 21 points in 15 consecutive games, tied for the fourth-longest streak in FBS.



What's next:Saturdayat Arizona, 10:30 p.m., ESPN





No. 12Ole Miss Rebels


Previous ranking:13



2023 record:6-1



Week 8 result:Defeated Auburn 28-21



Stat to know:The Rebels have started 6-1 or 7-0 in three consecutive seasons for the first time since they did so in seven straight seasons from 1957-63.



What's next:Saturday vs. Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m., SEC Network





No. 13Utah Utes


Previous ranking: 14



2023 record:6-1



Week 8 result:Defeated USC 34-32



Stat to know:Utah has won four straight games against USC, which is tied for the second-longest winning streak against the Trojans by a Pac-12 school in the AP Poll era (1936).



What's next:Saturday vs. Oregon, 3:30 p.m., Fox





No. 14Notre Dame Fighting Irish


Previous ranking:15



2023 record:6-2



Week 8 result: Idle



Stat to know:In the win over USC last week, the Fighting Irish became the only team in the past 20 years to have five takeaways and a special teams touchdown against a top-10 opponent.



What's next:Oct. 28 vs. Pitt, 3:30 p.m., NBC





No. 15LSU Tigers


Previous ranking: 19



2023 record: 6-2



Week 8 result: Defeated Army 62-0



Stat to know: This was LSU's biggest shutout victory since defeating Rice 77-0 in 1977.



What's next: Nov. 4 at Alabama





No. 16Missouri Tigers


Previous ranking: 20



2023 record: 7-1



Week 8 result: Defeated South Carolina 34-12



Stat to know: The Tigers are off to their best start since 2013, when they went 12-2 and advanced to the SEC championship game.



What's next: Nov. 4 at Georgia





No. 17North Carolina Tar Heels


Previous ranking: 10




2023 record: 6-1



Week 8 result: Lost to Virginia 31-27



Stat to know: The Tar Heels became the first top-10 team to lose to Virginia at home.



What's next: Saturday at Georgia Tech





No. 18Louisville Cardinals


Previous ranking: 21



2023 record: 6-1



Week 8 result: Idle



Stat to know: The Cardinals will look to bounce back from last week's upset loss to Pitt, when the Panthers outscored Louisville 24-0 in the second half en route to a 38-21 win.



What's next: Saturday vs. Duke





No. 19Air Force Falcons


Previous ranking: 22



2023 record: 7-0



Week 8 result: Defeated Navy 17-6



Stat to know: The Falcons are 7-0 for the first time since 1997, when they finished 10-3.



What's next: Saturday at Colorado State, 7 p.m., CBSSN





No. 20Duke Blue Devils


Previous ranking:16



2023 record:5-2



Week 8 result:Lost to Florida State 38-20



Stat to know:The Blue Devils were outscored 21-0 after the departure of QB Riley Leonard to injury late in the third quarter.



What's next:Saturday at Louisville





No. 21Tennessee Volunteers


Previous ranking:17



2023 record:5-2



Week 8 result:Lost to Alabama 34-20



Stat to know:The Vols were held scoreless in the second half for only the second time under coach Josh Heupel.



What's next:Saturday at Kentucky, 7 p.m., ESPN





No. 22Tulane Green Wave


Previous ranking: 23



2023 record: 6-1



Week 8 result: Defeated North Texas 35-28



Stat to know: Michael Pratt had three touchdown passes and ran for a fourth as he won his ninth consecutive start, the third-longest streak in college football behind only Washington's Michael Penix Jr. and FSU's Jordan Travis.



What's next: Saturday at Rice, 4 p.m., ESPN2





No. 23UCLA Bruins


Previous ranking: 25



2023 record: 5-2



Week 8 result: Defeated Stanford 42-7



Stat to know: The Bruins' 35-point victory was its largest road win since 2015, when they beat Oregon State by 41.



What's next: Saturday vs. Colorado, 7:30 p.m., ABC





No. 24USC Trojans


Previous ranking:18



2023 record:6-2



Week 8 result:Lost to Utah 34-32



Stat to know:Caleb Williams had his streak of 21 straight games with a passing touchdown -- USC's longest since Matt Leinart -- snapped.



What's next:Saturday at Cal, 4 p.m., Pac-12 Network





No. 25James Madison Dukes


Previous ranking:NR



2023 record:7-0



Week 8 result:Defeated Marshall 20-9



Stat to know:The Dukes have allowed only 253 rushing yards through seven games. That's the third fewest by any FBS team in the last 20 seasons, behind only 2008 TCU (145) and 2006 Michigan (228).



What's next:Saturday vs. Old Dominion, 8 p.m., ESPNU



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