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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