AP Top 25: Miami cracks top 5 for 1st time since 2017; Notre Dame, BYU and Texas A&M enter top 10

 

[October 28, 2024]  By ERIC OLSON

Miami edged ahead of Texas and climbed to No. 5 in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll on Sunday, its highest ranking since 2017, and Notre Dame, BYU and Texas A&M all moved into the top 10.

Oregon, Georgia, Penn State and Ohio State remained the top four teams, and Washington State and Colorado entered the Top 25 for the first time this season.

Led by Heisman Trophy candidate Cam Ward, Miami improved to 8-0 with its win over Florida State on Saturday. The Hurricanes have been in the top 10 eight straight polls but not this high since they spent two weeks at No. 2 in November 2017.

Texas, which had dropped from No. 1 to No. 5 after its home loss to Georgia, slipped another spot to No. 6 following a three-point win at Vanderbilt.

Notre Dame, knocked out of the top 10 after its Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois, moved up four spots and is No. 8 following its 51-14 win over Navy.

No. 9 BYU went on the road and beat UCF to go 8-0 and has its highest ranking since 2020, when the Cougars opened with nine straight wins.

Texas A&M's 38-23 win over LSU was its second of the season against a top-10 opponent, and first-year coach Mike Elko's Aggies were rewarded with a four-rung promotion to No. 10. That's their highest ranking since they were sixth in September 2022.

No. 1 Oregon received 61 of 62 first-place votes — two more than last week — after a 38-9 win over Illinois. No. 2 Georgia, which was idle, received the other first-place vote.

Penn State overcame the loss of quarterback Drew Allar to injury just before halftime to win at Wisconsin and remained No. 3 going into this weekend's home game against Ohio State, which stayed No. 4 after scuffling to a 21-17 win at home against nearly four-touchdown-underdog Nebraska.

Poll points

Notre Dame and Texas A&M made the biggest upward moves. LSU's drop from No. 8 to No. 16 was the biggest demotion.

BYU has risen in six consecutive polls since it entered at No. 22 on Sept. 22. Pittsburgh has moved up in four straight since it made its season debut at No. 22 on Oct. 6.

Because of Texas' drop to No. 6, this is the first poll this season that the Southeastern Conference has had only one representative in the top five. This is the fourth straight week the Big Ten has had three of the top four teams.

Miami head coach Mario Cristobal acknowledges the crowd after an NCAA college football game against Florida State, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami is the first Atlantic Coast Conference team in the top five since Florida State was No. 4 the first week of last December.

In-and-out

Washington State (7-1) beat San Diego State for its third straight win and entered at No. 22 to become the first ranked team this season from what remains of the Pac-12 (Oregon State is the only other current member).

Colorado (6-2) has won five of six after beating Cincinnati and is No. 23, the first ranking for Deion Sanders and his Buffaloes since they appeared in three straight polls early last season.

Vanderbilt's first ranking since the 2013 season lasted just one week. The Commodores, who had been No. 25, received the most votes among teams outside the Top 25.

Navy, in the poll two straight weeks, was knocked out after committing six turnovers in its 37-point loss to Notre Dame. Rival Army (7-0) climbed two spots to No. 21.

Conference call

SEC — 8 (Nos. 2, 6, 7, 10, 14, 16, 19, 25).

Big Ten — 5 (Nos. 1, 3, 4, 13, 24).

ACC — 4 (Nos. 5, 11, 18, 20).

Big 12 — 4 (Nos. 9, 11, 17, 23).

American — 1 (No. 21).

Independent — 1 (No. 8).

Mountain West — 1 (No. 15).

Pac-12 — 1 (No. 22).

Ranked vs. Ranked

— No. 4 Ohio State at No. 3 Penn State. This will be the fourth meeting of top five teams this season. Buckeyes have won seven straight in the series. Both teams have health issues, none bigger than the knee injury to Penn State's Allar.

— No. 18 Pittsburgh at No. 20 SMU. Of the four teams unbeaten in ACC play, these two are the biggest surprises. Pitt was picked 13th in the conference in the preseason media poll and SMU seventh.

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