AP Poll Top 25 winners and losers: LSU passes Alabama for No. 1, Oklahoma triggers Armageddon switch

In Week 9, Kansas State triggered the College Football Playoff Armageddon switch, and now the bottom half of Week 10 AP Poll Top 25 is filled with zombies. Here is a look at our winners and losers.

It’s Halloween week, and quite a few contenders are out here living nightmares.

Oklahoma’s loss to Kansas State shakes up the AP Poll and sets the stage for some very upset teams when two SEC West teams get in the Playoff over a one-loss Oregon and Oklahoma. You can see what’s going to happen: Alabama and LSU are going to play a nail-biter, and despite Tua being hobbled or out, voters and the committee will decide they are essentially the same team. And that warrants having both of them in the Playoff.

LSU is the new No. 1, overtaking Alabama who drops to No. 2 but they’ll settle that when they meet in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 9.

Ohio State finally has a win against a good team and now has some wiggle room to drop one of the gimmes left on their schedule before the Big Ten Championship. Yes, that means you Penn State, sorry about it.

Speaking of Penn State, the Nittany Lions are the prime example of how high expectations at the start of the year can pay off late in the season. If Penn State had not started the season ranked, is there any reason to believe they would be any higher than, say Baylor?

And now the door for Baylor to own the top of the Big 12 is open just a crack. It’s hard to imagine the Bears beating Oklahoma and Texas in consecutive weeks, but anytime you are the lone unbeaten in the Big 12, wear that crown proudly.

Lastly, Clemson is starting to click on offense, and their defense is statistically the best in the country. Paulie Finebaum better start warming up the excuse wagon now, because the Tigers looked primed to repeat.

AP Poll Week 10 Top 25

1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Ohio State
4. Clemson
5. Penn State
6. Florida
7. Oregon
8. Georgia
9. Utah
10. Oklahoma
11. Auburn
12. Baylor
13. Minnesota
14. Michigan
15. SMU
16. Notre Dame
17. Cincinnati
18. Wisconsin
19. Iowa
20. Appalachian State
21. Boise State
22. Kansas State
23. Wake Forest
24. Memphis
25. San Diego State

Winners

No. 1 LSU (previously No. 2) – Moving up from No. 2 to No. 1 is a nice sign of appreciation from the AP Top 25 voters. They’ll have a chance to prove they’re No. 1 when they play at Alabama in two weeks.

No. 4 Clemson (previously No. 4) – There’s a saying that you don’t have to run faster than the bear, you just have to run faster than the person next to you. Well, Clemson just outran Oklahoma to avoid fifth place and a collective heart attack in Tiger Town. With their stellar win against Boston College, one really has to ask if they were just experimenting in the first few weeks to see what they can do on offense, while the defense remains the best in the country.

No. 7 Oregon (previously No. 11) – Down goes Auburn. Down goes Notre Dame. Down goes Oklahoma. Up go the Ducks. The offense still leaves a little to be desired, especially given they have a top of the first round talent under center, but the defense was gifted a few key drops and did just enough to keep the Ducks’ Playoff dreams alive.

No. 15 SMU (previously No. 16) — Sonny Dykes is doing the impossible with SMU. His predecessor is flailing at Arkansas, which, to be fair, is going to be a complete rebuild. But what Dykes has done to bring back SMU to the Top 25, and keep them winning, has to have him in the mix for coach of the year. This is truly an incredible feat. Next up is a potent Memphis team and a Navy team that has put it back together again, they’re going to need to stay focused to run the table and stave off Appalachian State for a New Years Six bowl.

No. 22 Kansas State and No. 24 Memphis (previously unranked) — These guys are grouped together because they are Top 25 zombies. They were here not long ago. Then they were gone, dead if you will. Now they are back. Zombies. Just in time for Halloween.

Losers

No. 2 Alabama (previously No. 1) – Alabama became the second No. 1 team to drop despite winning this year, following Clemson earlier this year. Alabama dropped a spot despite blowing out Arkansas without Tua Tagovailoa. Alabama can reclaim their No. 1 ranking when they host LSU on Nov. 9.

No. 10 Oklahoma (previously No. 5) – Last week, the Sooner Schooner capsized, and that looks rather ominous at this point. Kansas State is a solid team, but far from a powerhouse that should beat Oklahoma. This loss ruined a gem from Jalen Hurts, and in all likelihood robs us of a future trivia question: who is the only quarterback to play in the College Football Playoff for two different teams?

No. 16 Notre Dame (previously No. 8) – That will do it for the Irish. Losing to a rival stinks. Losing to a rival in primetime is even worse. Losing to a rival in primetime by giving up 45 points and losing a shot at the Playoffs is absolutely brutal. Even if Ian Book doesn’t look like a quarterback who can pull off a big win, in the game against Georgia he showed enough to inspire confidence that he could beat Michigan. He couldn’t. This hurts Notre Dame and really makes Georgia’s “big” win look less impressive. It’ll be interesting to see what the Committee thinks about that.

Texas (previously No. 15) – The Longhorns are back! This is becoming the norm for Texas under Tom Herman, just as it has been since Mack Brown left. Last week Texas needed everything to knock off Les Miles’ Kansas powerhouse, and now face the unenviable task of needing help to get to the conference championship. At least they get an off week to regroup and prepare for the Wildcats.

Arizona State (previously No. 24) – Boy the wheels have come off quickly for Arizona State. UCLA played an incredible game and frankly look like a completely different team from the start of the season. USC is now in the driver’s seat in the Pac 12 South, although UCLA can still win it. Had Arizona State won, they would still have a hope at the division. Now, that’s just a distant memory.

What a week! And because this is college football, none of this will matter next week.

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