AP Top 25: Michigan State, Wake Forest tumble in Week 11 college football rankings

Nov 6, 2021; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers wide receiver David Bell (3) celebrates his touchdown with teammates in the first quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 6, 2021; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Purdue Boilermakers wide receiver David Bell (3) celebrates his touchdown with teammates in the first quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Week 10 AP Top 25 sees some big movement at the top of the college football rankings after losses by previously undefeated Michigan State and Wake Forest.

The Week 11 AP Poll is the first one since the Playoff Committee released its first rankings last week. Moving forward, with the poll and the rankings coexisting, we’ll get a chance to see just how much the Committee’s opinion impacts voters thinking.

Despite the fact that Cincinnati remains a Top 3 team in the country, it’s yet to be seen whether or not the Playoff Committee puts any respect on their name. The Bearcats didn’t have the most impressive outing against Tulsa, but a bunch of other Top 25 teams had rough Saturdays as well.

Florida’s self-destruction continued against South Carolina, Notre Dame waited until late in the afternoon to put away Navy, and Michigan State became the latest victim of Purdue’s spoiler stream.

But what did it all mean for the AP Top 25 this week?

College Football Rankings: AP Top 25 poll, Week 11

  1. Georgia
  2. Cincinnati
  3. Alabama
  4. Oklahoma
  5. Oregon
  6. Ohio State
  7. Notre Dame
  8. Michigan State
  9. Michigan
  10. Oklahoma State
  11. Texas A&M
  12. Ole Miss
  13. Wake Forest
  14. BYU
  15. UTSA
  16. Auburn
  17. Houston
  18. Baylor
  19. Iowa
  20. Wisconsin
  21. NC State
  22. Coastal Carolina
  23. Penn State
  24. Louisiana
  25. Pittsburgh

It’s hard to separate the Committee’s meddling and what is the result of actual performance. It does appear, however, that the voters are holding fast to their rankings.

For instance, UTSA is right in the middle — can they squeeze into a New Years Six game? Probably not. Still, we know for sure that both Michigan State and Wake Forest earned their falls.

Just a week ago the Top 25 seemed to be the domain of the mid-majors, but now the middle to bottom of the ranking has been overrun by the middle tier of the Power Five (and the upper crust of the ACC). Now we see the best team in the Big Ten West (plus Iowa) and the participation trophy winners in the Big 12 and SEC. That’s quite the swing.

Really, though, at this point, it’s Georgia and everyone else. And the ACC-ification of the SEC East continues, nobody is going to stop them, except maybe Alabama. Because that’s what the Tide do: ruin the Bulldogs’ good thing.

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