AP Top 25: 3 teams ranked way too high, 3 teams ranked way too low entering Week 9

The Associated Press has spoken! As expected, we did see some changes to the AP Top 25 Poll after the Week 8 slate of games. With previous No. 1 Texas going down, there was going to be new No. 1 team in the land. While No. 5 Georgia defeated the Longhorns in Austin, it was always going to be a long shot for the Dawgs to get back to No. 1. However, that game massively impacted the top five.

In a few weeks, the AP Top 25 Poll will not be as important. The College Football Playoff Selection Committee will meet to decide who they think are the 25 best teams in college football. They have an even bigger task at hand by having to pick the five best conference champions and the seven best at-large teams for the new 12-team playoff format. The AP Poll will serve as an appetizer for all this.

Here is what the Associated Press believes to be the 25 best teams in college football for Week 9.

1. Oregon Ducks (7-0) (1,523 points, 59 first-place votes)
2. Georgia Bulldogs (6-1) (1,434 points, 2 first-place votes)
3. Penn State Nittany Lions (6-0) (1,375 points)
4. Ohio State Buckeyes (5-1) (1,353 points)
5. Texas Longhorns (6-1) (1,257 points)
6. Miami Hurricanes (7-0) (1,242 points)
7. Tennessee Volunteers (6-1) (1,075 points)
8. LSU Tigers (6-1) (1,049 points)
9. Clemson Tigers (6-1) (984 points)
10. Iowa State Cyclones (7-0) (972 points)
11. BYU Cougars (7-0) (910 points)
12. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-1) (891 points)
13. Indiana Hoosiers (7-0) (830 points)
14. Texas A&M Aggies (6-1) (748 points)
15. Alabama Crimson Tide (5-2) (643 points)
16. Kansas State Wildcats (6-1) (576 points)
17. Boise State Broncos (5-1) (573 points)
18. Ole Miss Rebels (5-2) (408 points)
19. Pittsburgh Panthers (6-0) (396 points)
20. Illinois Fighting Illini (6-1) (392 points)
21. Missouri Tigers (6-1) (359 points)
22. SMU Mustangs (6-1) (313 points)
23. Army Black Knights (7-0) (193 points)
24. Navy Midshipmen (6-0) (166 points)
25. Vanderbilt Commodores (5-2) (92 points)

And here is every other team the Associated Press gave at least one vote to heading into Week 8.

• Washington State Cougars (46 points)
• Syracuse Orange (15 points)
• UNLV Rebels (5 points)
• South Carolina Gamecocks (1 point)
• Nebraska Cornhuskers (1 point)
• Liberty Flames (1 point)

Let's unpack three teams who are ranked too high this week, as well as three who are ranked too low.

No. is 6 way too high for the Miami Hurricanes

Admittedly, this does not feel as egregious of a ranking as it has been in recent weeks. However, I see the No. 6 ranking next to the Miami Hurricanes' name and don't think this is the sixth best team in college football. I have the Canes in the College Football Playoff, but as the No. 8 seed, and certainly not the No. 3 seed as what the AP Poll would suggest upon playoff qualification procedures and such.

While I don't feel like barking up a tree about saying Clemson definitely needs to be ahead of them, I think teams like LSU, Iowa State and maybe even Tennessee could get the best of them head-to-head. Miami should be a top-10 team, but I feel that their seven wins are more lucky than good. We still have not seen the Mario Cristobal disaster class of a coaching meltdown either. That is coming.

Surviving at Louisville means something, but it also shows us just how vulnerable Miami really is.

No. 14 is way too low for the Texas A&M Aggies

It may not have been the result people were expecting, but Texas A&M is riding a six-game winning streak after beating Mississippi State on Saturday evening. The Aggies have not lost since falling Week 1 at home to fellow College Football Playoff contender Notre Dame. While Conner Weigman may be what holds this team back, it is amazing what good coaching can do to a college program.

Mike Elko has been tremendous since returning to College Station after leading Duke for two years. I know what I am seeing out of the Aggies is not a fluke. They play great defense and run the ball with conviction. When the passing game is there, they look borderline unstoppable. I had them as one of my first four teams out again, but I have a feeling they can beat several teams ranked ahead of them.

I would consider putting them as high as No. 11, but that would mean Notre Dame is a top-10 team...

No. 11 is way too high for the BYU Cougars

I hope this does not come across as mean, but I am not ready to live in a world where BYU is a top-10 team. That could happen after this weekend, and I am doing my best to get ready for it. Their wins are getting more and more impressive by the week, but nearly getting upset at home vs. a bad Oklahoma State team does not land well with me. It may be Mike Gundy off a bye, but that was way too close...

BYU may be good enough to win the Big 12. I would be shocked at this point if the Big 12 title bout did not feature either BYU or Iowa State. While I think the Cougars eventually get there, they do have a slew of tough road games coming up, ones where they could get got. The Cougars keep winning and keep proving me wrong. I am okay with that. I would have three teams ranked behind BYU over them.

They are not one spot worse than Iowa State, maybe not on Notre Dame, Indiana or Texas A&M's level.

No. 5 is way too low for the Texas Longhorns

I know that the laws of the AP Top 25 Poll say that if you lose that you have to go down several spots. Texas fell from No. 1 to No. 5 in their multi-score home defeat to Georgia on Saturday night. While it may have been a very revealing loss for the Longhorns, but I have a hard time seeing them being behind Ohio State at No. 4, and potentially even behind Penn State at No. 3. Who wins head-to-head?

Texas got bullied in the trenches vs. Georgia all night long, yet it was their secondary that kept them in this game. What I see right now is a dangerous and highly motivated Texas team. While I don't know if they have it in them to win a national championship just yet, I didn't feel their first loss of the season was a much on poor coaching at it was on Ohio State to Oregon two weekends ago over in Eugene.

Falling to No. 4 feels more right, but I still struggle to see four teams definitively better than Texas.

No. 21 is way too high for the Missouri Tigers

This is not a good Missouri team. The Tigers nearly lost at home to the dreadful Auburn Tigers. Had it not been for Brady Cook coming back from the hospital after undergoing an MRI to lead this team on a game-winning drive, Missouri would be 5-2, not ranked in the top 25 and pretty much out of the playoff picture entirely. The Tigers are hanging on by a thread, much like Michigan was last week...

Fortunately for everyone involved, we have a College Football Playoff elimination game on the line in Tuscaloosa next week between Missouri and Alabama. The Crimson Tide have played some very suspect football since beating Georgia at home in a barn burner about a month ago. Desperation will be the name of the game at Bryant-Denny on Saturday afternoon. Only one of the teams will survive.

Even though I don't believe in Alabama, I believe even less in Missouri, who should not be ranked!

No. 13 is way too low for the Indiana Hoosiers

This is all about vibes. While I could not put Indiana into my College Football Playoff bracket this week, the Hoosiers were my first team out with a bullet. As far as I know, I don't think they have trailed once this season. Obliterating Nebraska with Big Noon Saturday in Bloomington was a huge deal! Curt Cignetti is well on his way towards being named coach of the year. His team is unrelenting.

So when I see teams like BYU, LSU and Miami be ranked ahead of them, that does not seem right. No, I am not ruling out the possibility that Indiana can beat Ohio State in The Horseshoe. Even if they lose, they can go 11-1 (8-1) and be in the mix to get to Indianapolis. Oregon looks to be the class of the Big Ten right this moment, but there has not been a more consistently dominant team this year than IU.

It all starts by protecting their home turf vs. a Washington Huskies team that is already out of it.