Before the first official College Football Playoff rankings come out, it’s always fun trying to decipher what the AP voters see in certain teams, versus what the coaches who vote in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) poll each week see. There aren’t many differences in the top half of the rankings, but when it comes to the teams at the bottom, there’s a lot of variety in how each group of voters weigh teams’ records and quality wins. Here are the biggest differences after this week’s poll.
No love for surging Kentucky Wildcats
The AP voters are giving Kentucky a lot more love than the coaches poll is. Kentucky moved up to No. 24 in the AP poll after stunning Texas A&M two weekends ago. Despite a loss to Alabama, it looks like a team looking to contend in the SEC this season. Even though the voters’ poll has been all over the place this season, I respect them for getting Kentucky into this week’s poll. It also means they’re valuing the win over Texas A&M way more than the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) poll voters are.Â
Texas A&M dropped out of both polls, which shouldn’t be a surprise. The Aggies were ranked in the top 10 in the coaches poll as well before consecutive blowout losses. The coaches poll voters have essentially lost belief in the Aggies. That’s the only explanation for why they didn’t rank Kentucky. The Wildcats will have a lot of chances to prove they deserve to be ranked and even in the College Football Playoff conversation.Â
G6 teams still have a lot to prove to AFCA coaches poll
Boise State is finally getting some love in the rankings, debuting at No. 22 in the latest AP poll, though the AFCA coaches poll still isn’t ready to deem a Group of 6 team one of the top teams in college football. Realistically, Boise State should be ranked, seeing as they nearly beat Oregon and have taken down two of the top G6 teams already in Memphis and Western Michigan. It’s still early, so I could see the AFCA voters' hesitation to want to deem a G6 team one of the best through the first month.Â
That said, it’s hard to argue with what Boise State has done this season. This is very reminiscent of the 2024 team that reached the CFP in the first 12-team playoff. Though they don’t have Ashton Jeanty carrying the load, this team might be better because the offense isn’t reliant on one player to carry them.Â
AP voters are still anti-Duke
Duke football garnered a lot of attention last year. They were inconsistent throughout the season yet managed to get to the ACC title game as a two-loss, unranked team. The drama that ensued left the ACC champion Blue Devils out of the CFP because of their ranking. This season, they started unranked and thanks to a 4-0 start, are finally earning some respect from the AFCA poll, jumping up to No. 21 in their poll. AP voters on the other hand, they’re not sold on the Blue Devils just yet.
You can’t blame the AP voters, though, because the ACC is chaotic. They have two teams ranked in the top 25 at this point after Louisville’s bad loss to Wake Forest. It’s going to take Duke more than mediocre wins against inferior non-conference opponents to convince voters they’re worth one of the top 25 spots.
AFCA voters are still holding Tulsa loss over Oklahoma State
You can’t hold the bad Week 1 loss to Tulsa over Oklahoma State forever, unless you’re the AFCA voters. They aren’t sold on Oklahoma State yet, even with a win over Oregon in Week 2. Drew Mestemaker has bounced back and though he’s not getting the hype, he’s definitely one of the better quarterbacks in college football so far this season. Oklahoma State has a relatively easy schedule, so they’ll need to win the two ranked games on their schedule right now.Â
Their toughest games are against Houston and Texas Tech. For now, both of those teams are ranked, though I wouldn’t be confident those will be resume-building wins toward the end of the year. The Cowboys have already earned the respect of the AP voters, but the AFCA voters are still skeptical. The most important thing is Oklahoma State has to convince the CFP selection committee they’re legitimate contenders.
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