AP Rankings Released: Memphis Jumps into AP Top 25 after Dismantling of Ole Miss
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @HogManInLA
The AAC is on the move with a couple key wins during the 2015 season but none bigger than Memphis’ 37-24 derailing of No. 13 Ole Miss. When the AP voters turned in their ballots at the conclusion of Week 7 the American Athletic Conference, for the first time ever, had three teams ranked in the Top 25.
Memphis skyrocketed from unranked to No. 18 joining fellow AAC members, No. 21 Houston and Temple at No. 22, among the top teams in the nation. The Tigers placement in the Top 25 is just their third in school history with the first coming in 2004 and their most recent coming at the end of the 2014 bowl season at No. 25. Generations have come and gone since Temple was last considered a top team. They are in the polls for the first time since the end of the season rankings in 1979. Memphis has the nation’s third longest winning streak at 13 games. The win was also their first over a ranked opponent since 1996.
Big 12
All the top or favored teams in the conference won in Week 7 with Oklahoma bouncing back from a loss against Texas to trounce Kansas State on the road 55-0. Baylor got a solid 62-38 home win against West Virginia and TCU cruised in the second half past Iowa State 45-21. The one score a little bit closer than many would have imagined was Texas Tech getting past lowly Kansas 30-20.
TCU is getting the Michigan State treatment; that is despite winning not earning the respect of voters. The Horned Frogs were dropped one spot from No. 3 to No. 4 in this week’s poll.
Big Ten
Iowa Hawkeye fans can say it loud and proud, we are for real. Iowa got their first marquee win of the season stopping No. 20 Northwestern in their tracks 40-10 on the road. Nebraska finally had a large enough margin of victory, 48-25, eliminating any chances Minnesota may have had for last second heroics. Wisconsin topped Purdue 24-7 at home and Rutgers won a shootout on the road against Indiana 55-52.
The ending to the Michigan State vs. Michigan game will live in infamy forever. Michigan had the game in hand up 23-21 until Wolverines punter Blake O’Neil bobbled a snap, tried to kick the ball off-balance, but handed the pigskin to Jalen Watts-Jackson for a 38-yard fumble return score giving the Spartans a 27-23 win over “big brother.”
Ohio State looked more like a Top 10 team at home against Penn State winning 38-10. The Buckeyes gained one of their first place votes back in the process. Michigan dropped from No. 12 to No. 15 but Michigan State got very little love for the road win in the Big House holding at No. 7 for another week.
ACC
The only surprise in the ACC in Week 7 was the continued fall of Georgia Tech. The preseason No. 16 team could not hold home field against Pitt losing 31-28. The win placed Pittsburgh in the Week 8 poll at No. 25. North Carolina rolled Wake Forest 50-14 and Virginia topped Syracuse 44-38 in triple overtime.
Clemson took care of business at home 34-17 against a scrappy Boston College squad and Florida State used a big second half to separate from Louisville to a final of 41-21. The mediocrity of two big programs that have fallen dramatically was on display when Miami hosted Virginia Tech. The Canes improved to 4-2, 1-1, on the season after a 30-20 win dropping the Hokies to 3-4, 1-2.
Pac-12
Injuries on the defensive front have wiped out the Bruins chances of a Pac-12 championship. UCLA looked lost on defense falling Thursday night 56-35 to Stanford on the road. Another Los Angeles team in a freefall is USC. The Trojans could not muster up enough defense to stop Notre Dame losing 41-31 in South Bend.
Washington State won their second consecutive conference game beating Oregon State 52-31 at home. The Ducks went on the road finding a way back into the win column beating a Washington team, 26-20, that was looking to build up momentum after beating USC in Week 6. Arizona scrapped past Colorado 38-31 now just one game shy of being bowl eligible.
The Utes are now two games up on the rest of the Pac-12 South Division after downing Arizona State 34-18 at home. Utah slid up one spot in this week’s poll going from No. 4 to No. 3. Utah is on a collision course with Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship Game. The championship game, as things currently stand, will have big college football playoff implications with both teams now in the Top 10.
SEC
The SEC started their week on Thursday with Auburn escaping Kentucky on the road 30-27. The writing might be on the wall for Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason. The Commodores had perhaps their only shot at winning a conference game in Week 7 traveling to South Carolina. The Gamecocks are beat up and beat down with several key injuries and the sudden retirement of head coach Steve Spurrier. Tip of the hat to South Carolina holding on for a 19-10 win despite all the obstacles in their way.
Life after Nick Chubb’s injury in Athens did not look pretty. The Bulldogs found a way to win but only came up with 298 yards of total offense against Missouri. UGA’s defense held down an anemic Tigers offense to just 164 total yards in a 9-6 win. Mississippi State made some adjustments at halftime to knock off Louisiana Tech 45-20 in a non-conference matchup.
The SEC had two big games over the weekend seeing the usual suspects take care of business. LSU hosted then No. 8 Florida and then No. 10 Alabama went on the road to face No. 9 Texas A&M. LSU used a balanced offense with a lot of running back Leonard Fournette to win 35-28 in the Tigers’ biggest test of the season to date. The Crimson Tide used their stout defense to rattle the Aggies in a 41-23 easy win. Alabama took three interceptions back to the house for touchdowns in the win.
In and Out
Out: No. 18 UCLA, No 20 Northwestern, and No. 21 Boise State
In: No. 18 Memphis, No. 22 Temple, and No. 25 Pittsburgh
Week 8 AP Rankings (Oct. 18, 2015)
- Ohio State (28)
- Baylor (12)
- Utah (16)
- TCU (3)
- LSU (1)
- Clemson (1)
- Michigan State
- Alabama
- Florida State
- Stanford
- Notre Dame
- Iowa
- Florida
- Oklahoma State
- Texas A&M
- Michigan
- Oklahoma
- Memphis
- Toledo
- California
- Houston
- Temple
- Duke
- Mississippi
- Pittsburgh
Photo credit: Wesley Hitt; No. 12 Paxton Lynch takes off rushing against Ole Miss.