AP Top 25 Released, Sets Different Playoff Picture

The AP Top 25 has been released today and has set up some potential debates for who should make the College Football Playoff. It has some distinct differences from the Coaches Poll, which was released earlier today. After 7 weeks of college football have flown by (seriously, how has it already been 7 weeks?), the two major polls are nowhere near a consensus on which teams should be in the College Football Playoff.

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The Coaches Poll has the defending National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes at number 1 and Baylor at number 2. The AP concurs there, but there 3 and 4 spot get much dicier. While the AP has the Utah Utes at number 3 and TCU at number 4, the Coaches Poll has TCU at number 3 and Michigan State at number 4.

One cannot find Michigan State in the AP Poll until you look all the way to #7. While the Spartans are worthy of a playoff spot in the Coaches, the AP does not even consider them the first team out.

Ironically enough, the Coaches Poll has done the same thing to Utah. While the AP Poll has Utah at #3 and firmly entrenched as a playoff team if they started today, the Coaches Poll does not list the Utes until you find the #7 ranking. #7? The irony is thick here.

The only conference that is likely to be happy with both polls is the Big XII, which sees TCU and Baylor make the top 4 in both polls.

The SEC sees LSU sit at #5 in both polls, which should not make fans nervous. LSU still has opportunities to impress against Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. If the Tigers can win out or escape with just one loss before the SEC Championship Game, there is little doubt that the Tigers will make the top 4 at the end of the season. Then again, because there are still plenty of opportunities to impress, there are still plenty of opportunities to get upset. The SEC is shaping up to be as wild as ever.

The Rankings (SEC teams in bold)

1. Ohio State

2. Baylor

3. Utah

4. TCU

5. LSU

6. Clemson

7. Michigan State

8. Alabama

9. Florida State

10. Stanford

11. Notre Dame

12. Iowa

13. Florida

14. Oklahoma State

15. Texas A&M

15. Michigan

17. Oklahoma

18. Memphis

19. Toledo

20. California

21. Houston

22. Temple

23. Duke

24. Mississippi

25. Pitt

Next: Coaches Poll Post Week 7

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