My AP top 25 rankings: USC climbs as North Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee tumble
The biggest winner of the weekend was USC.
Not only did the Trojans defeat cross-town rival UCLA in a matchup of top 25 teams, they also moved closer to a playoff berth.
The top four teams in country will remain unchanged this week. Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and TCU all won. So there’s no room for USC just yet. But Tennessee lost badly against South Carolina, which opened the door for USC to move up to No. 5 in my rankings.
If the Trojans finish the regular season by beating Notre Dame and then win a Pac-12 championship, they will likely move past the Ohio State/Michigan loser and finish in the top four.
I dropped Tennessee to No. 11 this week. The Volunteers will always have those impressive wins over Alabama and LSU, but they are no longer worthy of the top 10 now that they have suffered two losses.
North Carolina also dropped on my ballot. The Tar Heels feel to No. 16 following their loss to Georgia Tech. Mississippi tumbled all the way out of my top 25 after its loss at Arkansas. Oklahoma State and Minnesota also dropped out.
That means there are three new teams in my top 25 this week.
Join me as I give a warm welcome to Oregon State (20), Troy (24) and Fresno State (25).
Kellis Robinett’s Top 25
1. Georgia (1)
2. Ohio State (2)
3. Michigan (3)
4. TCU (4)
5. USC (6)
6. LSU (7)
7. Clemson (11)
8. Alabama (10)
9. Penn State (11)
10. Oregon (15)
11. Tennessee (5)
12. Notre Dame (13)
13. Washington (18)
14. Kansas State (19)
15. Florida State (21)
16. North Carolina (12)
17. UCF (14)
18. Tulane (20)
19. UTSA (22)
20. Oregon State (NR)
21. Cincinnati (24)
22. UCLA (17)
23. Utah (8)
24. Troy (NR)
25. Fresno State (NR)
Last week’s ranking in parentheses.
This story was originally published November 20, 2022 at 7:48 AM.