My AP top 25 ballot: Cincinnati and Kentucky move up, Clemson slips down
.JPG "Cincinnati players celebrate on the sidelines after Jarell White (8) intercepted a pass late in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game against Connecticut, Saturday, Sept. 29, 2018, in East Hartford, Conn. Cincinnati won, 49-7. (AP Photo/Stephen Dunn)")
The hardest thing about filling out my top 25 ballot this week was finding enough deserving teams to round out the poll. An abundance of losses from teams at the bottom of my top 25 means we are saying hello to five new teams today.
Here’s a look at how I voted:
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Cincinnati. I was hesitant to vote for the Bearcats, because the best win on their schedule came against UCLA and UCLA is really bad. But Cincinnati is 5-0, and it’s hard to ignore a team that is undefeated this deep into the season.
The Bearcats have won three road games and are coming off a 49-7 thrashing of Connecticut. That’s good enough for No. 20 on my ballot this week.
Kentucky also got a nice bump into the top 10 after an impressive win over South Carolina. Can’t say I saw this coming from the Wildcats, but they look legit.
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Clemson. It’s never fun to drop a team after a win, but the Tigers simply don’t look like the nation’s second best team. That’s where I ranked them through the first four weeks of the football season. Today, I ranked them seventh.
Why? They haven’t been as impressive as the six teams I ranked ahead of them. There’s nothing wrong with beating Texas A&M and Syracuse in close games and starting 5-0. But college football is a beauty contest, and teams like Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, LSU, Ohio State and Notre Dame have more impressive resumes.
Say hello to ...
Cincinnati, North Carolina State, Florida, Oregon and South Florida.
I gave a nod to undefeated teams at the bottom of my rankings this week. That’s why I selected Cincinnati, NC State and USF over other contenders like Boise State and Virginia Tech.
Say goodbye to ...
Texas Tech, BYU, Mississippi State, Duke and North Texas.
It’s sad to see the Mean Green go. But they no longer deserve a ranking after losing to Louisiana Tech.
My AP top 25 ballot:
1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Oklahoma
4. LSU
5. Ohio State
6. Notre Dame
7. Clemson
8. West Virginia
9. Kentucky
10. Auburn
11. Washington
12. Miami (Fla.)
13. Penn State
14. Stanford
15. Central Florida
16. Michigan
17. Wisconsin
18. Texas
19. Oklahoma State
20. Colorado
21. Cincinnati
22. North Carolina State
23. Florida
24. Oregon
25. South Florida
This story was originally published September 30, 2018 at 8:17 AM.