My top 25 ballot: It was a good week for Fresno State, Michigan State and K-State
Few things in college football are more fun than watching a team from outside the power conferences surprise us by pulling off a top 25 upset.
Fresno State did exactly that by beating UCLA 40-37 on Saturday night at the Rose Bowl.
Quarterback Jake Haener threw for 455 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 14 seconds remaining. Running back Ronnie Rivers ran for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Impressive stuff.
That came after Fresno State nearly pulled off another Pac-12 road upset against Oregon earlier this season. The Bulldogs led that game in the fourth quarter before the Ducks rallied to win 31-24.
As anyone who follows my voting track record knows, I was very high on UCLA after the Bruins whipped LSU a few weeks ago. Oregon is ranked fourth. So it’s time to give Fresno State (3-1) some respect.
The Bulldogs are the new darlings of my top 25 ballot. I have them ranked at No. 20 this week.
New arrivals
Three other teams also made debuts in my top 25.
Say hello to Michigan, Michigan State and Kansas State.
I was probably sleeping on both the Michigan schools. But they are both off to undefeated starts, and the Spartans just hammered Miami on the road. There was no keeping them out this week.
The Wildcats nearly earned my vote last week when Stanford (the team they beat in Week 1) went on the road and beat USC. But I was hesitant to include them knowing they were going to have to play a few games without starting quarterback Skylar Thompson. But that didn’t stop them from beating a good Nevada team 38-17 on Saturday.
Their defense and running game have been impressive all season.
K-State is off to a 3-0 start with two solid victories. That Stanford win may end up aging like fine wine. The Wildcats check in at No. 22 this week.
Moving on up
New Big 12 members BYU and Cincinnati had big wins this weekend and moved up on my ballot.
Cincinnati went from ninth to sixth after beating Indiana. BYU went from 15th to 13th following its third straight victory over a Pac-12 opponent.
Mississippi and Penn State also moved up multiple spots.
One other change worth noting: I voted Florida a spot higher this week despite the Gators losing to Alabama. A close loss to the Crimson Tide is better than most wins.
Look out below
It wasn’t a good week for several of the teams I had ranked in nice spots.
I dropped UCLA from No. 6 to No. 24 following its loss to Fresno State. But the Bruins at least remained on the ballot. Other teams weren’t so lucky.
Arizona State, Miami, UCF and Virginia Tech all fell out of my top 25.
I regret ever voting for the Hurricanes. I promise not to make that mistake again.
On my radar
Kentucky, Maryland and Texas Tech are all off to 3-0 starts. So are Army and Liberty. That has my attention.
West Virginia is coming off a nice win over Virginia Tech and could make some noise in the Big 12. North Carolina and Stanford have responded well after opening losses.
I could see myself voting for any of them next week.
My AP Top 25 Ballot
Last week’s ranking in parentheses.
1. Alabama (1)
2. Georgia (2)
3. Oklahoma (3)
4. Oregon (4)
5. Iowa (5)
6. Cincinnati (9)
7. Penn State (11)
8. Clemson (7)
9. Notre Dame (8)
10. Texas A&M (10)
11. Florida (12)
12. Ohio State (13)
13. BYU (15)
14. Arkansas (17)
15. Ole Miss (20)
16. TCU (16)
17. Iowa State (18)
18. Coastal Carolina (20)
19. Oklahoma State (22)
20 Fresno State (NR)
21. Michigan State (NR)
22. Kansas State (NR)
23. Michigan (NR)
24. UCLA (6)
25. Wisconsin (24)
Dropped out: Arizona State, Miami, UCF, Virginia Tech.
This story was originally published September 19, 2021 at 6:21 AM.