College football rankings: AP top 25 teams moving up, down in Week 10

Putting the pieces together after this weekend's games, let's take a crack at predicting what college football teams AP top 25 voters will move up and down the rankings for Week 10.

What college football teams are moving up and down the AP top 25 rankings heading into Week 10. / SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

The last weekend of October proved to be an elimination day of sorts around college football, as we saw some contenders potentially separate themselves from the pretenders, and now it’s time to sort it all out in the upcoming AP top 25 rankings heading into Week 10.

It was a prove-it moment in the SEC, not just for Missouri on the road against Alabama, but for LSU and Texas A&M in a battle of the last two teams undefeated in conference play.

Ohio State just got past Nebraska at home heading into a road date against Penn State, which edged out Wisconsin after an injury forced quarterback Drew Allar out of that game.

And a battle between ranked rivals saw Notre Dame make a definitive statement against previously-undefeated Navy in a game that will force some changes in the rankings, as well.

What teams will be on the move in the AP top 25 college football rankings this week? Let’s take a shot at predicting who’s moving up, and who’s going down, in the polls heading into Week 10.

Moving up: Texas A&M 

Last week’s ranking: No. 14

The battle for first place in the SEC standings went to the Aggies, who recovered from a first half deficit at home to dominate LSU in a signature 38-23 victory.

Key to that turnaround was the decision by head coach Mike Elko to bench starting quarterback Conner Weigman in exchange for backup Marcel Reed, whose 3 rushing touchdowns helped lead the comeback and makes a case that he should be the starter going forward.

A&M moved to 5-0 in SEC play for the first time in school history and now sits alone atop the conference standings. And with their only loss to a good Notre Dame team, the Aggies’ playoff credentials are looking very promising heading into November.

Some AP top 25 voters may be reluctant to jump the Aggies into the top 10 with other higher-ranked teams either winning or idle this weekend, but beating the No. 8 team in the country might be enough to overrule those concerns and give the Aggies LSU’s old position.

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Moving down: LSU

Last week’s ranking: No. 8

It was a tale of two halves for Garrett Nussmeier, the SEC’s most prolific scoring quarterback, on whom LSU’s offensive fortunes have depended this season.

Working behind a strong line and with some dynamic receivers, Nussmeier led 2 touchdown drives that resulted in a 17-7 halftime advantage at Texas A&M, but his 3 second-half interceptions ultimately doomed the Tigers’ attempt to preserve their perfect SEC record.

That will be enough for AP top 25 voters to drop the Tigers out of the top 10 of the rankings this week, and potentially out of the top 15, with other teams further down the poll winning their games, but almost certainly still within the top 20.

Now LSU sits at 2 losses on the year and in danger of a third with Alabama coming to Death Valley in two weeks and the pressure is on to keep its playoff hopes alive.

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Moving up: Pittsburgh

Last week’s ranking: No. 19

Kyle McCord’s game from hell helped Pitt move to a 7-0 record and into the top three of the ACC standings, as the Syracuse quarterback threw 5 interceptions, 3 of which were returned for touchdowns, in the face of the Panthers’ defensive blitzkrieg in a 41-13 rout.

And suddenly, the ACC title race now includes the team that voters picked to finish 13th in the conference back during the preseason, and it’s not just winning games behind its uptempo offense anymore, as it was in the beginning of the 2024 campaign.

Defense has been Pat Narduzzi’s specialty over the last decade, and the dramatic resurgence of that unit -- led by “The Sharks,” its dominant linebacker rotation -- is an important development as Pitt looks to keep itself in the mix for the postseason as we move into November.

We’ll know more about this team next week as it faces SMU on the road, and with a date at home against ACC favorite Clemson two weeks later.

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Moving down: Navy

Last week’s ranking: No. 24

The Midshipmen were a popular pick to either take down the Irish or at least cover as double-digit underdogs, but a slew of turnovers had other ideas for this team on Saturday.

Navy lost 5 fumbles and suffered 6 total turnovers, the most for the team in a single game in 22 years, and those mistakes led to 28 points for Notre Dame, which cruised in a 51-14 shellacking.

There were questions about whether the Midshipmen had built their castle on sand, marching out to that 6-0 record by beating up on overmatched opponents, and those arguments sound more convincing after what transpired in New Jersey.

AP voters should drop Navy from the rankings this week, and could even withdraw all their votes given the margin, putting a major dent in the team’s hopes as a Group of Five playoff contender.

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Who else could move?

Lower-ranked teams losing their games usually leaves room for those schools that received votes the week before some leeway to move into the rankings, but that could be difficult this week, as those surplus teams also lost, leaving AP top 25 voters with relatively little to choose from.

That might save losers like Vanderbilt and Illinois, who ordinarily would easily fall out of the polls after losses, or allow voters more creativity when filling out the bottom of their ballots.

- Tulane might get some votes this week after moving to 6-2 on the year with a win over North Texas, its fifth-straight victory, and in a tie for second-place in the AAC.

- Missouri should be out of the rankings, and out of the playoff picture, after a 34-0 loss at Alabama that saw quarterback Brady Cook injured again, and exposed the team’s lingering weaknesses all over the roster as the program failed to build on its successful 2023 outing.

- Vanderbilt cracked the rankings for the first time in more than a decade this past week, and it played Texas close at home, fighting until the very end of a 3-point loss, but could drop back out of the polls after falling to 5-3.

- Illinois won its 3 conference games by fairly close margins, but failed both tests on the road against ranked opposition, at Penn State weeks ago, and was blasted by Oregon on Saturday, likely enough to fall out of the rankings from the No. 20 position this week.

- Boise State will earn more votes in this week’s rankings after passing a tough road test against UNLV, even as star back Ashton Jeanty didn’t play his A-game against a physical defense, but the Broncos are still in the playoff hunt, with just a 3-point loss to now-No. 1 Oregon on its resume.

More ... Predicting the AP top 25 rankings for Week 10

And ... When the AP top 25 rankings come out

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