College football rankings: Predicting the AP top 25 poll for Week 7

Let's make our predictions for the new AP top 25 college football rankings entering Week 7.

Predicting the AP top 25 college football rankings for Week 7 / USA Today Sports | Imagn

Chaos reigns after a Saturday night massacre full of upsets all over the place. Now, as we survey the damage, let's look ahead to the AP top 25 college football rankings heading into Week 7

Who's moving up? Who's moving down?

Note: this isn't our ranking of the best teams, but our prediction for how top 25 voters will slot them in the official poll on Sunday

Predicting the AP top 25 college football rankings for Week 7

Dropping out: UNLV, Louisville, USC

25. SMU. Kevin Jennings passed and ran for career-high yardage to hand a ranked Louisville its second-straight loss, which should be enough to move the 5-1 Mustangs out of the "receiving votes" category and into the actual rankings.

24. Illinois. Idle, vs. Purdue next

23. Pittsburgh. After picking up 42 votes last week, the Panthers should move into the rankings after starting 5-0 for the first time since 1991 after beating North Carolina on the road.

22. Missouri. This team was on Fraud Alert after close wins over BC and Vandy, and now the critics are loud and legion after watching Mizzou get pasted by Texas A&M on the road. Don't be surprised if AP top 25 voters from the Tigers altogether in favor of Navy or Army, both at 5-0.

21. Indiana. Kurtis Rourke had 380 passing yards and the Hoosiers ran for 2 more touchdowns to put away Northwestern, moving to 6-0 overall for the second time ever, and a 3-0 mark in Big Ten play.

20. Boise State. Ashton Jeanty had 186 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Broncos quite literally ran through Utah State to push ahead in the Group of Five pecking order.

19. Kansas State. Idle, at Colorado next

18. Oklahoma. Idle, vs. Texas next

17. Utah. Idle, at Arizona State next

16. BYU. Idle, vs. Arizona next

15. Michigan. Jack Tuttle helped revive this passing offense for a time, but his turnovers ultimately doomed the Wolverines on the road at Washington, as UM falls to 4-2.

14. Iowa State. Baylor led this game in the third quarter, but the Cyclones scored 24 unanswered points to pull away and improve to 2-0 in Big 12 play.

13. Clemson. Since the Week 1 loss to Georgia, the Tigers have won 4 straight games by an average of 28 points and have a clear path to a potential ACC title after smacking Florida State.

12. Texas A&M. A strong defensive effort and the return of Conner Weigman at quarterback allowed the Aggies to pulverize Missouri in the program's biggest win against an AP top 10 opponent ever and move to 3-0 in SEC play.

11. Notre Dame. Idle, vs. Stanford next

10. LSU. Idle, vs. Ole Miss next

9. Ole Miss. Jaxson Dart didn't score any touchdowns, but 335-pound nose tackle JJ Pegues did, twice, as the Rebels bounced back from their first loss by handling South Carolina on the road, and should benefit by other teams losses to move up in the rankings.

8. Miami. Cal opened up a 35-10 lead on the Hurricanes out west, but Cam Ward led another furious comeback for the second-straight week, outscoring the Golden Bears 28-3 to stay undefeated.

7. Tennessee. Dylan Sampson punched in 2 touchdowns, but otherwise the Vols offense didn't do enough, losing an 11-point lead in a stunning loss at unranked Arkansas, missing out on a golden opportunity to move into the top three after Alabama's loss.

6. Alabama. Who knows what AP voters will do after the No. 1 Crimson Tide dropped a bombshell upset at Vanderbilt in one of college football's most shocking upsets, ever.

5. Penn State. Drew Allar threw for a TD and ran for another, but the Nittany Lions' defense did the heavy lifting to beat UCLA ahead of a trip to USC next weekend.

4. Georgia. Carson Beck threw for 2 touchdowns and Trevor Etienne ran for 2 more as the Bulldogs pulled away from Auburn.

3. Oregon. Dillon Gabriel threw 2 touchdowns and ran for a third but also had 2 red zone interceptions to beat Sparty, with Ohio State coming to Autzen next week in a landmark Big Ten clash.

2. Ohio State. Iowa's defense predictably grounded the Buckeyes early on, and got 2 takeaways in the first half, but Emeka Egbuka caught 3 touchdowns to pull away.

1. Texas. Alabama's stunning loss at Vanderbilt should allow the idle Longhorns to jump back into the No. 1 position in the rankings heading into the Red River Shootout against Oklahoma next weekend.

More ... When the new Top 25 rankings come out

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