NCAA Football Rankings 2022: Predicting Week 11 Poll for Top 25 Teams
The Week 11 AP Top 25 will have more movement at the top than any poll has had all season long.
The Tennessee Volunteers, Clemson Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide all fell on the road on Saturday in the first real shakeup Saturday of the 2022 college football season.
Tennessee was dominated by the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, who should retain their top spot with ease.
Clemson did not have an offensive answer against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Bama struggled on the road again in a loss to the LSU Tigers that shook up the SEC West.
Georgia should be followed by the Ohio State Buckeyes, Michigan Wolverines and TCU Horned Frogs in some order, but then after that, it feels like chaos because of the losses at the top and the need to shake up the top 10.
AP Top 25 Prediction
1. Georgia (9-0)
2. Ohio State (9-0)
3. Michigan (9-0)
4. TCU (9-0)
5. Tennessee (8-1)
6. Oregon (8-1)
7. USC (8-1)
8. UCLA (8-1)
9. LSU (7-2)
10. Ole Miss (8-1)
11. Utah (7-2)
12. Clemson (8-1)
13. Alabama (7-2)
14. Penn State (7-2)
15. Tulane (8-1)
16. North Carolina (8-1)
17. NC State (7-2)
18. Liberty (8-1)
19. Kansas State (6-3)
20. Illinois (7-2)
21. UCF (7-2)
22. Texas (6-3)
23. Notre Dame (6-3)
24. Kentucky (6-3)
25. Cincinnati (7-2)
Georgia Is Clear No. 1
The Georgia Bulldogs made a statement on Saturday that they are still the team to beat in college football.
Kirby Smart's top-ranked program controlled its SEC East battle with the Tennessee Volunteers from start to finish.
Georgia held the powerful Tennessee offense to just 13 points, a season low for the Vols, and it methodically scored points to create a multi-score difference.
The Bulldogs should receive all of the votes to be No. 1 in the AP Top 25 and they should also re-claim the top position in the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday.
The reigning national champion holds a clear advantage over the other three unbeaten teams. Ohio State had a rough Saturday in the wind and rain against Northwestern. Michigan needed a half to get going against Rutgers. TCU needed a come-from-behind win to get past Texas Tech.
UGA should now cruise into the SEC Championship Game, where it is not guaranteed that it will face Alabama after Saturday's result in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
LSU Win over Alabama Will Cause Shakeup
The top four, or maybe even five, in the AP Top 25 should be decided fairly easily.
The four undefeated teams and Tennessee can make up the top five on most ballots, but after that, there is a lot of room for LSU to surge up the list.
LSU produced one of the three best wins of the weekend and should be rewarded with a jump from No. 15 in the AP poll.
The conundrum that the AP voters face is how to gauge LSU's win over Alabama and how the Tigers compare to the trio of Pac-12 teams in the top 10.
The Oregon Ducks, USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins have cases to move up in the top 10 because of how consistent they have been out on the west coast.
However, none of those three teams has a win as impressive as LSU's triumph over Alabama.
LSU could experience a jump of seven or eight spots if enough voters believe the win over Bama was justification to leapfrog the Pac-12 teams.
LSU's spot in Sunday's AP Top 25 should be more in line with where it stands in the College Football Playoff rankings. The Tigers were 10th in the first playoff rankings release and they should move up a few spots on that list as well.