Week 13 College Football AP Poll: Ole Miss Climbs Into Top Five After Defeating Florida
The top five in the Associated Press College Football rankings have shaken up for the first time in three weeks following Florida’s 34-24 loss at Ole Miss. Once again, the Gators were so close, yet so far away from pulling off a major upset.
Everything is a little brighter in Oxford following the Rebels’ victory. They jumped up one spot to No. 5 in the latest AP poll, giving themselves an edge against SEC teams like Alabama and Texas, which lost Saturday. Ole Miss has only one game remaining against Mississippi State, which shouldn’t be much of a challenge with how well this team has played. One more win and Ole Miss should expect to host a home game in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
The new-look top five features three SEC teams: No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Georgia and No. 5 Ole Miss. Ohio State and Indiana remain at the forefront of the poll for the fifth straight week and have solidified top spots in the playoffs.
A miraculous second-half comeback from Texas A&M kept its undefeated season alive, coming back from down 27 points to defeat South Carolina, 31-30. A 27-point deficit at home can be demoralizing, but this Texas A&M team can never be counted out with the season its had. Quarterback Marcel Reed was slinging the football in the third quarter in throwing three touchdowns on three drives. The talent of this team is unquestioned, and two wins against Samford and Texas will guarantee A&M a first-round bye.
The energy in Austin, Texas, isn’t so positive, as the Longhorns went into Georgia and suffered a 35-10 blowout. Texas quarterback Arch Manning had found his stride the last couple of weeks, but the Georgia defense gave him 60 minutes of football that he would like to forget. Entering the season as the No. 1 team in the country, the Longhorns (7-3) find themselves outside the College Football Playoff. A wild turn of events for a team that had so much promise 12 weeks ago.
As for Georgia, it is back up to No. 4 for the first time since Week 2. The Bulldogs flipped a switch following their Week 4 loss to Alabama, winning six straight games and finding consistency on both sides of the ball. Georgia is now ahead of Alabama after the Tide’s loss to Oklahoma.
Speaking of Alabama, Saturday’s 23-21 upset loss to Oklahoma snapped its 17-game win streak in Tuscaloosa. Bama has had one of the hardest schedules in college football but remains in the playoff picture with only two losses. Bama’s offense had nearly 200 more yards than Oklahoma, but losing the turnover battle is all it took to come up short. Three turnovers in any game are a recipe for failure, especially against a team like Oklahoma, which hasn’t looked good on offense. Bama now sits at No. 10 and needs to win out against Eastern Illinois and Auburn to remain in the playoffs.
While a win for both teams would’ve been huge, Oklahoma needed the victory more to keep its playoff hopes alive. It’s been a roller coaster of a season for the Sooners, but they found a way to get it done in one of the hardest stadiums when it mattered most.
Talent runs deep in the SEC, so picking up a win against one of the conference’s top teams helps their case. Oklahoma jumped three spots to No. 8 and will return home for its final two games against Missouri and LSU.
With the playoffs just a month away, here are the complete rankings:
- Ohio State
- Indiana
- Texas A&M
- Georgia
- Ole Miss
- Oregon
- Texas Tech
- Oklahoma
- Notre Dame
- Alabama
- BYU
- Vanderbilt
- Utah
- Miami
- Georgia Tech
- USC
- Texas
- Michigan
- Virginia
- Tennessee
- James Madison
- North Texas
- Missouri
- Tulane
- Houston
Category: Big 10, College Football, Football, SEC
