Florida State remains the top team in the latest AP Top 25 poll, but Oregon -- thanks to its impressive non-conference victory over Michigan State -- cut into the Seminoles' first-place vote total.
The four teams at the top of the AP poll -- and therefore the presumed current favorites to participate in the first College Football Playoff -- are the same as those atop the latest CFB 24/7 Top 25 Power Rankings. The only exception is the placement of Oklahoma and Alabama, ranked third and fourth, respectively, in the CFB 24/7 Top 25 but switched in the AP poll.
USC got a bump into the top 10 after a thrilling, and at times bizarre, victory over Stanford, which fell two spots this week. Virginia Tech went on the road and stunning a record crowd of 107,517 at Ohio Stadium with a 35-21 win over Ohio State. The Buckeyes as a result fell from No. 8 to 22nd. BYU dump trucked Texas, 41-7, and also moved into the top 25 for the first time this season.
The AP poll is voted on by sportswriters. While it might be fun for fans to debate the relative merits of the rise and fall of certain teams in the rankings, it is important to note that the AP poll is for entertainment purposes only. Unlike during the BCS era, the AP poll no longer factors into the mathematics of which teams get to play for the national championship. Complicated formulas factoring in polls and computers have zero bearing on the four-team College Football Playoff field, which instead will be determined by a 13-person selection committee.
The entire order of the AP poll:
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