Poll Watch: Miami Jumps as Top 10 Teams Suffer Losses

Before we get into the ups and downs in the AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll, we have to acknowledge that the best team in Florida lost to the Memphis Tigers. Outside of that shocker, this weekend saw the Kentucky Wildcats throttling the Tennessee Volunteers, Jaycee Horn and the South Carolina Gamecocks put the clamps on the Auburn Tigers, and the Florida State Seminoles hold on to knock off the UNC Tar Heels. There were poll risers and sinkers, and yet somehow, Notre Dame still gets top three love after barely beating the Lousiville Cardinals.

D’Eriq King and the Miami Hurricanes stabilized themselves after last week’s loss to Clemson. They beat the Pittsburgh Panthers 31-19 which locked them into in the 11th spot in both polls.

AP Tops 25

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.Clemson Tigers

2.Alabama Crimson Tide

3.Notre Dame Fighting Irish

4.Georgia Bulldogs

5.Ohio State Buckeyes

6.Oklahoma State Cowboys

7. Texas A&M Aggies

8.Penn State Nittany Lions

9.Cincinnati Bearcats

10.Florida Gators

11.Miami Hurricanes

12.BYU Cougars

13.Oregon Ducks

T-14.North Carolina Tar Heels

T-14.Wisconsin Badgers

16.SMU Mustangs

17.Iowa State Cyclones

18.Michigan Wolverines

19.Virginia Tech Hokies

20. Kansas State Wildcats

21.Minnesota Golden Gophers

22.Marshall Thundering Herd

23. North Carolina State

24. USC Trojans

25. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Other team receiving votes: Memphis 76, Oklahoma 74, Tulsa 58, West Virginia 57, Auburn 48, Iowa 42, Louisiana-Lafayette 40, Liberty 37, Utah 36, UAB 30, Army 29, Arkansas 15, Air Force 14, Kentucky 12, Tennessee 11, Virginia 9, Arizona State 9, Washington 8, South Carolina 8, Indiana 4, Texas 1

Coaches Poll

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1.Clemson Tigers

2.Alabama Crimson Tide

3.Notre Dame Fighting Irish

4.Georgia Bulldogs

5.Ohio State Buckeyes

6.Oklahoma State Cowboys

7.Penn State Nittany Lions

8.Florida Gators

9.Texas A&M Aggies

10.Cincinnati Bearcats

11.Miami Hurricanes

12.BYU Cougars

13.North Carolina Tar Heels

14.Wisconsin Badgers

15.Oregon Ducks

16.SMU Mustangs

17.Michigan Wolverines

18.Iowa State Cyclones

19. Kansas State Wildcats

20.Virginia Tech Hokies

21.Minnesota Golden Gophers

22. North Carolina State

23. USC Trojans

24. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

25. Marshall Thundering Herd

Other team receiving votes: Auburn 93, Army 90, West Virginia 64, Kentucky 60, Oklahoma 59, Liberty 57, Memphis 50, Utah 48, Iowa 48, UAB 42, Boise State 37, Louisiana 31, Arkansas 29, Tennessee 25, TCU 22, Air Force 14, South Carolina 12, Texas 12, Tulsa 10, Arizona State 10, Washington 8, LSU 7, Missouri 7, Boston College 6, California 6, Indiana 5, Nebraska 5, Florida State 4, Stanford 3, UCF 1

Analysis

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North Carolin’s loss to FSU dropped the Tar Heels seven spaces in the Coaches Poll. Even though Georgia nearly lost to Alabama by 20 points, they only drop one space the AP and Coaches polls. Contrary to what Gators fans think, the two will likely meet again in the SEC Championship game.

Teams like the Auburn Tigers, Tennessee Volunteers, and Louisiana Ragin Cajuns dropped out of the polls completely. Their descent paved the way for teams like Coastal Carolina and NC State to gain entry this week. Things will get much more interesting this weekend since the Big Ten will return to action on Saturday. We’ll finally see what teams like OSU and Penn State will add to the playoff conversation.

The Canes will look to leap top ten next week when they take on the Virginia Cavaliers in a primetime ACC showdown.