College football rankings: AP top 25 teams moving up, down in Week 9

Last week’s ranking: No. 6

Alabama may not have left the best impression in its season opener, but that seems like a distant memory as this looks like one of the two or three most dominant teams in college football and a genuine national championship contender coming off a signature victory over rival Tennessee.

Ty Simpson went over 250 yards passing with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions while the Tide’s ground game tacked on 2 more scores and Zabien Brown picked off Joey Aguilar and went 99 yards for a touchdown to end the first half, an all-round dominating performance against their rivals.

Alabama dipped all the way down to 21 after that opening loss, but has muscled its way back to near the top of the rankings, and should find itself among the top-five this week coming off this win coupled with a loss by Ole Miss at 5.

Moving down: Tennessee

Last week’s ranking: No. 11

College football’s most accomplished scoring offense didn’t look its characteristic self in the face of Alabama’s determined defense, falling to 2-2 in SEC play and failing to score 30 points for the first time this season.

It’s not out of the picture that the SEC gets a three-loss team in the College Football Playoff, but Tennessee doesn’t want to force that question on the selection committee, likely needing to win all five of its remaining games in order to stay in consideration.

Oklahoma and Vanderbilt are the Vols’ toughest remaining games, and both are at home, but road tests against Kentucky and Florida could also be risky. Tennessee is playing well enough to win all those games, and if not for a few mistakes against the Tide, could have won this one.

For now, a drop in the rankings is coming for the Vols, as the next eight lower-ranked teams all won their games, meaning we could see UT fall as low as 20 in the new poll.

Moving up: Georgia

Last week’s ranking: No. 9

“Hard to kill” was how Kirby Smart described his Georgia team. “We won’t go away.”

Good thing, too, given they were nearly killed once again by Ole Miss before their defense finally stiffened at the right moment while the Bulldogs’ offense chugged along in a crucially-important victory against a ranked SEC opponent.

Playing with urgency against a caliber team is a good sign as Georgia builds momentum heading towards the postseason, but there are relevant questions around the quality of a defensive front that once again failed to generate a consistent pass rush in the trenches.

But the win gives Georgia a more firm grip over its playoff destiny by staying at one loss and beating a top 10 opponent, winning a fifth game under Kirby Smart when trailing by two-plus possessions in the fourth quarter, and outscoring the Rebels 17-0 in the final frame after falling behind by nine points.

The loss by Ole Miss at 5, another by Texas Tech at 7, and Miami’s fall from 2 after losing to Louisville should afford Georgia some breathing room to receive enough votes to move as high as 5 or 6 this week.

Moving down: Ole Miss

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Had they won this game, the Rebels would have taken a very strong lead atop the SEC standings and in the conference championship picture with as close to a lock on a playoff bid as a team can have in October.

Instead, they have less margin for error on the road to the SEC Championship Game. But the path there is doable. Following a trip to Oklahoma next week, Ole Miss isn’t expected to play another ranked opponent for the rest of the regular season, and three of its final five games are at home.

For now, the Rebels are poised for a fall out of the top-five, but maybe not out of the top-ten given other highly-ranked teams’ losses, the quality of their performance and the opponent.

Moving up: Vanderbilt

Last week’s ranking: No. 17

Two weeks after a tough loss at Alabama, a resurgent Vanderbilt had to make a statement that it still belonged in the national conversation, and it made the most of that next chance to take down a top 10 ranked SEC opponent in a marquee win over LSU.

Diego Pavia had 160 passing yards and a touchdown, but the Commodores did their best work on the ground, piling up 239 total yards with the quarterback running for 2 scores and frankly dominating LSU’s very good defense in the trenches.

When he was hired, Vandy head coach Clark Lea said that he expected to build the best football program in the country, and after beating LSU he could realistically helm a team that could be in the AP top 10 rankings for the first time since 1941.

Moving down: LSU

Last week’s ranking: No. 10

LSU’s defense came into the weekend ranked fifth, allowing just under 12 points per game, but had no tangible answers for an inspired Vandy attack that put up 31 points in a potentially season-changing moment for both teams, for very different reasons.

Brian Kelly won 20 games in his first two seasons at LSU, a promising early start that then morphed into a 9-4 outing last year, and now he has 2 losses in 7 games with a team that has failed to match its preseason potential, and more fundamentally may have finally lost what remained of the confidence of his fanbase.

Suddenly, the season trajectory for a team that was considered an SEC title contender and College Football Playoff hopeful could spiral out of control in the weeks to come.

LSU’s next two games come at home against No. 4 Texas A&M and on the road against No. 6 Alabama, and the seat underneath Brian Kelly, while not technically hot, could grow noticeably warmer in the very near future.

A second loss and lingering questions around the quality of this offense could move AP top 25 voters to punish LSU, a team they suspect is fraudulent, with a drop as low as the high-teens if not lower with losses by Memphis at 22, Utah at 23, and Nebraska at 25 opening up room near the bottom of the poll to put them.

Who else could move?

— Notre Dame is due for a bump from the No. 13 position after a 10-point victory over rival USC to avoid a third loss, as Jeremiyah Love rumbled for a personal-best 228 rushing yards with a touchdown to salvage the Irish playoff hopes.

— Conversely, the Trojans will likely fall out of the rankings after having just been voted in after their second loss of the year, another false start for a program that was coming off a high after beating a ranked Michigan squad a week ago.

— Indiana will take Miami’s place at No. 2 this week following the Hoosiers’ win at Michigan State combined with the Hurricanes’ upset loss to unranked Louisville.

— Texas Tech will drop from No. 7 after its new defense couldn’t hold onto that last yard as the seconds ticked down in an eventual loss at reigning Big 12 champ Arizona State, the Red Raiders’ first loss of the season.

— Michigan could get back into the poll in Week 9 after beating Washington by a decent margin, combined with losses by lower-ranked teams that will open a pathway to the top 25.

— Memphis will likely fall out of the rankings from the No. 22 position after its first loss of the season, on the road against an unranked UAB team in the midst of a coaching change.

— Nebraska will dip back out of the AP rankings this week after finally breaking in last week following an 18-point loss at unranked Minnesota, allowing 9 sacks, unable to run the ball, and getting run on by college football’s 114th ground game. A bad look for Matt Rhule, especially after all that talk that he secretly wants the Penn State job.

— Georgia Tech is due for another minor bump in the rankings after putting together some late-game offensive fireworks to get past Duke on the road, moving to 7-0 for the first time since 1966. This could be an 11-0 team heading into the Georgia finale. Right now, it’s one of three ACC teams undefeated in conference play. Virginia and SMU are the others.