College Football Rankings 2018: Winners, Losers from Week 9 AP Top 25
By Zach Bigalke
WINNER: Utah Utes (rose from No. 23 to No. 16)
Utah enjoyed the biggest jump up the AP Top 25 in Week 9, as the Utes climbed seven spots after their thorough Friday-night takedown of UCLA at the Rose Bowl. Kyle Whittingham’s team held the Bruins under 300 total yards of offense, while getting a career day from running back Zack Moss (211 yards, three rushing touchdowns). As the sole leader in the Pac-12 South, Utah controls their own destiny and looks like the second-best team in the conference.
WINNER: Washington State Cougars (rose from No. 14 to No. 10)
The other division leader in the Pac-12 took the second-biggest leap of the weekend, going from No. 14 in the AP Top 25 to No. 10 with the new release on Sunday. The Cougars went on the road to No. 24 Stanford and took down the Cardinal 41-38 in an instant classic. Coupled with Washington’s collapse at Cal, the Cougars win allowed Mike Leach’s team to claim sole possession of the Pac-12 North lead.
WINNER: Ohio State Buckeyes (rose from No. 11 to No. 8)
It is unclear exactly what caused the AP voters to vault Ohio State back over undefeated UCF despite both teams sitting out Week 9 on a bye week. But Urban Meyer’s team was the beneficiary of a poll system designed to keep a ceiling on Group of Five opponents, as they vaulted up from No. 11 back into the top 10 of the AP Top 25 this week. Even after Purdue suffered a loss to Michigan State, making the Buckeyes blowout look even worse by comparison, pollsters gave Meyer’s squad the benefit of the doubt for no explicable reason besides name recognition.