College Football Rankings 2018: Winners, Losers from Week 9 AP Top 25
By Zach Bigalke
LOSER: Oregon Ducks (fell from No. 19 to unranked)
Oregon followed up their loss to Washington State in Week 8 with a second straight stumble on the road. This time, though, the Ducks fell by 29 points to an unranked opponent that entered the game with a sub-.500 record. Oregon’s uncharacteristic offensive struggles led them to only 15 points, and as a result they tumbled all the way from their No. 19 ranking to the land of others receiving votes in the AP Top 25.
LOSER: Wisconsin Badgers (fell from No. 20 to unranked)
Wisconsin was another team that struggled to gain any momentum on Saturday. With a clear path to another Big Ten title game appearance laid out before them, the Badgers instead struggled on the road against a disciplined Northwestern squad. With starting quarterback Alex Hornibrook sidelined by concussion symptoms, the Badgers failed to get anything going offensively. Jonathan Taylor was held under 100 rushing yards for the first time this season, and the Badgers fall from No. 20 out of the Top 25 as a result.
LOSER: Washington Huskies (fell from No. 15 to unranked)
The Huskies held hopes of remaining a dark-horse in the College Football Playoff race. Instead, they plummeted 11 spots down the AP Top 25 into the next team up among the others receiving votes. Now Washington has an uphill battle ahead of them just to win the Pac-12 North. With Myles Gaskin sidelined, the running game struggled to gain any purchase against Cal. Washington lacked any punch, finishing with 250 total yards of offense as the Golden Bears pulled off the monumental upset.
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Honorable mentions go out to Texas (which fell from No. 6 to No. 15 after a 38-35 loss to Oklahoma State in Stillwater), Texas A&M (falling from No. 16 to No. 25 after their 28-13 loss against Mississippi State in Starkville), South Florida (crushed 57-36 by Houston on the road to fall from No. 21 out of the Top 25), and NC State (which fell 51-41 against Syracuse at home and dropped from No. 22 out of the poll).