College Football Rankings 2019: Projected Top 25, Week 7 – Florida climbs

What a difference a week can make for the perception of a college football program. After their come-from-ahead 34-31 loss to Colorado, Arizona State fell from No. 24 to the furthest margins of the land of Others Receiving Votes in the AP Top 25. A week later, the Sun Devils went to Berkeley and dealt California their first loss of the year to climb right back to No. 20  in the poll.

Arizona State’s return to the rankings is due largely to their stingy defense. While the Sun Devils rank 102nd in scoring offense, they are winning thanks to a defense that holds opponents to just 14.4 points per game. Critical to that effort is the way Arizona State stiffens as teams get into scoring range; no Pac-12 team is better at shutting down opponents in the red zone.

Sitting idle in Week 6, Herm Edwards’ team will retain its place in the Top 25 for another week. Washington State comes to Tempe in Week 7 for a critical interdivisional showdown, and then the Sun Devils head to Salt Lake City and Pasadena in successive weekends to close out the month against division rivals Utah and UCLA.