College football polls: Updated AP Top 25, Coaches Poll rankings after Week 10

Zac Al-Khateeb

College football polls: Updated AP Top 25, Coaches Poll rankings after Week 10 image

A singular storyline is becoming more and more evident as the 2021 college football season progresses.

Georgia is the No. 1 team in the country. Everyone else? They're subject to unforeseen upsets, small-time performances on the big stage and college football chaos in general.

MORE: College Football Playoff Picture for Week 11: Shuffle for last two spots is on

The Bulldogs took care of business on Saturday with a 43-6 hammering of Missouri in Sanford Stadium. None of the other College Football Playoff-eligible teams played particularly well on Saturday, including the team many consider to be the biggest threat to Georgia. No. 2 Alabama came out of a bye to play a horrendous game vs. LSU, squeaking out a 20-14 victory against a vastly depleted Tigers team with a lame-duck coach in Ed Orgeron. The Tide needed several consecutive defensive stops in the final quarter of play to keep LSU from sending Orgeron out with another victory against Nick Saban.

The Tide, at least, won their game. The same couldn't be said of No. 3 Michigan State, which fell to Purdue's patented "Spoilermaker" magic in a 40-29 upset in West Lafayette. Purdue now has two top-five victories on the season after beating then-No. 2 Iowa earlier in the season. Elsewhere, No. 9 Wake Forest suffered its first loss of the season in a 58-55 shootout against North Carolina, a game in which Sam Howell threw for 216 yards, rushed for 104 more and scored three total touchdowns.

No. 3 Oregon was arguably the best performer among the top 10 teams outside of Georgia on Saturday, overcoming an early haymaker from 4-5 Washington — and terrible Seattle weather — en route to a 26-16 victory. No. 5 Ohio State wasn't particularly impressive in its win over unranked Nebraska, but managed a 26-17 victory over the Cornhuskers in Lincoln. And No. 6 Cincinnati, which needs to overcome its Group of 5 Status if it hopes to make the Playoff, did itself no favors in a razor-thin victory over Tulsa.

All those games and more had an effect on the latest AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll rankings. Sporting News takes a look at those polls after the Week 10 slate of games:

MORE: College football rankings: What Michigan State's loss to Purdue means for Ohio State, Cincinnati and more

College football rankings for Week 11

Coaches Poll

RankTeamRecordPoints (No. 1 votes)
1Georgia9-01,600 (64)
2Alabama8-11,483
3Cincinnati9-01,430
4Oklahoma9-01,423
5Ohio State8-11,356
6Oregon8-11,291
7Notre Dame8-11,182
8Michigan8-11,099
9Michigan State8-11,074
10Oklahoma State8-11,045
11Texas A&M7-21,023
12Ole Miss7-2862
13Wake Forest8-1769
14Iowa7-2636
15BYU8-2552
16UTSA9-0525
17Houston8-1472
18Baylor7-2449
19N.C. State7-2445
20Auburn6-3382
21Coastal Carolina8-1335
22Pitt7-2293
23Penn State6-3249
24Wisconsin6-3177
25Louisiana8-1164

Others receiving votes: Arkansas 116; San Diego State 103; Purdue 77; Kentucky 74; Utah 34; Iowa State 21; App State 19; SMU 18; Minnesota 10; Nevada 3; Fresno State 3; Clemson 3; Tennessee 2; Arizona State 1.

MORE: Heisman Trophy watch for Week 11: Bryce Young's big moment still looms

AP Top 25

RankTeamRecordPoints (No. 1 votes)
1Georgia9-01,575 (63)
2Cincinnati9-01,440
3Alabama8-11,436
4Oklahoma9-01,406
5Oregon8-11,319
6Ohio State8-11,293
7Notre Dame8-11,139
8Michigan State8-11,096
9Michigan8-11,072
10Oklahoma State8-11,038
11Texas A&M7-21,006
12Ole Miss7-2837
13Wake Forest8-1763
14BYU8-2636
15UTSA9-0606
16Auburn6-3478
17Houston8-1467
18Baylor7-2464
19Iowa7-2437
20Wisconsin6-3286
21N.C. State7-2268
22Coastal Carolina8-1264
23Penn State6-3245
24Louisiana8-1208
25Pitt7-2194

Others receiving votes: Purdue 174; Arkansas 139; San Diego State 84; Utah 32; Iowa State 26; Kentucky 22; App State 20; SMU 4; Mississippi State 1.

Zac Al-Khateeb

Zac Al-Khateeb has been part of The Sporting News team since 2015 after earning his Bachelor's (2013) and Master's (2014) degrees in journalism at the University of Alabama. Prior to joining TSN, he covered high school sports and general news in Alabama. A college sports specialist, Zac has been a voter for the Biletnikoff Award and Heisman Trophy since 2020.