Ole Miss maintains top 10 ranking ahead of first CFP rankings

Ole Miss football avoided joining the slew of ranked teams that fell on Saturday with a 30-14 win against South Carolina.

Georgia Tech, Miami and Vanderbilt weren’t as lucky. All three have fallen outside of the top 10 in both the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and US LBM Coaches Poll.

Unfortunately for the Rebels, none of the teams ranked higher than them lost in the AP Poll. In fact, most were easily won with the exception of Georgia’s 24-20 win against Florida. So, the Rebels didn’t move in the AP Poll.

Georgia Tech was ranked No. 7 in the coaches’ poll, one spot ahead of Ole Miss, and dropped seven spots with its loss to NC State.

Rankings that Actually Matter

While the two polls released Sunday are important, in two days they won’t matter anymore.

The College Football Playoff committee will release its first rankings of the season at 7 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN. Those rankings matter because it sets the stage for the final weeks of the regular season.

And the order of the teams will answer a lot of questions about how the committee has adjusted its selection criteria after last season.

The committee will release new rankings every Tuesday until the final rankings on December 7 that’ll set the playoff field.

AP Top 25 Poll

1. Ohio State 8-0
2. Indiana 9-0
3. Texas A&M 8-0
4. Alabama 7-1
5. Georgia 7-1
6. Oregon 7-1
7. Ole Miss 8-1
8. BYU 8-0
9. Texas Tech 8-1
10. Notre Dame 6-2
11. Oklahoma 7-2
12. Virginia 8-1
13. Texas 7-2
14. Louisville 7-1
15. Vanderbilt 7-2
16. Georgia Tech 8-1
17. Utah 7-2
18. Miami (FL) 6-2
19. Missouri 6-2
20. USC 6-2
21. Michigan 7-2
22. Memphis 8-1
23. Tennessee 6-3
24. Washington 6-2
25. Cincinnati 7-2

Others receiving votes: Iowa 71, James Madison 53, Pittsburgh 35, San Diego St. 30, North Texas 27, South Florida 23, SMU 7, Houston 6, Illinois 4, LSU 4, Arizona St. 4.

US LBM Coaches Poll

1. Ohio State 8-0
2. Indiana 9-0
3. Texas A&M 8-0
4. Alabama 7-1
5. Georgia 7-1
6. Oregon 7-1
7. Ole Miss 8-1
8. BYU 8-0
9. Texas Tech 8-1
10. Notre Dame 6-2
11. Virginia 8-1
12. Oklahoma 7-2
13. Texas 7-2
14. Georgia Tech 8-1
15. Louisville 7-1
16. Vanderbilt 7-2
17. Missouri 6-2
18. Miami (FL) 6-2
19. Utah 7-2
20. Michigan 7-2
21. USC 6-2
22. Tennessee 6-3
23. Memphis 8-1
24. Iowa 6-2
25. Cincinnati 7-2

Others Receiving Votes: Washington 82; North Texas 60; James Madison 44; San Diego State 30; Pittsburgh 29; South Florida 21; Houston 18; Navy 16; TCU 12; Illinois 8; SMU 6; Arizona State 2; Tulane 1; Minnesota 1; LSU 1.