Ole Miss moved up two spots to No. 7 in Sunday’s updated AP Top 25 college football poll, although the Rebels might have Alabama and Texas to thank as much as their own performance.
The Rebels improved to 5-1 with a dominant 31-3 victory over Missouri on Saturday afternoon, delivering one of their most complete performances of the season.
But Ole Miss also benefited from losses by Alabama and Texas, two teams that fell considerably in the latest rankings. The Crimson Tide dropped to No. 13 with a 5-2 record, while the Longhorns fell to No. 19 at 4-2.
Regardless of how the Rebels got there, the result is their highest ranking of the season and puts them firmly in the conversation for a College Football Playoff berth as the second half of the season gets underway. In next year’s potential 24-team playoff format, the Rebels would be a near-lock for a spot.
Miami took over the No. 1 spot with a 6-0 record, followed by undefeated BYU at No. 2. Ohio State, Notre Dame and Georgia rounded out the top five, with Indiana sitting one spot ahead of Ole Miss at No. 6. Every single spot in the Top 25 has a new team this week, but only two teams dropped out of the rankings.
Missouri, meanwhile, dropped to No. 22 following its lopsided loss in Oxford.
Here’s the complete AP Top 25 poll following Week 7 of the college football season:
AP Top 25 College Football Poll
- Miami (FL), 6-0
- BYU, 6-0
- Ohio State, 6-1
- Notre Dame, 6-1
- Georgia, 6-1
- Indiana, 6-1
- Ole Miss, 5-1
- Texas Tech, 6-0
- UCLA, 6-0
- Utah, 6-0
- Tennessee, 6-1
- Kentucky, 6-1
- Alabama, 5-2
- Houston, 6-1
- Iowa, 5-1
- USC, 6-1
- Wake Forest, 6-1
- LSU, 5-2
- Texas, 4-2
- Florida, 5-2
- Boise State, 5-1
- Missouri 5-2
- SMU, 5-1
- Northwestern, 5-1
- Arizona, 5-1
Others receiving votes: Oklahoma State 128, Oregon 79, Auburn 61, James Madison 52, Mississippi State 30, New Mexico 6, Oregon State 3
Conference breakdown
SEC (9 ranked teams): No. 5 Georgia, No. 7 Mississippi, No. 11 Tennessee, No. 12 Kentucky, No. 13 Alabama, No. 18 LSU, No. 19 Texas, No. 20 Florida, No. 22 Missouri.
Big Ten (6): No. 3 Ohio State, No. 6 Indiana, No. 9 UCLA, No. 15 Iowa, No. 16 USC, No. 24 Northwestern.
Big 12 (5): No. 2 BYU, No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 10 Utah, No. 14 Houston, No. 25 Arizona.
ACC (3): No. 1 Miami, No. 17 Wake Forest, No. 23 SMU.
Pac-12 (1): No. 21 Boise State.
Independent (1): No. 4 Notre Dame.
