AP Top 25: Ohio State, Indiana set for top-5 showdown as Georgia rises to No. 8

No. 2 Ohio State and No. 5 Indiana held their spots within the AP High 25 school soccer ballot Sunday, organising the third top-five matchup within the Large Ten this season for the Buckeyes.

Oregon remained No. 1 for a fifth consecutive week and is the unanimous selection for the third time after escaping Wisconsin with a three-point win. The Buckeyes are adopted by No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Penn State and Indiana in an unchanged high 5.

Tennessee’s loss to Georgia and BYU being upset by Kansas shook up the remainder of the highest 10. The Bulldogs jumped three spots to No. 8 after having their streak of 60 top-10 appearances in a row snapped final week. The Volunteers dropped 4 spots to No. 10 and the Cougars fell seven locations to No. 14 after their unbeaten season was ended at house by the Jayhawks.

The remainder of the highest 10 consists of No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 7 Alabama and No. 9 Ole Miss.

The Large Ten and SEC maintain 9 of the highest 10 spots, with Notre Dame the one workforce from outdoors these conferences. Miami from the ACC at No. 11 is in any other case the very best ranked workforce from a convention apart from the Large Ten and SEC, adopted by No. 12 Boise State from the Mountain West. BYU is the top-ranked Large 12 workforce at No. 14.

Others receiving votes: Missouri 56, Memphis 38, Kansas State 36, Syracuse 21, Louisville 15, Pittsburgh 6, LSU 6, Louisiana 5, Vanderbilt 4, Colorado State 2, Duke 2, James Madison 2, Georgia Tech 1

The Buckeyes cruised previous Northwestern on Saturday and the Hoosiers had been off, main into Indiana’s largest regular-season recreation ever. The one different top-five matchup in Indiana historical past was within the 1968 Rose Bowl, when the fourth-ranked Hoosiers misplaced to No. 1 USC.

In the meantime, the Buckeyes can be taking part in their third top-five matchup this season after shedding at Oregon and successful at Penn State on the street. This can be Ohio State’s forty sixth top-five matchup all-time — together with bowls and convention title video games — 4 fewer than Oklahoma for essentially the most. Ohio State is 23-21-1 in such video games.

The Buckeyes may also turn out to be the primary workforce since LSU in 2011 to play three top-five matchups in a daily season. Will probably be the eighth time in AP ballot historical past, courting to 1936, {that a} workforce has performed in three top-five matchups within the common season. The fifth AP top-five matchup of the common season ties 1996 and 1943 for essentially the most.

Indiana comes into the sport 1-70 towards AP top-five groups, beating solely Purdue in 1967. Ohio State is 36-46-6.

Out and in

The underside of the rankings received a serious makeover after 5 groups ranked nineteenth or decrease misplaced Saturday.

LSU and Kansas State each fell out of the rankings for the primary time this season. The Tigers misplaced for the fourth time this season at Florida and are unranked for the primary time since mid-October 2022, coach Brian Kelly’s first season in Baton Rouge. The Wildcats (7-3) took a 3rd loss, falling at house to Arizona State.

Missouri (7-3) fell out once more after its third loss, to South Carolina, as did Louisville (6-4) after its fourth, a surprising upset and late-game collapse at Stanford.

No. 21 Arizona State (8-2) is ranked for the primary time since Oct. 10, 2021, after beating Kansas State. No. 22 Iowa State (8-2) is again within the rankings and the Large 12 title race after snapping a two-game shedding streak by beating Cincinnati.

No. 23 UNLV (8-2) reached the rankings for the primary time in program historical past in September and fell out after one week. The Rebels are again, bolstered by early-season victories towards Kansas and Houston from the Large 12 and a five-point loss to Mountain West rival Boise State. No. 24 Illinois (7-3) additionally rejoined the rankings after beating Michigan State handily. The Illini had beforehand spent seven weeks towards the underside of the High 25. — Ralph Russo, nationwide school soccer author

How Matt voted

• There are plenty of bunched-up groups on the poll this week, making me want we may embody ties. I’ve been a bit decrease on Notre Dame than most for a lot of the season — the Irish have been dominant currently, however the NIU loss nonetheless holds them again in my eyes — and thus my high 9 spots are all taken up by the Large Ten and SEC after BYU’s loss to Kansas, with the Irish tenth.

From the Large Ten, I’ve Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana within the high three, with Penn State fifth. Within the SEC, I’ve Texas fourth, with Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia and Tennessee nearly inseparable from No. 6 to No. 9. And I can’t say I be ok with something past Oregon and Ohio State being No. 1 and No. 2.

Texas has an ideal protection however a flimsy resume, and the subsequent 4 SEC groups, all with two losses, are almost unattainable to order due to a mixture of head-to-head outcomes (Tennessee beat Alabama, which beat Georgia, which beat Tennessee) and dangerous losses (Ole Miss to Kentucky, Alabama to Vanderbilt, Tennessee to Arkansas). After which there’s Texas A&M, down at fifteenth at 8-2, missing a marquee win however controlling its personal future within the SEC race if it might probably beat Auburn and Texas. I disagree with the ballot having Georgia forward of Ole Miss after final week’s Rebels thumping of the Bulldogs, however there’s additionally no good reply.

I’d say it will all type itself and a logical order will current itself, however this time, with a 16-team SEC … possibly not?

• Some weeks, I want I may rank 35 groups. Different weeks, it’s extra like 20. This poll felt far more just like the latter after Kansas State, Missouri, Washington State, LSU, Louisville and Pitt all misplaced. I ended up protecting Kansas State and Missouri on my poll and transferring in Tulane, Iowa State and Illinois. I severely thought-about Syracuse and UNLV and didn’t actually contemplate any of the four-loss groups.

• One backside of the rankings transfer I don’t remorse: I had Arizona State on my poll at No. 25 final week, and the Solar Devils greater than justified that rating by successful at Kansas State to earn their first ballot look since October 2021. — Matt Brown, school sports activities managing editor and AP ballot voter

Is Texas overrated?

As Matt factors out, lining up the SEC groups is tough due to all of the head-to-head points. I might be inclined to encourage Matt and different voters to push Texas into that pack of two-loss groups due to the Longhorns’ decisive loss to Georgia at house and normal success with the remainder of their first SEC schedule.

Personally, Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia, Texas and Tennessee can be my order of simply these groups.

However no less than Matt received this proper the place the opposite AP voters, I feel, whiffed. Honor the week-old head-to-head end result and hold Ole Miss forward of Georgia. The voters had the Bulldogs a spot in entrance. I get it, Ole Miss has worse losses — although I hate that time period — towards Kentucky and LSU, neither of which is ranked. Georgia’s losses are to the Rebels and Alabama. Voters additionally usually give groups a bit extra leeway for street losses. The Bulldogs misplaced at Oxford and Tuscaloosa.

However Ole Miss received so decisively, I’d wish to have that proceed to be acknowledged.

Identical goes for No. 14 BYU and No. 13 SMU. In actual fact, that is most likely an much more egregious miss. The Cougars received in Dallas earlier within the season. That’s definitely a greater loss — hate that one, too — than tripping up at house towards Kansas (4-6), however SMU can’t even make the Georgia argument with a number of different marquee victories.

My guess is after watching BYU pull off a collection of nice escapes within the final month, voters had been already feeling skeptical concerning the Cougars after which reacted strongly when these considerations had been validated. — Russo

What’s subsequent?

Week 13 of the season is filled with what will be categorized as massive video games no person noticed coming earlier than the season.

Apart from Indiana-Ohio State as a top-five matchup …

No. 18 Military faces No. 6 Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium. This recreation needs to be broadcast by NBC in black and white. The final time the Black Knights and Preventing Irish performed with each groups ranked was 1958 in South Bend. The top of the rivalry was within the Nineteen Forties after they performed 4 consecutive top-five matchups — together with two No. 1 vs. No. 2 video games — at Yankee Stadium.

No. 14 BYU travels to No. 21 Arizona State. The Large 12 race has taken fairly a flip. The Cougars and Solar Devils’ first assembly since 2021 is the third ranked matchup between the faculties and twenty ninth total.

Elsewhere, No. 3 Texas hosts Kentucky, No. 4 Penn State visits Minnesota, No. 7 Alabama visits Oklahoma and No. 9 Ole Miss visits Florida.

Required studying

(Photograph: Michael Reaves / Getty Photos)