Texas A&M Climbs Back into AP’s Top 10

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Texas A&M has seen more movement in the AP Top 25 College Football Poll than any other team this season, and the Aggies are again in a different spot than they were last week. After defeating Mississippi State, 28-14, on Saturday, Texas A&M climbed back into the top 10, moving from 11th to seventh.

Texas A&M AP Top 25 Poll
Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond has led the Aggies to the No. 7 spot in the AP Top 25 College Football Poll. (Image: AP)

This week’s ranking is the highest the Aggies (4-1) have been this season. They began the year as the 13th-ranked team in the AP Top 25 preseason poll, then moved to 10th after defeating Vanderbilt, 17-12, in their season opener.

They fell out of the top 10 the following week when they lost to No. 2 Alabama 52-24. Voters weren’t impressed with how they performed against the Crimson Tide, and dropped them all the way to 21st.

Now, two consecutive victories, one against then-No. 4 Florida, got Texas A&M moving upward in the poll. Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher said he told his team not to get overconfident.

“We’re nowhere close to the kind of team we need to be,” Fisher said. “We’re a work in progress. We have to continue to grow, to learn how to play in situations, play smarter at times, play more physical at times, play with more skill at times.”

North Carolina Plummets

One of the feel-good stories of the AP Top 25 poll came crashing down on Saturday, when No. 5 North Carolina was upset by unranked Florida State, 31-28. The Tar Heels reached their highest spot in the poll since 1997 — when head coach Mack Brown was last at the helm — before crashing back down.

Week 8 AP Top 25 College Football Poll

Here are the current rankings in the AP Top 25 Poll as of Sunday, Oct. 18.

1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Notre Dame
4. Georgia
5. Ohio State
6. Oklahoma State
7. Texas A&M
8. Penn State
9. Cincinnati
10. Florida
11. Miami
12. BYU
13. Oregon
14. North Carolina
14. Wisconsin
16. SMU
17. Iowa State
18. Michigan
19. Virginia Tech
20. Kansas State
21. Minnesota
22. Marshall
23. NC State
24. USC
25. Coastal Carolina

UNC couldn’t get past the Seminoles on the road and dropped nine spots after its first loss of the year. They are tied at No. 14 with Wisconsin, which begins its season this Saturday.

Brown told reporters on Monday he tried not to beat himself up over the defeat.

“I told myself I would handle losses a lot better now than then when I coached before,” Brown said on Monday. “This is a great learning opportunity for your players and staff, and that’s the way we’re going to approach it. We’ll start over each week.”

Minor Movement in Top 5

With Georgia losing to No. 2 Alabama, the Bulldogs were destined to fall in the AP Top 25 poll, though they didn’t drop too far down. Georgia went from third to fourth, switching spots with Notre Dame, which barely got past unranked Louisville at home, 12-7.

The Big Ten could make some noise in the next poll. The conference begins its season this Friday and Saturday. Ohio State has the highest position of the Big Ten teams at No. 5. Four other conference teams, Penn State (No. 8), Wisconsin (No. 14), Michigan (No. 18), and Minnesota (No. 21) are also ranked in the top 25.

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