After matching wins over quality opponents, Miami and Alabama made respective moves in Sunday’s updated Coaches Poll top 25 rankings as the torchbearers atop the ACC and SEC coming out of the weekend. Entering Week 7, the Hurricanes are ranked third following their victory at Florida State while the Crimson Tide pushed ahead three spots to No. 8 after taking out Vanderbilt.
Miami freshman wideout Malachi Toney smoked the Seminoles with seven catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns, all coming before the fourth quarter. Michael Irvin said “The U” was back before the win and now, the Hurricanes are just one spot away from claiming the top spot in the rankings.
Miami had only one first-place vote in the Coaches Poll prior to beating Florida State and now, that number sits at three nearing midseason.
Previously ranked Nos. 6 and 7 in last week’s poll and still very much in the College Football Playoff race, Penn State and Texas tumbled following upset losses at UCLA and Florida. The Nittany Lions were nearly four-touchdown favorites against the winless Bruins before falling behind by 20 points in the first half. It marked the first time since 2007 that a Power conference favorite of 24 or more points lost outright to a winless Power conference opponent.
Ranked No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll, the Longhorns took one on the chin against the Gators much like Penn State, failing to overcome a sizable early deficit away from home.
Newcomers to this week’s rankings include Memphis and Virginia. The Cavaliers won outright at Louisville despite being a 6.5-point underdog.
Week 7 Coaches Poll
1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Miami
4. Ole Miss
5. Texas A&M
6. Oklahoma
7. Indiana
8. Alabama
9. Georgia
10. Texas Tech
11. LSU
12. Tennessee
13. Georgia Tech
14. Missouri
15. Michigan
16. Notre Dame
17. Illinois
18. BYU
19. Texas
20. Vanderbilt
21. Iowa State
22. Penn State
23. Arizona State
24. Virginia
25. Memphis
Others receiving votes: Utah 134; Florida State 93; Cincinnati 70; South Florida 65; North Texas 28; Navy 26; Washington 25; USC 23; UNLV 21; Nebraska 17; TCU 15; Old Dominion 13; Louisville 10; Tulane 8; Duke 7; Auburn 7; Iowa 5; SMU 2
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