Tom Murphy explains his latest Associated Press Top 25 poll.
1 Alabama
2 Penn State
3 Georgia
4 TCU
5 Clemson
6 Ohio State
7 Wisconsin
8 Miami
9 Washington
10 USC
11 Oklahoma
12 Notre Dame
13 Virginia Tech
14 Oklahoma State
15 Auburn
16 Michigan State
17 South Florida
18 Michigan
19 North Carolina State
20 Central Florida
21 Washington State
22 Stanford
23 Texas A&M
24 West Virginia
25 Memphis
Dropped out: San Diego State, Texas Tech, Navy
After a late night return to Tupelo and a long drive back to NWA, we'll keep this one tight. First things first, obviously, were the upsets in the top 10 and losses by seven of the teams in my poll from last week.
Clemson's 27-24 loss at Syracuse, which included the loss of Kelly Bryant due to a concussion, will probably not be fatal to the Tigers' CFP hopes. I dropped Clemson to No. 5. The Dabo Swinney Esteem Needle bounced up briskly after the loss when, in quick succession: He was spotted telling Syracuse Coach Dino Babers "I'm so happy for you" during a warm hug; he entered the Syracuse locker room and congratulated the team in person; he flew to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to appear at the 25th anniversary celebration of Alabama's 1992 national championship with his teammates and coaches.
Washington's 13-7 loss at Arizona State -- watched by hundreds on the East coast -- moved the Huskies from No. 4 to No. 9 for me, just ahead of conference mate USC. The Pac 12 has work to do to get an entry into the playoff.
Idle Penn State jumped up to No. 2, while No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 TCU make their first appearances in my top four.
I dropped out San Diego State, whose 31-14 loss at home to Boise State was a major blow to their New Year's Six bowl hopes. South Florida at No. 17 remains my top Group of 5 team.
I also dropped Texas Tech, which blew a handy lead at West Virginia, and Navy, who I had my suspicions about heading into their 30-27 loss at Memphis.
New entries are No. 22 Stanford, No. 24 West Virginia and No. 25 Memphis.