Razorback beat writer Tom Murphy breaks down his latest AP Top 25 ballot.
Ohio State's close call in a one-point victory over Michigan State on the Spartans' senior day cost the Buckeyes a spot in a flip with Clemson, which has had its share of narrow escapes. My top two-loss teams are Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Florida, Penn State and Colorado at spots 6-10. Louisville fell from No. 5 to No. 13 after the Cardinals' horrific Thursday night loss at Houston. It was a good week for the American Athletic Conference on my ballot, with Houston re-joining the list at No. 16 and Navy jumping in at No. 22.
I re-introduced Tennessee and Stanford to the rankings at Nos. 24 and 25, though there were plenty of candidates for those rungs, including Arkansas, which kept its streak of alternating wins and losses alive at eight consecutive weeks.
LSU is probably one of the top 25 teams in the nation, but the Tigers should have scored on two tries from the 1-yard line to prove it.
1 Alabama
2 Clemson
3 Ohio State
4 Michigan
5 Washington
6 Wisconsin
7 Oklahoma
8 Florida
9 Penn State
10 Colorado
11 Auburn
12 Oklahoma State
13 Louisville
14 USC
15 Nebraska
16 Houston
17 Utah
18 Florida State
19 West Virginia
20 Texas A&M
21 Western Michigan
22 Navy
23 Boise State
24 Tennessee
25 Stanford
Dropped out: LSU, Washington State, Troy, San Diego State