Things at the very top of the AP Top 25 and most college football rankings remain very much in place after Week 15 action. Alabama remains not only No. 1 but the unanimous choice for the top team in the country according to the AP voters, followed by Notre Dame at No. 2, Clemson at No. 3 and Ohio State at No. 4. Of those four teams only the Crimson Tide, the one with the least amount of debate regarding its ranking status, was in action on Saturday, and they left absolutely no doubt with a 52-3 win against Arkansas.
But there are some notable changes just outside the top four following a Saturday that saw two top-10 teams lose. Florida was ranked No. 6 in the AP poll prior to a shocking home loss against unranked LSU. It's the only second loss of the season for the Gators, who had already locked up the SEC East title and a spot in the SEC Championship Game against Alabama, but it's one that comes with a sharp reaction from the AP voters. Florida was a 23-point favorite in the game and the mistakes -- including a penalty for throwing the shoe of an LSU player -- stood out as much if not more than the success of the shorthanded Tigers team in Gainesville. That disappointment has Florida down five spots to No. 11, one spot behind a Georgia team it beat earlier in the year and just ahead of two-loss Oklahoma and undefeated USC.
Voter disappointment is extended to Miami, another team that had just one loss on the season coming into the day. The Hurricanes took an even steeper fall from No. 9 to No. 19 after a stunning 62-26 loss to North Carolina. Miami's high ranking was aided by its increasing collection of wins and its only loss coming to Clemson, so when the Tar Heels ran up the score in Hard Rock Stadium there was bound to be a sharp response from the AP voters. Of course there is also a boost for North Carolina, who jumped from No. 20 to No. 16 after the win.
Other notable changes in the AP Top 25 include Coastal Carolina breaking into the top 10 at No. 9 and San Jose State making its first AP poll appearance since 2012, checking in at No. 25.
As we enter conference championship week, the top of the college football rankings received some minor updates Sunday following defeats for a pair of top-10 teams in the Coaches Poll.
Florida fell from No. 6 to No. 11 after a wild fog-filled loss to LSU has Gators fans pointing fingers and throwing shoes even as the team enters the SEC Championship Game with a division title. The loss, Florida's second on the season, does not eliminate the Gators from College Football Playoff contention but it does make the path more difficult than if Dan Mullen's team was making its argument as a one-loss conference champion.
Elsewhere in the Sunshine State, Miami turned in one of its worst performances of the season in a 62-26 loss to North Carolina. The Hurricanes tumbled from No. 8 all the way to No. 19 after the loss, while the Tar Heels surged from No. 20 to No. 15 after the win. Miami will finish one game ahead in the ACC standings but the debate is now on for the third-best team in the conference in 2020 after not only the result, but the manner in which the game was decided, on Saturday afternoon in Hard Rock Stadium. That "third-best team in the ACC" actually carries even more weight this season with the potential of both Clemson and Notre Dame making the College Football Playoff, since that scenario opens up a third spot for the league in the New Year's Six.
Other adjustments include Oklahoma State moving up four spots to No. 22 after a dominating win against Baylor and San Jose State making its first appearance in the Coaches Poll of the 2020 season after improving to 6-0 with a win against Nevada on Friday night.
