UNC football remains in AP Top 25 despite loss to NC State. Who else is in or out?

Steve Wiseman
·3 min read

In the span of seven days, No. 18 North Carolina went from the verge of playing its way into a top-10 ranking to putting itself in danger of falling completely out of the poll.

Back-to-back home losses, 21-17 to Georgia Tech last weekend and 30-27 in double overtime to N.C. State on Friday, dented what was looking like a special UNC football season.

The new Associated Press top 25 poll released on Sunday showed the Tar Heels (9-3, 6-2 ACC) still in the top 25, but just barely at No. 24 after tumbling six spots.

With a contest against No. 10 Clemson in the ACC championship game coming up Saturday night in Charlotte, UNC still has a chance to make the season memorable. But lackluster performances of late by both the Tigers and the Tar Heels drained the juice out of that matchup.

Clemson (10-2) barely stayed among the top 10 after losing 31-30 to South Carolina on Saturday. The Gamecocks (8-4) were unranked last week, but moved into the new poll at No. 20 after snapping Clemson’s 40-game home winning streak.

Clemson’s upset was among four losses suffered by top-10 teams this week, including two to unranked foes with Texas A&M upending LSU, 38-27, Saturday night. The Tigers (9-3) fell five spots to No. 11.

No. 14 Florida State (9-3) rose two spots after its thrilling 45-38 win over Florida on Friday. That makes No. 10 Clemson, No. 14 FSU and the No. 24 Tar Heels as the ACC teams ranked among the top 25 as the regular season ends.

N.C. State (8-4) was second among others receiving votes this week, trailing only Troy (10-2), which essentially puts the Wolfpack at No. 27. No other ACC teams received votes.

At the bottom of the poll, No. 23 Texas-San Antonio (10-2) moved into the poll one spot ahead of UNC. The other newcomer this week is No. 25 Mississippi State (8-4), which knocked Mississippi (8-4) out of the poll by beating the Rebels, 24-22, on Thursday night.

Latest AP poll football rankings

Rk.

Team

1

Georgia

2

Michigan

3

TCU

4

USC

5

Ohio State

6

Alabama

7

Tennessee

8

Penn State

9

Washington

10

Clemson

11.

LSU

12

Utah

13

Kansas State

14

Florida State

15

Oregon

16

Oregon State

17

UCLA

18

Tulane

19

Notre Dame

20

South Carolina

21

Texas

22

UCF

23

UTSA

24

North Carolina

25

Mississippi State

Steve Wiseman’s latest AP Top 25 ballot

Rk.

Team

1

Georgia

2

Michigan

3

TCU

4

USC

5

Ohio State

6

Tennessee

7

Alabama

8

Penn State

9

Washington

10

Clemson

11

UCLA

12

Utah

13

Tulane

14

Kansas State

15

Florida State

16

LSU

17

Oregon State

18

Oregon

19

Notre Dame

20

Texas

21

South Carolina

22

Troy

23

UCF

24

Cincinnati

25

UTSA

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