FAYETTEVILLE — Editor's Note: Tom Murphy is one of 61 voters in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Each week, he reveals his ballot and offers insight into his votes.
I moved Alabama a notch ahead of Clemson after the Tide’s dominating performance against Louisville. Clemson gets a great test this week at Texas A&M.
LSU, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Auburn and Notre Dame were all nimbly upward mobile on my ballot after impressive non-conference wins. LSU made a big move from No. 23 to 15 after dominating Miami, which fell 14 spots to No. 21.
Virginia Tech’s suffocating defensive performance in Tallahassee, Fla., on Monday night meant a four-spot improvement to No. 10 for the Hokies. Florida State fell out from the No. 21 spot. Also out of my poll is Texas, which has now lost to Maryland in back-to-back season openers.
Two Big Ten contenders — Penn State and Michigan State — won narrowly over less-regarded competition and dropped on my ballot.
One new entry is Texas A&M, which debuted for me at No. 20. The Aggies can make a push for the top 10 with Clemson headed to College Station on Saturday. The other newbie is Oklahoma State, which rampaged over Missouri State.
I considered somewhere between 12 and 20 other teams for making my ballot, prominently among them Oregon, South Carolina, Utah, Boise State, Boston College, Georgia Tech and Arizona State. Let’s all keep an eye on the Herm Edwards experiment in Tempe, particularly with Michigan State headed to town Saturday.
My top Group of 5 team is Central Florida at No. 17, followed by Arkansas State at No. 25. The Red Wolves get Alabama on Saturday.
Tom Murphy's Top 25 Poll
1 Alabama
2 Clemson
3 Oklahoma
4 Georgia
5 Wisconsin
6 Ohio State
7 Auburn
8 Notre Dame
9 West Virginia
10 Virginia Tech
11 TCU
12 Washington
13 Stanford
14 Mississippi State
15 LSU
16 Southern Cal
17 UCF
18 Florida
19 Penn State
20 Texas A&M
21 Miami
22 Oklahoma State
23 Michigan State
24 Michigan
25 Arkansas State
Dropped out: Texas, Florida State