Tom Murphy's Top 25 ballot explained

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (13) looks for a receiver as he is pressured by Louisville defensive end Gary McCrae (93) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

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