Each week, the Sports' editorial team selects its Top 25 FBS college football teams for the Student Media Poll.
The SMP is a nationwide poll featuring 25 student journalists from schools nationwide.
The Post Sports will break down its ballot each week. Here is a breakdown of the top five, those dropped from the Top 25, and those added.
Top 5
1. Ohio State (7-0)
The Buckeyes sat idle Saturday for one of the tamer weekends of the last couple of months. Although some impressive performances were put up below the defending champions this past week, I still hold firm to the belief they have the best players in the country and until they are beaten, they will remain at the top.
2. Indiana (8-0)
The Hoosiers put on one of those impressive performances Saturday, demolishing a reinvigorated UCLA team, which had won three straight games. They stomped them 56-6, led by quarterback Fernando Mendoza once again, who had four total touchdowns through only three quarters.
3. Texas A&M (8-0)
The Aggies went into Baton Rouge on Saturday night and were in a dog fight in the first half, down four. Thankfully for Texas A&M, quarterback Marcel Reed stepped up with four total touchdowns, and LSU did not stand a chance. The Aggies pulled away to win 49-25 and will head into the bye with a lot of momentum and a stranglehold on the SEC lead.
4. Alabama (7-1)
Down eight with just over two minutes left, the Crimson Tide tied the game up and left it to their defense, and as many great teams do, they found a way. Alabama forced a fumble on South Carolina quarterback Lanorris Sellers and put the game away with a touchdown in the final 30 seconds. It is this kind of resilience that makes me never want to count a school like Alabama out.
5. Oregon (7-1)
Defense has not been the calling card of Oregon during Dan Lanning’s tenure. It thrives on high-scoring affairs where it puts up 50 points to an opponent's 49. On Saturday, however, the Ducks played Wisconsin and were held to 21, but a poor season from the Badgers continued as they were held to seven. Oregon won the slow-paced game and is still in striking distance as it hopes for some losses to fall its way after the bye, as it hopes to get back to the Big 10 title game.
Who I Added: 23 Iowa, 24 Houston, 25 USC
Iowa football might be back after a down 2024 season. The Hawkeyes seem to have found their groove, falling back on traditional ground and pound methods on offense and a daunting top 10 defense in points allowed, which has this team ready to make a late-season push, and none of it would be possible without the expertise of the Big 10’s all-time winningest coach, Kirk Ferentz.
I feel like a record on repeat with this conference every week as teams fly in and out, but the Big 12 is wide open. The Cougars are one of just a couple of teams to have not been torn apart by conference play so far. They have won the last three in a row, only suffering a loss to another Big 12 contender, Texas Tech. Houston should be watched, though as its schedule sets up nicely to find itself in Arlington, Texas, for the conference title game in a few weeks.
USC sat idle this week and still found its way back into the top 25. This team has a strong win against Michigan and only one conference loss at this point, so the Trojans are poised to stay in the hunt the rest of the way. They have been napping a couple of times on the East Coast this season, though, and need to prepare well for another two-loss team in Nebraska this week.
The Rest of the Top 25
6. Georgia (6-1)
7. Georgia Tech (8-0)
8. Miami (FL) (6-1)
9. BYU (8-0)
10. Ole Miss (7-1)
11. Texas Tech (7-1)
12. Vanderbilt (7-1)
13. Notre Dame (5-2)
14. Oklahoma (6-2)
15. Michigan (6-2)
16. Virginia (7-1)
17. Cincinnati (7-1)
18. Louisville (6-1)
19. Missouri (6-2)
20. Tulane (6-1)
21. Utah (6-2)
22. Texas (6-2)
23. Iowa (6-2)
24. Houston (7-1)
25. USC (5-2)
Who I Dropped: USF, LSU, Arizona State
The group of five darlings to start the year finally got stung Saturday. The Bulls traveled to play Memphis and were up by two scores heading into the fourth quarter before allowing 17 unanswered points and suffering their second loss this season.
The Brian Kelly experiment at LSU is over. The Tigers made that call Sunday after being dissected at home against Texas A&M. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has had an underwhelming season to this point, only throwing for multiple touchdowns in three of LSU’s eight games. The Tigers look down, and it will continue to fall on Nussmeier to get them out of this midseason funk.
In week eight, someone finally beat Texas Tech and that team was Arizona State. The Sun Devils followed that up by dropping a third game of their season against Houston at home. They were dominated, turning it over once and being sacked four times in the 24-16 loss.
