Josh Furlong's AP Top 25 ballot: LSU takes over at No. 1, Wisconsin falls

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SALT LAKE CITY — Another week, another Top 10 team falling to an opponent they had no business losing to, but such is college football.

This week, a total of six consensus Top 25 teams dropped a game, with three of those being against teams ranked higher in the polls — No. 16 Michigan, No. 17 Arizona State and No. 25 Washington. No. 6 Wisconsin, though, suffered the worst defeat of the week after it dropped a game to Illinois, a team that was predicted to be a 30-point underdog, on a last-second made field goal.

With the mild shakeup in the week, I decided to re-evaluate my picks and more accurately (in my view) slate teams in my ballot. There’s a bit of a tiered system at this point, with about five teams pulling away from the pack. Picks 6-15 are arguably equal, so movement there is a bit fluid.

Here’s a look at my Week 9 ballot:

Rising: Baylor, LSU, Ohio State

I’ve long wanted to move LSU to the No. 1 spot but have been too hesitant for some reason. The Tigers, though, are playing some great football and have some of the best wins on their resume — then-No. 9 Texas and then-No. 7 Florida. At this point, LSU appears to be the most complete and consistent program in the country.

Falling: Arizona State, Boise State, Michigan, Missouri, Washington, Wisconsin

Just when I started to have faith in Missouri again, they decided to drop a game to Vanderbilt — you know, the team that got blown out of the water to a 2-5 UNLV program that just lost to Fresno State, 56-27. Yikes!

Boise State dropped a game to an inconsistent BYU program that was on its third-string quarterback and desperate for a win to salvage its postseason hopes. The Broncos looked bad in Provo and are on the fringe of falling out of my ballot — if I think about it too long they probably shouldn’t even be ranked.

Added: Iowa, Iowa State, Memphis

Iowa has lost two games, but their resume is shaping up well enough to move them back into my ballot. The Hawkeyes remained in the consensus Top 25 last week, even though I dropped them out of my ballot. They’re one of those teams that are good but not good enough, so my hot-and-cold feelings toward them makes them hard to slate. They get the favorable nod from me this week, though.

Dropped out: Missouri, Tulane, Washington

Washington was already hanging on by a thread, but a loss to Oregon is enough to keep them on the outside looking in. The Huskies are another good but not great team, and lately they can’t get it done. They put up a fight against the Ducks and likely should have won, but they still aren’t a complete team and need some work.

Teams in consideration: Navy, San Diego State, Virginia, Wake Forest

As always, hit me up on Twitter (@JFurKSL) if you have any questions about my ballot.

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Josh Furlong

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Josh is the Sports Director for KSL.com and beat writer covering University of Utah athletics — primarily football, men’s and women's basketball and gymnastics. He is also an Associated Press Top 25 voter for college football.