Josh Furlong's AP Top 25: Another No. 1 team falls as UCLA, Utah make their move

SALT LAKE CITY — It was the most anticipated weekend of college football, and it delivered — though a majority of the higher-ranked teams won.

And through it all, only two teams remain unblemished — UCLA and Utah — after Week 10 action. It's a little bit of some old Pac-12 South Division flair playing out on the national stage, and with two first-year head coaches.

Former No. 1 Miami also became the latest top-ranked victim to shake up the top 25 rankings.

The following is the ballot I submitted to the Associated Press, which will be counted in the consensus rankings that will be released Sunday afternoon.

1. Georgia

This isn't as easy of a No. 1 pick as it may seem, but I'm giving the nod to Georgia this week. The Bulldogs have two top-25 wins (Florida will drop out) and has been mostly consistent all season, outside of a random loss to Auburn. A dominant win over Ole Miss only shows what this Georgia team is capable of if hitting on all cylinders.

2. Utah

The Utes control the longest-active winning streak in college football at 15 straight games after a rivalry win over BYU. Utah didn't have its best game, but a win in a hostile rivalry game isn't anything to knock. A case could be made for Utah to be the No. 1 team, but Georgia seems to be playing a little better football right now — though it's close.

3. UCLA

Another week, another UCLA victory, and another undefeated week. There was some belief the Bruins would be on upset alert this weekend, but Bob Chesney's team squashed those doubts quickly with a 14-point win over Minnesota. Even with a backup quarterback, UCLA is a tough out.

4. Notre Dame

The College Football Playoff selection committee saw Notre Dame as a team on the outside of the top 10, but the Fighting Irish are anything but that. Notre Dame controlled its game against Miami for much of the night and looked like a team ready to make a statement to the college football world.

5. Alabama

In a heated rivalry game, Alabama stood tall and delivered the knock out punch. The Crimson Tide have struggled this season with consistency, but Saturday night looked like one of the team's best performances of the season — especially late to pull away from Ole Miss.

6. Indiana

The Hoosiers were on a bye week, but it's still TBD on whether Indiana has what it takes to defend its championship title. Clearly a good team that finds a way, but one that is also far from perfect.

7. Miami

It's tough to drop Miami this far in my rankings, but it's a challenging group to be around. The obvious question surrounding the Hurricanes relates to their star wide receiver being out for an extended period of time, but one player doesn't make up a whole roster — even if he's as valuable as anyone to Miami's success.

8. Texas

I still have a complicated relationship with Texas this season. They have several quality wins and one of the best resumes as it relates to wins, but it's been far from perfect in Austin. Texas is a dangerous team — when they want to be — but I'm still keeping a side eye on them.

9. Wake Forest

Look, a 77-point blowout win over Merrimack isn't going to tell us anything this week, but that shouldn't distract from Wake Forest being one of the hottest teams in the country. The resume isn't particularly great, but the Demon Deacons have been rolling.

10. BYU

I have BYU still as a top-10 team and the second-best in the Big 12 after a loss — even if that's not how the standings played out. In Saturday's rivalry tilt, it was fairly obvious that BYU and Utah were the top two teams the Big 12 has this season in terms of complete level of play on both sides of the ball. It may not be good enough to get in the playoffs, but the Cougars are deserving.

In consideration (alphabetical): Duke, Liberty, Louisville, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin

If you can't see my full ballot below, click here.

Think you can do better? Create your own Top 25 ballot with the KSL Sports Fan Top 25 poll here.

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