The AP Top 25 College Football Poll is about to finally be rendered completely useless as College Football Playoff rankings show season is here, but we at A to Z Sports thought it would be fun to point out just how dead wrong it is one more time this season.

We’ve been knocking the AP’s sorry job of ranking teams all year, calling this series the “A to Z Top 25 College Football Poll”. We’ll be pivoting over to make fun of the College Football Playoff selection committee next, because they too make a habit of embarrassing themselves weekly, but it’s time to give the AP crew one final “good riddance” of a send off.

In case you have missed the prior installments in this series, we have been breaking down our top 25 teams briefly, then talking through which ones we are higher and lower on versus the AP Poll to give college football fans the best rankings in the business. Enjoy!

A to Z Top 25 College Football Poll – Week 11

1. Ohio State, 300 points (All 12 first place votes)
2. Indiana, 283
3. Texas A&M, 281
4. Alabama, 263
5. Georgia, 247
6. Oregon, 236
7. Ole Miss, 232
8. BYU, 209
9. Notre Dame, 199
10. Texas Tech, 196
11. Oklahoma, 178
12. Louisville, 148
13. Virginia, 146
14. Texas, 143
15. Georgia Tech, 136
16. Vanderbilt, 127
17. Utah, 114
18. Miami, 87
19. USC, 71
20. Missouri, 70
21. Michigan, 55
22. Tennessee, 53
23. Memphis, 43
24. Cincinnati, 32
25. Washington, 25
    
    Also receiving votes: Iowa 12, San Diego State 6, North Texas 5, James Madison 1

Surprisingly enough, the AP Poll largely got the top teams ranked correctly this week through the top eight in the nation. It only took them 11 weeks. Congratulations, AP voters. Our staff was a bit more bullish on Ohio State, once again giving 100% of our first place votes to the Buckeyes, but the top eight teams were all the same. However, after that, per usual things got a bit messy.

The A to Z Sports staff was higher on Notre Dame for the sixth consecutive week. The AP Poll has a hard time moving on from the past, but we do not. Since losing to Miami (ranked 18th) and Texas A&M (3rd) to start the year the Irish have won six games in a row.

The AP Poll also has a hard time properly ranking the ACC apparently. They ranked the Louisville Cardinals and Georgia Tech both too low, despite only having one loss and extremely strong resumes otherwise. We ranked Louisville 12th and Georgia Tech 15th (narrowing missing 13th or 14th) as one or both could find themselves in the ACC Championship game.

The AP Poll also still seems to have a problem overreacting to SEC games. Texas barely holds on to beat Vanderbilt, beats Mississippi State by one score, and manages just 16 against Kentucky, yet somehow they’re back up near College Football Playoff qualification. Not for us. Not quite. We collectively couldn’t rank them higher than 14th, and some of the A to Z Sports staff wanted them barely top 20.

Without giving away all the breakdowns in the setup here, let’s take a look at all the teams where our A to Z Sports staff got things right once again and the AP Poll got it wrong.

Teams we were higher on than the AP Poll

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

It may seem wild for a two-loss team to be ranked 8th (where I have them this week), but Notre Dame getting their losses out of the way early helps them here, just like it does with a team like Alabama, which had their let-down performance in Week 1 against Florida State. It feels like Notre Dame has really found its stride. They look like a legit national championship contender. Looking at the rest of their schedule, it would be a shock if this team isn’t playing in the College Football Playoff. And there’s still plenty of room for them to rise up the rankings with their remaining schedule looking favorable for them to win out. – Destin Adams, A to Z Sports Indianapolis

Louisville Cardinals

Jeff Brohm has built arguably his best roster with the Cardinals this year, with Louisville sitting pretty at 7-1, and a huge win over Miami under their belt. They’ve been one of the most complete teams in college football this year thanks to a dynamic rushing attack, a quarterback that makes enough plays to keep the offense going in Miller Moss, and one of the most shutdown defenses in college football, particularly through the air. Their only loss is to Virginia by 3 in overtime, and they’ve effectively taken down every other team on their schedule. I’m willing to buy in on the resume and quality of play they have shown thus far. The ACC is going to be a complete wild card this year, given how many teams are in still in contention for the championship game, but it feels likely that Louisville will be one of the top teams left standing. They just have to win out against Cal, Clemson, and SMU. – AJ Schulte, A to Z Sports Oklahoma

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech is such a throwback team in nearly every way. They don’t throw the ball at a high volume, but are incredibly efficient when they do. They are 9th in EPA per play and 12th in success rate, and it’s because of the run game with Haynes King at the helm. They run a very old school rushing attack with a modern twist and it sets up the pass, since King can attack you vertically and horizontally on the ground. Having the ability to run play-action by yourself is massive, and the offense can score on anyone. However, the defense can bite them in the butt, as they are 128th in EPA per play allowed on that side of the ball. They will allow teams to get theirs, but the offense has put up at least 27 points outside of one game, while also having outputs of 59, 45, and 41. If that continues, their offense alone will vault them into a different stratosphere. – Tyler Forness, A to Z Sports Florida

USC Trojans

The USC Trojans, when their defense plays like it did on Saturday, can be one of the best teams in the country. We all know what that offense can do, because it is one of the best in the country. However, with a defensive showing like they had against Nebraska, they deserve a bit more love. The one thing holding them back is that the defensive showing just isn’t always there. They are very inconsistent there. With Maiava playing like one of the best QBs in the country, they are worthy of at least a top 18 spot in the AP Poll. – Justin Churchill, A to Z Sports Oklahoma

Tennessee Vols

The Vols are such a difficult team to rank right now. At 6-3, I absolutely understand anyone clamoring for them to be unranked. That being said, their resume stands strong against the teams closely behind them in either poll and the ones just missing out due to their strength of schedule. Tennessee is absolutely missing a key win so far in their slate, but they lost to Georgia and Oklahoma by a combined nine points. Those losses do need to hurt them, and we’ve moved them down consistently after them. That being said, they’re talented enough to remain around this spot (at 19 where I have them). – Adam Holt, A to Z Sports New Orleans Saints and LSU

Cincinnati Bearcats

Cincinnati lost a tough one this past weekend at Utah, but I still like the Bearcats. I still believe they’re worthy of being ranked thanks to the seven wins in a row they reeled off before the loss to Utah. I also think it’s notable that Cincinnati’s only two losses this season happened away from Nippert Stadium. – Zach Ragan, A to Z Sports Tennessee

Teams we were lower on than the AP Poll

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Texas Tech used a big second half to get past Kansas State last week, but that Week 8 loss to Arizona State still stands out for the Red Raiders. Playing in the Big 12 doesn’t leave much room for error, and Texas Tech has a couple of big games coming up against BYU and UCF. The Red Raiders will show who they truly are over the next couple of weeks and perhaps put to rest any questions about their legitimacy as a College Football Playoff contender. – Brandon Little, A to Z Sports Ohio State

Virginia Cavaliers

It felt strange to drop Virginia in my rankings when they were a winner last week. However, when stacking resume against impact talent, I think Virginia is a bit of a paper tiger with their 8-1 record. They’re closer to average with their scoring defense, and their offense is based more on volume than consistent playmaking. It’s difficult to play the game of “who would win” in theoretical matchups, but that’s where Virginia falls flat in my rankings. I’m excited to see the Cavaliers rising and competing for the conference crown, but they’ll have to earn every bit of respect along the way. – Ian Valentino, A to Z Sports LSU

Texas Longhorns

I have Texas down from the pack based on the resume and the eye test. They have two losses and have gone to overtime to beat a mediocre Mississippi State team (who they trailed by three scores in the fourth quarter) and went to overtime against a bad Kentucky team. They also almost gagged away a huge lead over Vanderbilt that could have been a loss if the Vandy player had simply scooped up the last onside kick. However, the Longhorns have a chance to prove me wrong against Georgia and Texas A&M over the next few weeks. Win those, and they’re clearly a playoff team. – Craig Smith, A to Z Sports Miami

Vanderbilt Commodores

You never want to overreact about one game, but for those who watched Vanderbilt’s loss to Texas this past weekend, they were thoroughly outmatched. This is a Commodore team under head coach Clark Lea that is arguably the best story in all of college football. They have shown, however, that they can really only win one way: Winning the time of possession battle and limiting positions. They are a good team but their deficiencies have now been seen. That lack of diversity does limit them as a team. Their style belongs in the poll, but they were clearly a bit overrated until now. – Ryan Roberts, A to Z Sports Notre Dame

Missouri Tigers

Eli Drinkwitz’s Missouri Tigers ranked 70th in yards per drop back on offense even before losing their starting quarterback Beau Pribula due to injury. Now they’re going to be rolling out a true freshman there. The defense might save the Tigers in a couple remaining games since they rank 19th in EPA per play allowed and top 25 in a few other key areas on that side the ball. Still, this team’s best two wins are against a 5-4 Kansas team and 4-5 Auburn who just fired their head coach. That’s not a resume worth ranking highly, even if the Tigers do have two “quality” losses. – Travis May, A to Z Sports College Football & NFL Draft Managing Editor

Memphis Tigers

The Memphis Tigers wound up just a tad lower in my rankings than the AP Poll, and that’s because I am still dinging the Tigers for the UAB loss. If not for that one blemish on the resume, Memphis would be undefeated and a lot higher than 23rd in my rankings. Perhaps that’s harsh when analyzing the last two wins for the Tigers, but losing to a program that fired its head coach midseason is a bad look in my book. If Memphis can run the table and finish the year with a big win over Navy, the Tigers will be right where they belong. – Rob Gregson, A to Z Sports Alabama

We’ll be back with more College Football coverage here at A to Z Sports every day of the year! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!

This article was originally published on A to Z Sports College Football, as A to Z Top 25 College Football Poll: AP Poll still dead wrong as College Football Playoff rankings show sets initial bracket.