Ohio State, Indiana likely 1-2 in initial CFP rankings with Texas A&M, Bama in line for No. 3

Those teams make up the first four teams in The Associated Press poll released Sunday. The top four CFP seeds are coveted because they come with a first-round bye in the 12-team playoff bracket.

The Buckeyes (8-0) beat Texas and Illinois when both were in The Associated Press Top 25. The Longhorns were No. 1 when they opened the season in Columbus. Ohio State also went across three time zones to Washington and knocked off a Huskies team that is in the AP rankings this week.

The OSU defense is giving up less than one touchdown per game and didn't allow a first-half TD through its first seven. The Buckeyes answered their quarterback question with first-year starter Julian Sayin having completed 80% of his passes, thrown for 23 TDs against three interceptions and is a front-runner for the Heisman Trophy.

Indiana (8-0) has put up eye-popping numbers, including scoring 50-plus points against three Big Ten opponents so far, and its 30-20 win at then-No. 3 Oregon carries a lot of weight. But the Hoosiers' nonconference schedule was weak, to put it mildly, and naysayers might argue Oregon's best win, in double overtime on the road, came against a spiraling Penn State team that fired its coach two weeks later and now has lost five in a row.

Ohio State and Indiana have one common opponent, Illinois. The Buckeyes beat the Illini 34-16 on the road, the Hoosiers clobbered them 63-10 at home.

As for Texas A&M and Alabama, AP poll voters prefer the unbeaten Aggies over the once-beaten Crimson Tide by a fairly wide margin.

The Aggies jumped into the AP top 10 after knocking off then-No. 8 Notre Dame 41-40 on the road. They ascended to No. 3 when they defeated LSU 49-25 on the road. It will be interesting to see how the win over the Tigers ages. LSU was a top-10 team until a month ago but now has three losses and has fired coach Brian Kelly. The Aggies also had tussles with Auburn and Arkansas, teams that are a combined 1-9 in SEC play and have both fired their coaches.

Alabama has beaten four ranked opponents during a seven-game win streak that has followed the notorious season-opening loss at Florida State. The Tide have done their part to remove the taint by following a road win against a top-five Georgia team with consecutive ranked wins over Vanderbilt, Missouri and Tennessee. Having to score two touchdowns in the last 2 1/2 minutes to beat a three-win South Carolina wasn't pretty, but the Tide would argue they deserve some grace after going through the gantlet they did before that game.

Big plans in Lubbock

This week's only top-10 matchup sends No. 8 BYU to No. 9 Texas Tech, and ESPN's “College GameDay” will be on hand Saturday to help celebrate one of the biggest games in Red Raiders history.

Tech coach Joey McGuire said he's hoping the program's most famous alumnus, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, will follow through on his plan to attend. McGuire said he would like Mahomes to bring Chiefs coach Andy Reid, too, and that both should be GameDay guest pickers. The Chiefs have an open date next weekend.

“It's really a dream as a player to be a part of that,” McGuire said of the popular pregame show.

At the same time, McGuire said his players need to keep their emotions in check.

“We talk about it all the time — it’s a big game because we’re in it,” McGuire said. “I think it’s really important to understand if you let all the hype and all of everything surrounding it, and not being the brand and playing the player-coaches oath and making it about football, then you’re going to miss a great opportunity on a huge stage.”

Texas Tech’s 8-1 overall record its best since 2008. BYU is 8-0 for a second straight year, one of just four undefeated teams along with Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M.

Huskies back in Top 25

Until Sunday, No. 24 Washington had not appeared in the AP poll since it finished the 2023 season No. 2 behind national champion Michigan.

It's been a steady build under Jedd Fisch, who was missing most of the pieces of the team that reached the CFP title game when he arrived last year from Arizona. The Huskies beat a top-10 Michigan at home on their way to a 6-6 regular season and then lost to Louisville in the Sun Bowl.

Quarterback Demond Williams, who as a freshman replaced fifth-year senior Will Rogers as starter for the last two games in 2024, has been a revelation. He leads the Big Ten in total offense with 319 yards per game.

Washington (6-2) could be playing for a 10-win regular season when Oregon visits Nov. 29.

Extra points

No. 12 Virginia's season keeps getting better. The Cavaliers, picked to finish 14th in the ACC, are the only unbeaten team in the conference after their win at California. At 8-1 overall, the Hoos are off to their best start since 1990 and 5-0 in ACC play for the first time. ... Indiana's 45-point margin of victory against Maryland tied for the third-largest road win in program history. Indiana went on the road and defeated Fort Knox by 51 points in 1942, Minnesota by 49 in 1945 and Purdue by 45 in 1988. ... Nebraska's loss to Southern California was its 29th straight against a ranked opponent. Among power conference teams, only Rutgers' has a longer active losing streak against the Top 25 at 42 in a row.

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