A new No. 1 just the tip of the iceberg in this week’s AP Top 25

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Another week, another No. 1.

For the fourth time this season, there’s a new No. 1.

First, it was Georgia. Then it was Texas. Then it was Alabama. Then back to Texas. And now, the Oregon Ducks are No. 1 after they throttled Purdue and Texas lost to Georgia.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg with this week’s rankings shift.

There are more than 60 voters on the AP Top 25 panel. There’s at least one voter from each state that has an FBS team and a handful of national folks. For the state of Nebraska, there’s one voter.

Each week I will break down my ballot compared with the actual Top 25 and write on some pressing topics.

Without further ado, here is my ballot ahead of Week 9:

1. Oregon
2. Georgia
3. Penn State
4. Ohio State
5. Texas
6. Miami
7. Indiana
8. LSU
9. BYU
10. Tennessee
11. Iowa State
12. Clemson
13. Notre Dame
14. Boise State
15. Texas A&M
16. Kansas State
17. Illinois
18. Mississippi
19. SMU
20. Alabama
21. Missouri
22. Pittsburgh
23. Army
24. Navy
25. Washington State

And here is the actual AP Top 25 for Week 9:

1. Oregon
2. Georgia
3. Penn State
4. Ohio State
5. Texas
6. Miami
7. Tennessee
8. LSU
9. Clemson
10. Iowa State
11. BYU
12. Notre Dame
13. Indiana
14. Texas A&M
15. Alabama
16. Kansas State
17. Boise State
18. Mississippi
19. Pittsburgh
20. Illinois
21. Missouri
22. SMU
23. Army
24. Navy
25. Vanderbilt

The Big Ten is going to have one unhappy camper at the end of this regular season, as three teams from the league are currently ranked in the Top 4. Someone’s going to miss out on the championship game, and therefore suffer in the CFP rankings. But that’s a problem for another day.

This weekend’s slate of games just shows once again, that college football is chaos right now. Can’t wait to see what we’re in store for next week.

Oregon: The new No. 1 rises after blanking Purdue, 35-0.

Georgia: Making light work of Texas, the old No. 1, has Georgia rise three spots to No. 2.

Tennessee: A win over Alabama sends the Vols up four spots to No. 7.

Indiana: The Hoosiers’ dismantling of Nebraska has IU at No. 13.

Vanderbilt: Hello, Commodores. Welcome. Vandy is ranked for the first time since 2013.

Texas: Losing by 15 at home is never great, but Texas only dropped four spots after losing to Georgia.

Alabama: The Crimson Tide dropped eight spots to No. 15 after losing to Tennessee.

Michigan: After only scoring 7 points against Illinois, Michigan tumbled out of the rankings.

There were a few quirks on my ballot this week.

Indiana: I had Indiana at No. 7. Indiana came in at No. 13. Getting to see the Hoosiers up close this week? You couldn’t ignore how well-oiled they are. They’re the real deal and, as it stands, are an outside shot at making the playoff. I wasn’t the person who ranked them the highest, but I did trend on the higher side.

Alabama: I had Alabama at No. 20. Alabama came in at No. 15. The Crimson Tide is 5-2 right now with two losses in league play against Vanderbilt and Tennessee, but a win over Georgia. I’m just not sold on them right now. Another loss, perhaps this week against Missouri, and they’re out. I wasn’t the person who ranked them the lowest, but I was on the lower side.

Washington State: I had the Cougars at No. 25 instead of Vanderbilt. Yes, I know Vanderbilt beat Alabama, but the Commodores also have a loss to Georgia State. Quite the enigma. To me, Wazzu deserved the ranking in my ballot. Its only loss is to a darn tough and darn talented Boise State team. It has Power 4 wins over Texas Tech and Washington.

Get ready for what should be yet another great week of college football. Here are the games I have circled.

RV Syracuse (5-1, 2-1) at No. 19 Pittsburgh (6-0, 2-0): This one will help piece together the wild race in the ACC. Will Syracuse end Pitt’s unbeaten streak? Or will Pitt roll the Orange. Thursday, 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.

No. 17 Boise State (5-1, 2-0) at RV UNLV (6-1, 2-0): How does Boise State look after a week off? With Ashton Jeanty’s sights set on the Heisman, how many yards does he go for this week? Friday at 9:30 p.m. CT on CBS Sports.

No. 12 Notre Dame (6-1) at No. 24 Navy (6-0): The best team Navy has had in years squares up with Notre Dame in MetLife Stadium. Should be interesting. Can Navy pull off the win? They haven’t beaten the Irish since 2017. Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on ABC.

No. 20 Illinois (6-1, 3-1) at No. 1 Oregon (7-0, 4-0): Oregon rolled Purdue last week, but Illinois will be a much tougher test than that. How does Illinois fare against the nation’s No. 1 team? 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.

No. 21 Missouri (6-1, 2-1) at No. 15 Alabama (5-2, 2-2): Alabama may still be ranked in the top 15, but another loss would put that fanbase in shambles, and would put the end to Alabama’s playoff quest. 3:30 p.m. on ABC.

No. 8 LSU (6-1, 3-0) at No. 14 Texas A&M (6-1, 4-0): No unbeaten SEC teams remain. And these two are the only remaining undefeateds in conference play. Their losses — LSU’s to USC and A&M’s to Notre Dame — feel like a million years ago. But someone will get loss No. 2 this weekend. 6:30 p.m. on ABC.