Pool Poll: Not Much Changes in Leadup to Rivalry Week

 

Notre Dame dropped 70 on Syracuse!

    The Top 10 in this week's Pool Poll stayed mostly the same, although Ohio State and Indiana both leap frogged Texas A&M after the Aggies played a 1-10 FCS squad to vastly lower their Opponent Win Average. Oregon and Oklahoma secured big wins over other Top 25 teams in USC and Missouri respectively, and three other Top 25 teams lost, dropping two of them out of the Top 25. Georgia Tech was knocked around by Pitt, while Western Kentucky lost a respectable contest to LSU, and Houston was bumped off by TCU. That left the Top 25 looking like this:

The Buckeyes bumped up to the top spot after drubbing Rutgers.

1. Ohio State (11-0, 77.5 WA, 0 LA) Up Next: Michigan (9-2, 14)

2. Indiana (11-0, 88.7, 0) Up Next: Purdue (2-9, 131)

3. Texas A&M (11-0, 93.3, 0) Up Next: Texas (8-3, 27)

4. Ole Miss (10-1, 76.1, 20) Up Next: Mississippi State (5-6, 87)

5. Georgia (10-1, 76.4, 56) Up Next: Georgia Tech (9-2, 21)

6. BYU (10-1, 78.1, 10) Up Next: UCF (5-6, 92)

7. Oregon (10-1, 78.2, 9) Up Next: Washington (8-3, 29)

8. Texas Tech (10-1, 90.3, 38) Up Next: West Virginia (4-7, 99)

9. North Texas (10-1, 92.3, 29) Up Next: Temple (5-6, 94)

James Madison will be playing in the Sun Belt Championship.

10. James Madison (10-1, 105.9, 21) Up Next: Coastal Carolina (6-5, 73)

11. Oklahoma (9-2, 55.1, 31.5) Up Next: LSU (7-4, 45)

12. Alabama (9-2, 62.2, 52.5) Up Next: Auburn (5-6, 80)

13. Notre Dame (9-2, 63.1, 12) Up Next: Stanford (4-7, 100)

14. Michigan (9-2, 76.6, 33.5) Up Next: Ohio State (11-0, 1)

15. Tulane (9-2, 76.6, 49.5) Up Next: Charlotte (1-10, 133)

16. Utah (9-2, 77.9, 23) Up Next: Kansas (5-6, 88)

17. Vanderbilt (9-2, 79, 31) Up Next: Tennessee (8-3, 30)

18. Virginia (9-2, 79.4, 57.5) Up Next: Virginia Tech (3-8, 117)

19. Miami (9-2, 88.9, 43) Up Next: Pitt (8-3, 31)

The Aztecs are trying to get some respect and sneak into the CFP.

20. San Diego State (9-2, 92.9, 56) Up Next: New Mexico (8-3, 40)

21. Georgia Tech (9-2, 97, 62) Up Next: Georgia (10-1, 5)

22. UNLV (9-2, 102.6, 53) Up Next: Nevada (3-8, 119)

23. Navy (8-2, 101.9, 22) Up Next: Memphis (8-3, 33)

24. UConn (9-3, 104.3, 81.3) Up Next: Bowl Game

25. USC (8-3, 53.3, 32.3) Up Next: UCLA (3-8, 112)

Dropped Out: WKU and Houston

Watch List: Arizona State, Texas, USF, Washington, Tennessee, Pitt, SMU, Memphis, WKU, Wake Forest, Houston, Kennesaw State, Arizona, Old Dominion, and New Mexico

Now, on top of rivalry week, this weekend will feature all but one conference championship spot up for grabs. James Madison is the only team to secure a spot in their conference championship, as they will await the winner of Troy and Southern Miss to decide the Sun Belt. The Dukes are climbing up the ranks and have the CFP on their minds if they can win their final two games. Here's a look at all the other scenarios for this weekend.

SEC

Georgia and Ole Miss are two of the three one loss SEC teams trying to make the championship.

Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, and Ole Miss all enter this week with a chance to claim the SEC crown, as well as improve their position in the CFP. Texas A&M sits in the best position of win and they're in, but Arch Manning and the Longhorns (8-3) are geared up for a Texas sized showdown. Alabama needs to win over Auburn (5-6) in the Iron Bowl, Georgia needs to win some Good Old Fashion Clean Hate with Georgia Tech (9-2), and Ole Miss needs to win the Egg Bowl over Mississippi State (5-6). If any team not named Texas A&M loses, they are out, unless all three teams lose together, though that seems unlikely. The most likely scenario is a three-way tie that will be decided by the conference records of their SEC opponents that they played. That benefits the Crimson Tide, who faced the toughest SEC schedule of the four teams remaining.

Big Ten

The Game will decide who plays in the Big Ten Championship.

Four teams enter with a chance to play in the Big Ten Championship, although the path for two of the teams is much harder. Indiana currently sits with the best chance to move on. The Hoosiers take on Purdue (2-9) for the Old Oaken Bucket and own a head-to-head win over Oregon if the Ducks are the lone team tied with them. The Ducks need Ohio State to lose and to win against Washington (8-3). Of course, the Buckeyes would rather drop dead than lose five straight to the Team Up North aka THE Michigan Wolverines (9-2). The Maize and Blue need the most help as they must defeat TOSU AND Oregon has to lose to Washington

 Big 12

Texas Tech and BYU are hoping for a rematch in the Big 12 Championship.

Texas Tech and BYU control their destiny as a win puts them in the Big 12 Championship. The Red Raiders have West Virginia (4-7) in their way while the Cougars await UCF (5-6). However, if either team loses, they open the door for Arizona State and Utah. The Sun Devils need a win over Arizona (8-3) and a Texas Tech loss to get in. The Utes need to beat Kansas (5-6) and then get BYU and ASU to win with Texas Tech losing in order to beat ASU in the tiebreaker department.

ACC

The Panthers threw a wrench in the ACC plans for a clear-cut championship.

It's clear that no one actually wants to win the ACC. Georgia Tech blew its chance to control its own destiny by losing their final ACC contest to Pitt. That put the Yellow Jackets at two losses in the ACC, but they are joined by Duke and Miami. Those three teams are all eliminated if Virginia, SMU, and Pitt all take care of business. Pitt and Miami go head-to-head, while Duke has a tough task in Wake Forest (8-3). SMU takes on Cal (6-5), while Virginia gets its rival Virginia Tech (3-8) at a low point. The nightmare scenario that needs a lot of losses would be for Duke to make the ACC Championship and win with 5 losses. That could take torpedo the chance for any other ACC team to make the CFP, so the boys in Charlotte might be decked out in their finest black and gold on Saturday. 

Virginia is in with a win or a Pitt loss. Pitt needs to win and either SMU or Virginia to lose. SMU is in with a win or if they finish in a three-way tie with UVA and Pitt.

AAC

The Mean Green and Midshipmen are both vying for a shot at the AAC Championship.

All the clamoring is about Tulane who will get in with a win over Charlotte (1-10) and currently ranks as the highest non-Power 5 team in the CFP rankings. However, North Texas has just one loss on the season to USF and have a shot at the title with a win over Temple (5-6). If the Mean Green or Green Wave stumble, the door is left open for Navy. Also, in some bizzarro universe, East Carolina's game against Florida Atlantic (4-7) comes into play if all three teams lose. That could create a tiebreaker scenario that hurts Tulane and leaves them out of the AAC Championship.

MAC

Western and Central could renew their rivalry in the MAC Championship.

The MAC would never be an easy situation to navigate, but there's at least one team that has the easiest path. If Western Michigan (7-4) can avoid an upset at the hands of their much cooler, yet less respected directional foe, Eastern Michigan (4-7) they will be headed to Detroit. After that is where it gets crazy. Central Michigan (7-4) and Toledo (7-4) will eliminate one team from contention when they go head-to-head. Ohio (7-4) takes on Buffalo (5-6) and they hold the tie breaker with Miami (6-50, who plays Ball State (4-7).  It'll all come down to conference winning percentage, so anyone with UMass on their schedule could be hurting. The only way to know who's in is to let MACtion play out and let the dust settle.

CUSA

Kennesaw State has had one of the best turn arounds in 2025.

One of the less messy scenarios is the CUSA Championship. Western Kentucky (8-3) and Jacksonville State (7-4) are facing off, and the winner of that contest punches its ticket to the CUSA Championship. Kennesaw State (8-3) will make the game with a victory over Liberty (4-7), but a loss will eliminate them if the Gamecocks lose as they won the head-to-head with the Owls earlier in the season.

Mountain West

UNLV booted Hawaii from a shot at the Mountain West Championship.

The Mountain West has seen some weird things play out to leave four teams fighting for the two spots in the championship game. UNLV (9-2) plays for the Fremont Canon against Nevada (3-8), but also a shot at the title, but they need some help. First, they need San Diego State (9-2) to knock off New Mexico (8-3) and Utah State (5-6) to upset Boise State (7-4). The Aztecs are win and they are in regardless of all the other results. However, if the Lobos stun the Aztecs, and the Broncos knock off the Aggies, that will create a four-way tie for first place in the Mountain West and that brings it down to everyone's least favorite scenario, computers. Whatever the algorithm is for the conference, the top two teams the computer spits out will head to championship.