NCAA College Football Top 25 Power Rankings - Week 9 (2023)

Do you ever look at the AP Poll or some other poll and wonder which college football team they were watching to have them ranked where they do? Me too. We have a feature here at RotoBaller this year in which we will have a rundown of the NCAA college football power rankings every week. This is just like a top-25 poll anywhere else except I probably watch more football than most of them. That's why my rankings are a little different.

This is also going to be far different than traditional polls because I will only look at what has been done on the field so far, not what is expected of a specific team. The rankings are starting to stabilize a little now that we are in conference play. They still differ from the "experts" though since I don't blindly anoint Georgia as the number-one team.

The number of unbeaten teams is now in single digits (nine). Two of those are James Madison and Liberty. We're going to have a lot of teams with losses ranked now.

(25) Oklahoma State (NR)

Last week: W 48-34 at West Virginia

Yes, I know that they lost to South Alabama. It's still better than losing to Virginia at home. And let's face it...Ollie Gordon is must-see TV at this point.

(24) Liberty (8-0) ⇑1

Last week: W 42-29 at Western Kentucky

Liberty has some solid wins, but nothing to really hang their hats on. Not like the win over BYU last year. They won't get one either. Liberty is going to be favored against every team they face from here on out.

(23) James Madison (7-0) ⇔

Last week: W 20-9 at Marshall

I hope James Madison goes undefeated and forces the NCAA to actually do something for once instead of sitting around and waiting for things to take care of themselves. I swear they are as incompetent as the federal government.

(22) Tulane (6-1) ⇔

Last week: W 35-28 vs. North Texas

Tulane let the Mean Green back into this game and nearly lost because of it.

(21) Iowa (6-2) ⇔

Last week: L 10*-12 vs. Minnesota

I'm not going to penalize Iowa for the officials stealing the game from them. That's the worst call I've seen since the Oregon/Oklahoma game in 2006...

(20) Louisville (6-1) (NR)

Last week: Bye

Louisville gets ranked after a bye. It was carnage at the bottom of my rankings this week, but honestly, the Cardinals are only here because they beat Notre Dame. That's it.

(19) Air Force (7-0) ⇑5

Last week: W 17-6 at Navy

Not only that, but the Falcons are 7-0 for the first time since 1997. None of the players on the team were even alive at that time.

(18) Duke (5-2) ⇑1

Last week: L 20-38 at (3) Florida State

I'm not going to dock Duke for losing in Tallahassee with a one-legged quarterback. They Blue Devils were hanging around until Riley Leonard was forced to leave the game.

(17) USC (6-2) ⇓2

Last week: L 32-34 vs. (13) Utah

Fortunately for the Trojans, they are about done with teams that can push them around this season. We'll see if Lincoln has lost the locker room or not.

(16) Notre Dame (6-2) ⇑2

Last week: Bye

The embarrassment of the Trojans keeps the Irish up here. Honestly, they looked better on a bye week than Carolina looked on the field.

(15) Missouri (7-1) ⇑2

Last week: W 34-12 vs. South Carolina

A huge road win in Lexington has the Tigers on a collision course with a Georgia team that they probably should have beaten in 2022. South Carolina wasn't even a speed bump.

(14) LSU (6-2) ⇑2

Last week: W 62-0 vs. Army

Look...I know that Army isn't a good team, but do you realize how tough it is to beat an option team by this many points? This offense is special.

(13) Mississippi (6-1) ⇑1

Last week: W 28-21 at Auburn

Look, Georgia struggled at Auburn too. It does happen more often than not. Auburn's defense is really good. If they only had an offense (you have to sing it in tune with "If I Only Had A Brain" to get the full effect).

(12) Oregon State (6-1) ⇓1

Last week: Bye

Oregon State is kind of hanging around back in the pack. They already toppled Utah. Which other Pac-12 giant can they beat? I'm betting they get at least one more. D.J. Uiagalelei is the perfect fit for this team.

(11) Oregon (6-1) ⇓1

Last week: W 38-24 vs. Washington State

Oregon didn't really do anything to move down. It was more Utah and Bama doing things to move up. If Oregon beats Utah, the Ducks will be back up near the top in no time.

(10) Alabama (7-1) ⇑2

Last week: W 34-20 vs. (20) Tennessee

See, Alabama fans? The sky wasn't falling. The sky still isn't falling. In fact, your star is Jalen Milroe and he's still on the rise. He led this team back after Tennessee came out swinging.

(9) Utah (6-1) ⇑4

Last week: W 34-32 at (16) USC

No one else in front of them had a road win over a ranked team. The Cameron Rising specter is no longer hanging over the team. This is Bryson Barnes's team. Let's see what he can do with it. It's not necessarily the keys to a Corvette. It's more like the keys to a beat-up old farm truck that has 400,000 miles on it. It may not look pretty, but it's tough enough to survive anything.

(8) Texas (6-1) ⇑1

Last week: W 31-24 at Houston

You all know my thoughts on the end of that Houston game. Since we don't know what might have been, Texas gets the win. It was a spirited battle by Houston and I rivalry that I wish would come back. The Big 12(14) should have added Houston years ago...

(7) Penn State (6-1) ⇓2

Last week: L 12-20 at (2) Ohio State

The best loss now belongs to Penn State and it's not really close.

(6) Michigan (4-0) ⇑2

Last week: W 49-0 at Michigan State

Wake me up when Michigan plays somebody. We're halfway through the season and their best win is probably against a down Minnesota team. That said, slamming the door early on a rival on the road isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. They stay above Penn State, but just barely.

(5) Georgia (7-0) ⇑1

Last week: Bye

When is a win a loss? When you lose Brock Bowers for at least a month...

(4) Oklahoma (7-0) ⇔

Last week: W 31-29 vs. Central  Florida

This was by far the best game UCF has played all season. Is that a knock on Oklahoma or a W for the Knights? I guess we can call it a bit of both. John Rhys Plumlee is finally back to full strength and they held the Big 12 (14)'s best running team to 149 yards on the ground. That's a win. Javon Baker running wild in the secondary is a big concern though.

(3) Florida State (7-0) ⇔

Last week: W 38-20 vs. (19) Duke

I'm not moving the Noles up because they didn't take control of this game until Riley Leonard went off the field. Leonard wasn't anywhere near 100% to begin with and Duke was hanging around the whole time.

(2) Washington (7-0) ⇓1

Last week: W 15-7 vs. Arizona State

Oklahoma also struggled, so Washington was able to hold off the other team with a big win. Florida State's wins are losing luster by the second.

(1) Ohio State (7-0) ⇑1

Last week: W 20-12 vs. (5) Penn State

The Buckeyes have a win in South Bend and a win against a good Penn State team. The strongest team Michigan has played is Minnesota. There really is no argument.

Others Receiving Votes

• UCLA
• North Carolina
• Tennessee
• Kentucky
• Florida

I know some of you are going to be mad about the North Carolina snub. I get it. However, a team has not lost at home to a team that is 1-5 or worse in over 60 years. Let that sink in and come back to me.

Stay tuned for the college football rankings here at RotoBaller throughout the entire season!

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