South Florida has jumped to No. 19 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 Poll and in the picture to reach the College Football Playoff – at least hypothetically.
USF (5-1, 2-0), which routed previously winless North Texas, 63-36, on Friday reclaimed the non-power conference position from idle American Conference rival Memphis (6-0. 2-0), which dropped to No. 22.
That five-spot jump would give USF the automatic bid for the highest-ranked non-power team in a “mock” bracket determined by AP. The five highest-ranked conference champions earn bids in the 12-team CFP field.
Of course, the actual bracket is determined by the CFP committee, which doesn’t release the first of its six rankings until Nov. 4. However, based on the poll of AP media members, USF would be 12th seed and face No. 5 Mississippi in the first round.
ALSO READ: USF Bulls overcome sloppy start, blow out North Texas 63-36 in conference showdown
USF also debuted at No. 23 in the weekly coaches’ poll.
“Job not done, job not close to being done,” Bulls linebacker Mac Harris said. “It hasn't been this way around here in a long time, so it would be very easy to, you know, get sucked up into all the media and the rankings and the stuff like that.
“Like, we've got to go out and practice hard every day, we've got to make sure that our lockers are clean every day, we've got to make sure we're staying connected as a team, make sure the accountability is great each and every day. Like, that's what I'm thinking about."
The Bulls’ next two games should add a little clarity to their real CFP chances.
This Saturday at 7:30 p.m., they host Florida Atlantic (3-3, 2-1), which is coming off a 53-33 victory over Alabama-Birmingham. On Oct. 25, USF travels to Memphis in an conference showdown. Navy (6-0, 2-0) and Tulane (5-1, 2-0) are also undefeated in American play.
“The ranking is great from the outside looking in, but to stay there, we've got to continue to stay humble and do what we we've been doing," Harris said.
Ohio State retained the No. 1 spot in the AP poll, followed by Miami at No. 2. Indiana surged four places to No. 3 after defeating Oregon on the road.
Texas A&M moved up to No. 4 after dispatching Florida, bumping Mississippi out of the top four despite the Rebels’ narrow win over Washington State.
Georgia, Alabama, Texas Tech and LSU rounded out AP’s top eight.
ALSO READ: USF returns to AP college football poll at No. 24. Miami climbs to No. 2
Florida State, which has struggled to regain momentum in the Atlantic Coast Conference, dropped out of the Top 25 after losing to Pittsburgh.
Ohio State, Miami, Indiana and Texas A&M would hold the top four seeds in AP’s 12-team mock poll. In the hypothetical matchups, the USF-Ole Miss winning would advance to play Texas A&M in the second round.
Based on the AP Top 25, the CFP would open like this:
- No. 9 seed Georgia at No. 8 Oregon. Winner vs. No. 1 Ohio State.
- No. 12 seed USF at No. 5 Mississippi. Winner vs. No. 4 Texas A&M.
- No. 10 seed LSU at No. 7 seed Texas Tech. Winner vs. No. 2 Miami.
- No. 11 seed Tennessee at No. 6 Alabama. Winner vs. No. 3 Indiana.
The final CFP poll on Dec. 7 will determine the actual 12-team field.
The AP poll is determined by a national panel of 62 sportswriters and broadcasters who cover college football. Each voter ranks teams from 1 through 25, and points are assigned in reverse order — 25 points for a first-place vote, one point for a 25th-place vote. The total points determine each team’s weekly ranking.
USF received 398 point in the voting.
AP Top 25
1. Ohio St. (50), 6-0
2. Miami (13), 5-0
3. Indiana (3), 6-0
4. Texas A&M, 6-0
5. Mississippi, 6-0
6. Alabama, 5-1
7. Texas Tech, 6-0
8. Oregon, 5-1
9. Georgia, 5-1
10. LSU, 5-1
11. Tennessee, 5-1
12. Georgia Tech, 6-0
13. Notre Dame, 4-2
14. Oklahoma, 5-1
15. BYU, 6-0
16. Missouri, 5-1
17. Vanderbilt, 5-1
18. Virginia, 5-1
19. USF, 5-1
20. Southern Cal, 5-1
21. Texas, 4-2
22. Memphis, 6-0
23. Utah, 5-1
24. Cincinnati, 5-1
25. Nebraska, 5-1
First-place votes in parentheses
Others receiving votes: Illinois 113, Michigan 73, Washington 36, UNLV 30, Navy 11, Mississippi St. 8, Tulane 2, San Diego State 2.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
