By: PETE BETZ
Week 10 of the season is upon us, and the post-season picture is becoming clearer. Two of the nation’s unbeaten teams fell back to Earth with losses by Kansas State and Clemson.
The Top 10 saw little change aside from the two Palmetto State teams – Clemson dropped out after their loss to the Ramblin’ Wreck and South Carolina jumped from No. 18 all the way to No. 9. Alabama remains at No. 1, but only barely, with a one-point lead over LSU.
We’ve gathered a handful of our esteemed Gator Country members and asked them to pick their own Top 25, so we can put together our very own Top 25 poll! This week, we had 13 participants who took the time to put together a ballot for us.
Stanford and Boise State remained in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots this week, but the Cardinal needed a desperate three-overtime victory to hold on to the spot. Oklahoma leap-frogged in-state rival No. 6 Oklahoma State to round out the Top 5.
Oregon stays put at No. 7, and Arkansas gained a spot at No. 8. The Gamecocks make a re-entry into the elite level of the standings with a close 14-3 victory against Tennessee. They are followed by Virginia Tech, who also had to grind out a surprisingly tough win against Duke, 14-10.
Georgia moved up to the No. 17 spot after a narrow victory against rival Florida, and Auburn makes yet another foray into the Top 25, throttling Mississippi to gain the No. 24 spot. Florida received one first-place vote by a dedicated fan, and clings onto the rankings at No. 25, which gives the SEC seven teams in this week’s GC Top 25.
Here is the complete Gator Country Top 25 for Week 9:
| Gator Country’s Top 25 – Week 10 | ||||
| RK | Team (1st place votes) | PTS | REC | PR |
| 1 | Alabama Crimson Tide (3) | 314 | 8-0 | 1 |
| 2 | LSU Tigers (9) | 313 | 8-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Stanford Cardinal | 276 | 8-0 | 3 |
| 4 | Boise State Broncos | 258 | 7-0 | 4 |
| 5 | Oklahoma Sooners | 257 | 7-1 | 8 |
| 6 | Oklahoma State Cowboys | 247 | 8-0 | 5 |
| 7 | Oregon Ducks | 245 | 7-1 | 7 |
| 8 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 213 | 7-1 | 9 |
| 9 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 192 | 7-1 | 18 |
| 10 | Virginia Tech Hokies | 187 | 8-1 | 12 |
| 11 | Clemson Tigers | 185 | 8-1 | 6 |
| 12 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | 183 | 7-1 | 13 |
| 13 | Michigan Wolverines | 144 | 7-1 | 17 |
| 14 | Penn State Nittany Lions | 132 | 8-1 | 16 |
| 14 | Houston Cougars | 132 | 8-0 | 19 |
| 16 | Michigan State Spartans | 126 | 6-2 | 10 |
| 17 | Georgia Bulldogs | 110 | 6-2 | 20 |
| 18 | Kansas State Wildcats | 105 | 7-1 | 14 |
| 19 | Wisconsin Badgers | 103 | 6-2 | 11 |
| 20 | Arizona State Sun Devils | 71 | 6-2 | 22 |
| 21 | Texas Longhorns | 69 | 5-2 | 22 |
| 22 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 56 | 6-2 | 21 |
| 23 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | 52 | 7-2 | NR |
| 24 | Auburn Tigers | 30 | 6-3 | NR |
| 25 | Florida Gators (1) | 25 | 4-4 | NR |
| Also receiving votes: Iowa (22), Miami (21), USC (19), Cincinnati (19), Southern Miss (17), Ohio State (15), TCU (14), Texas A&M (14), Pittsburgh (12), Missouri (10), Notre Dame (9), Florida State (8), Oregon State (8), North Carolina (7), Illinois (4), Toledo (4), Washington State (4), SMU (2), Washington (2), Arkansas State (2), Baylor (1), Vanderbilt (1) | ||||
| Dropped from rankings: Texas A&M, USC, Texas Tech | ||||