While college football was a bit subdued last week in terms of mind-boggling upsets, week 6 more than made up for this lapse with an abundance of shocking defeats at the hands of several unranked teams. Although there are numerous and notable free falls in the rankings this week, none was quite as extreme as the severe drop of the Michigan Wolverines from 7th to 17th in the AP Poll.
AP Top 25 College Football Rankings 2017: Week 7
Of course, with the noticeable drops and cuts in the rankings this week, there are several new faces to the AP Poll who have earned a well-deserved spot in the top 25. Rankings 21-25 are made up of four new teams, the most intriguing of which is Michigan States jump from unranked to 21st after winning a defensive grudge match against their arch-rival Michigan on the road. Two of the more shocking drops from the rankings were Florida (21st last week) and Louisville (17th last week), both of whom lost in relatively humiliating fashion to resilient conference rivals.
| Ranking | Team (1st place votes) |
| 1 | Alabama (43) |
| 2 | Clemson (18) |
| 3 | Penn St. |
| 4 | Georgia |
| 5 | Washington |
| 6 | TCU |
| 7 | Wisconsin |
| 8 | Washington St. |
| 9 | Ohio St. |
| 10 | Auburn |
| 11 | Miami |
| 12 | Oklahoma |
| 13 | USC |
| 14 | Oklahoma St. |
| 15 | Virginia Tech |
| 16 | Notre Dame |
| 17 | Michigan |
| 18 | South Florida |
| 19 | San Diego St. |
| 20 | NC State |
| 21 | Michigan St. |
| 22 | UCF |
| 23 | Stanford |
| 24 | Texas Tech |
| 25 | Navy |
While Alabama and Clemson continue to maintain their stranglehold on the top two positions, both Penn State and Georgia became newcomers to the top four after manhandling their respective opponents while getting some help after Oklahoma lost at home to Iowa State. TCU is also on the rise in the rankings, jumping up two spots to sixth after winning a thriller against West Virginia at home.
Dropped from rankings: Louisville 17, Utah 20, Florida 21, West Virginia 23
Those receiving votes that did not make the poll: Georgia Tech 39, West Virginia 26, Louisville 25, Utah 17, LSU 9, Florida 9, Kentucky 6, Iowa State 5, Texas A&M 4, Memphis 2
