With Wake Forest securing its place as the top team in the ACC with a 45-42 win over North Carolina State to lock up the ACC Atlantic division, Pitt used an inter-divisional win of its own to continue to rise back up the AP and USA TODAY Coaches Polls.
Coming off a 30-23 overtime win over North Carolina in the rain at Heinz Field Thursday night, Pitt rose five spots to No. 20 in the AP Poll and three spots to No. 19 in the Coaches Poll Sunday.
Despite Georgia (1,550 points, 62 first-place votes) allowing an opposing team to its best start of the season, the Bulldogs still cruised to a 41-17 win over Tennessee Saturday afternoon to maintain its stranglehold on the top spot in the AP Poll.
Alabama (1,449 points) jumped Cincinnati (1,420 points) after a 59-3 win over New Mexico State to rise to No. 2 in the poll while Cincy’s 45-28 win kept the fall to just one spot. Oklahoma’s (870 points) 27-14 loss to Baylor (882 points) sent the Sooners toppling down the standings to No. 12 while Oregon (1,353 points) and Ohio State (1,341 points) rose to No. 4 and 5, respectively, off of wins of their own.
Notre Dame (1,175 points), Michigan State (1,161 points), Michigan (1,134 points), Oklahoma State (1,106 points) and Ole Miss (943 points) each rose at least one spot on the heels of wins of their own to round out the Top 10.
Wake Forest’s (851 points) win over then-No. 21 North Carolina State wasn’t enough to move the Demon Deacons off of the No. 13 spot in the poll, but a win did secure the division title. So, Wake Forest remains the top-ranked team in the ACC.
Pitt (358 points) moved back into the Top 20, at No. 20, with the crucial win over UNC and bypassed North Carolina State (95 points) for the title of “second-highest ranked ACC squad.” The Wolfpack fell four spots to No. 25 with the loss to Wake Forest.
The ACC didn’t feature another team in the poll nor the “Others receiving votes” category.
The Coaches Poll isn’t much different from the AP Poll, as far as the Top 10 goes, besides the flip-flop of Ohio State (1,363 points) and Oregon (1,320 points) at No. 4 and 5, and Michigan (1,153 points) and Michigan State (1,139 points) at No. 7 and 8, respectively.
Georgia (1,550 points and 62 first-place votes) remains locked in as the top-ranked team in the nation, while Alabama (1,464 points), Cincinnati (1,401 points), Ohio State and Oregon round out the Top 5.
Notre Dame (1,181 points), Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma State (1,102 points and Ole Miss (948 points) complete a very similar Top 10 — with the exception of the much-debated Ohio State-Oregon and Michigan-Michigan State seedings.
Which is another example of when head-to-head results with the same record are and aren’t prioritized when looking at the big picture in seeding. In different situations, with Oregon clinging to a top spot because of a head-to-head win over OSU, and Michigan bypassing Michigan State despite a head-to-head loss a couple of weeks ago.
Wake Forest (847 points) rose one spot after the NC State win, and Pitt’s (446 points) three-spot jump leaves both teams ranked inside the Top 20. NC State (138 points) fell five spots to No. 24 after the aforementioned loss.
Louisville (five points) and Clemson (four points) received the 10th and 13th most points among teams in the “Others Receiving Votes” category.
