TCU Sneaks Into Coaches Poll, Remains Out of AP

The Big 12 is a gigantic dumpster fire, and thus, beating one of the worst teams in the conference doesn’t give you much of a bump. Accordingly, the Frogs find themselves on the outside looking in of this week’s AP Poll, though they did rise to no. 21 in the Coaches’ Poll.

There was quite a bit of movement this week, as all three top-ranked teams faced ranked opponents on the road, resulting in some separation. Louisville may have been the most impressive as they absolutely annihilated Florida State, while Alabama mounted a furious comeback against Ole Miss and hung on late to remain in first and Ohio State’s destruction of the Sooners in Norman vaulted them to second.

Speaking of the Sooners, the now 1-2 team fell all the way to 25th, while fellow conference mate Texas plummeted 21st after their road loss to unranked Cal. Baylor continues a slow climb up, rising to 16th having gone 3-0 through the JV portion of their schedule. They are currently the highest ranked team from the conference.

TCU is just a scant seven points behind Oklahoma, rising to no. 26 overall, and Oklahoma State is also in the ‘receiving votes’ category, coming in 32nd. The Bears and Cowboys will face off in Waco this weekend in an important early-season Big 12 showdown. The Big 12 team with the biggest reason to be made? Unranked, un-voted, and unloved West Virginia, who has a rare Power Five skin on the wall and is undefeated through two games.

While TCU has an argument to be in the top 25 overall at 2-1 with only a double overtime loss to #17 Arkansas as a blemish on their resume, maybe this will help build a chip on their shoulders and produce some of the emotion that Coach Gary Patterson has said has been missing all season. The Big 12 Championship is clearly out there for the taking, if anyone wants it, and only a Friday night date with a banged-up SMU stands in the way of their pursuit of just that.

Complete AP Top 25:

1. Alabama (50 first-place votes)

2. Ohio State (4)

3. Louisville (6)

4. Michigan (1)

5. Clemson

6. Houston

7. Stanford

8. Michigan State

9. Washington

10. Texas A&M

11. Wisconsin

12. Georgia

13. Florida State

14. Tennessee

15. Miami

16. Baylor

17. Arkansas

18. LSU

19. Florida

20. Nebraska

21. Texas

22. San Diego State

23. Ole Miss

24. Utah

25. Oklahoma

Others receiving votes: TCU 132, UCLA 74, North Dakota St. 74, Boise St. 69, Iowa 47, California 44, Oklahoma St. 42, Notre Dame 32, Oregon 23, North Carolina 17, Georgia Tech 17, Cent. Michigan 16, South Florida 7, W. Michigan 6, Toledo 6, Maryland 3, Arizona St. 3, Virginia Tech 1.

Complete Coaches’ Poll:

1. Alabama (59 first place votes)

2. Ohio State (3)

3. Clemson (1)

4. Louisville

5. Michigan

6. Stanford

7. Houston

8. Michigan State

9. Washington

10. Wisconsin

11. Georgia

12. Tennessee

13. Texas A&M

14. Florida State

15. Baylor

16. Florida

17. LSU

18. Arkansas

19. Miami

20. Nebraska

21. TCU

22. Ole Miss

23. Utah

24. Texas

25. Iowa

Others Receiving Votes: Oklahoma 106; North Carolina 95; San Diego State 87; UCLA 81; Boise State 62; Oregon 50; Oklahoma State 46; Arizona State 34; South Florida 32; Georgia Tech 28; Notre Dame 23; West Virginia 19; Western Michigan 16; Minnesota 11; Navy 10; California 6; Central Michigan 6; Toledo 6; Maryland 4; Memphis 4; Kansas State 4; Army 2; Auburn 2; Western Kentucky 2.