AP Top 25 Ballot: Miami Stays No. 1, Georgia No. 2 — and Florida Drops Off After Week 9
In the first AP ballot published after Week 9, Brett McMurphy keeps Miami on top at 8-0, lifts Georgia to No. 2 after the 27-8 win over Florida — and leaves the Gators off the ballot entirely.
The rankings picture after Week 9 comes into focus one ballot at a time, and the first published Associated Press ballot is rough reading for Florida. AP voter Brett McMurphy released his Week 9 ballot with Miami at No. 1 and Georgia at No. 2 — and Florida dropped from his ballot altogether, along with SMU and Oklahoma State, after the Gators' 27-8 loss to Georgia in Atlanta on Saturday.
Miami (8-0) held the top spot after surviving at North Carolina, 38-35, on Darian Mensah's 274 passing yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Malachi Toney, who caught seven passes for 75 yards. The Hurricanes are one of three unbeaten teams left standing entering November, alongside UCLA and Utah. Georgia (7-1) sits second after its defense forced four Florida turnovers in the rivalry game Jacksonville watched from Atlanta this year.
The rest of McMurphy's top ten: UCLA third after Ohio State's loss at USC, then Kentucky, Utah, Ohio State, Indiana, BYU, Notre Dame and Ole Miss. One ballot is not the official poll — the full AP Top 25 follows from all voters — but an individual ballot published this early is a reliable first read on where the consensus is heading, and for Florida it is heading down and out.
Next up for the team at the top: Miami's anticipated rematch at Notre Dame, the No. 9 team on this ballot. For Florida, the road back onto ballots like this one runs through the season's final month — starting with Oklahoma next Saturday.
