Miami receives promising AP Poll boost and could expect the same in CFP rankings

The top three teams stayed the same but the rest of the Associated Press Top 25 shuffled around after a chaotic SEC weekend that pushed Oklahoma back into the center of the playoff conversation and nudged Miami further up the rankings.

For the fifth straight week, Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M held the top three spots. The Buckeyes received 57 of 66 first-place votes after a comfortable win at UCLA to reach 10-0, with unbeaten Indiana (11-0) collecting eight and Texas A&M (10-0) hanging on to one following a record 27-point comeback against South Carolina.

The shakeup started right behind them. Georgia climbed one place to No. 4 after a 35-10 home rout of then-No. 10 Texas. It is the Bulldogs' sixth straight victory and second over a top-10 opponent this season. Ole Miss, which beat Florida, moved back into the top five at No. 5 after spending three weeks there earlier in the year.

Oklahoma's 23-21 upset of former No. 4 Alabama sent the Sooners up three spots to No. 8 and dropped the Crimson Tide six places to No. 10. It was Oklahoma's second straight SEC road win and ended Alabama's eight-game winning streak. Notre Dame stayed at No. 9 after a comfortable road win at Pittsburgh. BYU is No. 11, followed by Vanderbilt and Utah.

The ACC picture looks different than it did a month ago. Miami moved up two spots to No. 14 after an easy win over NC State and sits ahead of Georgia Tech, which slipped one place to No. 15 after needing a late field goal to beat one-win Boston College. AP voters essentially mirrored the CFP selection committee's view, making the Hurricanes the ACC's top-ranked team heading into the stretch run.

James Madison jumped to No. 21, while North Texas debuted at No. 22, its first AP ranking since 1959. Tulane and Houston rounded out the G5 contingent at Nos. 24 and 25. It is the first time this season three Group of Five teams have appeared in the poll and the first time since last year's final rankings that many have shared the stage.

Miami's bump in the rankings could be mirrored once again by the CFP committee after their recent win. The Canes are currently the No. 15 team in the CFP rankings. It's all about jumping the two-loss teams that remain in front of them.