oregon-football-dan-lanning.jpg
Getty Images

Both Oregon and Oklahoma made statement wins on Saturday that helped improve their positioning in the updated AP Top 25 poll for Week 14. The Ducks jumped up one spot following a strong victory over USC, while the Sooners held firm after an elite defensive performance against Missouri, with just two weeks remaining until the College Football Playoff bracket is revealed.

The top four remained unchanged, as Ohio State cruised past Rutgers, Indiana was idle and Texas A&M and Georgia rolled through non-conference tune-ups ahead of an important rivalry week that could shape postseason positioning.

Notre Dame crushed Syracuse 70-7 -- the second-largest margin of victory by any team against a Power Four opponent this season. The Fighting Irish dominated from start to finish, showing no letup on either side of the ball while trying to secure style points for their CFP push. Miami, which owns a head-to-head win against Notre Dame in Week 1, kept its slim ACC title hopes alive with a road win at Virginia Tech, but is still four spots behind the Fighting Irish.

The Group of Six race remains tightly contested, with James Madison rallying to defeat Washington State, while North Texas and Tulane posted strong wins to maintain their spots in this week's AP Top 25 rankings.

Week 14 AP Top 25 rankings

First-place votes in parentheses

  1. Ohio State (58)
  2. Indiana (7)
  3. Texas A&M (1)
  4. Georgia
  5. Oregon
  6. Ole Miss
  7. Texas Tech
  8. Oklahoma
  9. Notre Dame
  10. Alabama
  11. BYU
  12. Vanderbilt
  13. Miami
  14. Utah
  15. Michigan
  16. Texas
  17. Virginia
  18. Tennessee
  19. USC
  20. James Madison
  21. North Texas
  22. Tulane
  23. Georgia Tech
  24. Pittsburgh
  25. SMU

Others receiving votes: Arizona St. 77, Navy 44, Missouri 23, Arizona 20, San Diego St. 19, Washington 16, Iowa 10, UNLV 7, South Florida 4, UConn 3, Wake Forest 2, Illinois 1