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2017 College Football Polls: USF Moves Up to #13 in Coaches Poll, #16 in AP Poll

USF moved up in both polls this week, and the potential stakes for the War on I-4 have been raised even higher.

By Nick Simon
Cincinnati v South Florida Photo by Joseph Garnett Jr. /Getty Images

As a result of the "chaos weekend" in college football, where four top-10 teams lost to unranked opponents, USF gained some ground in this week's national polls.

The Bulls jumped up two spots to #13 in the latest Amway Coaches Poll and tied with NC State for #16 in the latest Associated Press poll. The team remains the highest ranked Group of Five program, as it has been since the beginning of the season.

This is the highest USF has been ranked in the coaches poll since October 2008, when they reached #10 before being upset by Pitt. It's also the highest they've been ranked in the AP since September, 2011, when they were slotted at #14 before being upset by... Pitt. (shakes fists at sky DAMN YOU RAY GRAAAHHAAAMMM!!!)

Behind the Bulls in the rankings is C., who checks in at #20 in the AP poll following its 63-21 destruction of East Carolina.

The buzz is really starting to build for Black Friday Armageddon. If the Knights can get by Navy this Saturday in Annapolis, the path looks pretty clear for both schools to stroll into that game unscathed.

Speaking of Navy, they fell out of the AP poll after a turnover filled, 30-27 loss at Memphis. The Tigers took the Midshipmen's spot at #25, making it the second week in a row that the American has three ranked teams.

Elsewhere in the G5...

The American's San Diego State problem has been taken care of (for now). The Aztecs were upset 31-14 by Boise State late Saturday night to fall out of the polls. They did receive 56 votes in the AP, so there's a possibility of them creeping back in at some point.

Barring a wild turn of events, it looks like this year's War on I-4 will be a de facto New Year's Six play-in game, should the winner follow it with a win in the American title game the following week. Hang on to your seats, folks.

Other Notables:

  • There was a shakeup at the top after Clemson got Dino Baber'd in the Carrier Dome on Friday and Washington flopped in the desert last night. The Tigers fell to #7, while Georgia and TCU move into the top four. Penn State, now ranked second, will go through the wringer over the next two weeks with back-to-back showdowns against Michigan and Ohio State.
  • The U wins a second straight game in the final minute to move up to #8. Who do they get next, you ask? Syracuse.
  • Rough week for the Apple Cup teams. ESPN's most loved and celebrated team Washington fell at Arizona State 13-7 while "pathetic front-running" Wazzu got dunked on by Cal, 37-3. #Pac12AfterDark comes for everyone, y'all.
  • Hey look, Ohio State is doing that thing again where after losing a big game early, they quietly destroy their remaining opponents while everyone has forgotten about them.
  • Certainly not Top 25 related, but area teams continue to struggle offensively despite having loads of talent at their disposal.