2017 College Football Polls: USF Moves Down to #14 in Coaches Poll, #17 in AP Poll

USF was penalized for allowing a late surge in its 34-28 victory over Tulane on Saturday, moving down in the national polls this week.

The Bulls slid back a spot to #14 in the latest Amway Coaches Poll and down one spot to #17 in the latest Associated Press Poll.

The team continues to remain the highest ranked Group of Five team in both polls, as they have all season long. Whether or not that should still be the case at this point can be debated. (They shouldn't be.)

In the AP, the Bulls are once again joined by AAC contemporaries C. and Memphis.

The Knights moved up two spots to #18 after beating Navy 31-21. The Tigers jumped up one spot to #24 after erasing a 17-point halftime deficit to defeat Houston 42-38 in a wild Thursday night ballgame.

In other G5 news, Fresno State dominated San Diego State 27-3 late Saturday night to take control of the West division in the Mountain West. Everyone in the MWC having two losses makes it all the more likely that whoever wins the American will be grabbing that New Year's Six bowl bid.

Other Notables:

-Yeeeeaaahhh, so it's time to start taking Notre Dame seriously as a CFP playoff contender. (Just one year after they went 4-8. Because Notre Dame went 4-8 in 2016 in case you weren't aware.)

The Irish steamrolled USC 49-14 to rise to #10 in the Coaches and #9 in the AP. With a one-point loss to a juggernaut Georgia team as their only blemish, the Irish still have several more opportunities for quality wins to boost their resume. They get NC State at home this Saturday, and have matchups against Miami, Navy, and Stanford on the horizon.

Speaking of USC, the Pac-12 is one again a mess and it looks like they'll be the odd power conference out of the playoff picture.

-#2 Penn State torched Michigan 42-13 on Saturday and will travel to Columbus this week for a top-three showdown at Ohio State. If the Nittany Lions can knock off the Buckeyes in the Horseshoe, we may have a new #1 team when the first College Football Playoff rankings come out next week.

-Oklahoma and Oklahoma State both moved down one spot in the AP after surviving one-score road tests. Before they get to Bedlam on No. 4, Okie State will travel to West Virginia this Saturday while the Sooners will get Texas Tech at home.