Coaches Poll top 25: Louisville, Virginia, BYU tumble in Week 12 college football rankings

Voters in the Coaches Poll continue to question this ACC this season after Virginia and Louisville became the latest teams to tumble in Sunday’s Week 12 top 25 rankings update following unexpected losses. Georgia Tech is now the highest-ranked team within a conference whose College Football Playoff merits are weakening down the stretch.

BYU’s loss to Texas Tech in a Big 12 matchup of top-10 teams was the Cougars’ first of the season and pushed the Red Raiders up to No. 8. If BYU responds after this setback and wins out, Kalani Sitake’s team would get another opportunity to take out Texas Tech in the conference title game in December.

No. 3 Texas A&M, 9-0 for the first time since 1992, beat previously 17th-ranked Missouri and now has three road victories this season over teams with winning records. Unbeaten through 11 weeks for only the fifth time in program history, the Aggies have South Carolina, Samford and No. 10 Texas remaining.

“I don’t know about the past. I know that that’s four road games that this team has gone on the road and won,” Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said. “We’re 4-0 this year on the road and we’ve only got one left, so we’ll finish this year with a winning record if my math is right.”

A handful of Group of Five teams are in contention for the playoff auto-bid coming out of the weekend after previously 23rd-ranked Memphis dropped out of the Coaches Poll following its loss to Tulane. Ranked for the first time this season in the Coaches Poll, North Texas (8-1) is three wins away from reaching the American Championship Game and could get a rematch with USF (7-2) in the final that determines a playoff spot.

First-place votes in parenthesis 

Week 12 Coaches Poll

1. Ohio State (59)
2. Indiana
3. Texas A&M (4)
4. Alabama
5. Georgia
6. Oregon
7. Ole Miss
8. Texas Tech
9. Notre Dame
10. Texas
10. Oklahoma
12. Georgia Tech
12. BYU
14. Vanderbilt
15. Utah
16. Miami
17. Michigan 
18. USC
19. Virginia
20. Tennessee
21. Louisville
22. Cincinnati
23. Pittsburgh
24. Missouri
25. James Madison

Schools Dropped Out: No. 23 Memphis; No. 24 Iowa

Others Receiving Votes: South Florida 99; North Texas 98; Iowa 81; Houston 73; Tulane 53; SMU 32; Illinois 15; Washington 12; Arizona 7; Nebraska 6; Memphis 6; Arizona State 3; Navy 2; San Diego State 1; East Carolina 1;