Yet Again, The AP Top 25 Poll Is A Complete Joke

The Associated Press Top 25 Poll has declined in influence and importance thanks to the advent of the College Football Playoff selection committee. And thank goodness for that.

It's a common storyline each season, but it's become particularly obvious in the 2025 regular season that many voters simply have no idea what they're doing. Particularly when it comes to one specific conference that dominates attention, discussion, one specific sports-related television network. And perhaps most importantly, is undefeated in hypothetical matchups against other conferences every season for decades.

RELATED: Should This Year Mark End Of Preseason Associated Press Poll?

As just one example of how poor of a job voters have done, take a look at the AP top 10 last week and this week. 

Take a look at the Ole Miss Rebels and Oregon Ducks. One of those two teams played a ranked-quality opponent on the road in miserable conditions. The other scheduled their traditional November bye week against The Citadel. Both won. Which team moved up in the rankings ahead of the other? 

Welcome to the AP Poll. And we're not done there.

STARKVILLE, MS - SEPTEMBER 27: Tennessee Volunteers running back Star Thomas (9) runs the ball during the college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Mississippi State Bulldogs on September 27, 2025, at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi.(Photo by Jason Homan/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Tennessee Volunteers Also Benefit From AP Poll Bias

Further down the list, the Tennessee Volunteers moved up two spots from #23 to #21. Why? Nobody knows.

Tennessee has done little to nothing to justify being ranked at all, let alone #21. This week, the Volunteers apparently won the bye week, which at least was an actual bye, not the traditional SEC November "schedule an FCS caliber opponent" rest week. Here are the list of teams that they've beaten this season, along with their overall and conference records. 

At least East Tennessee State is 3-3 in their conference. 

Yes, the Volunteers have lost tough games. The Georgia Bulldogs held on for a 44-41 win in Knoxville in September. They lost to a resurgent Alabama Crimson Tide 37-20 in Tuscaloosa. And couldn't get the job done against the Oklahoma Sooners, also in Knoxville, 33-27. At some point though, shouldn't they have to, you know, actually win something to justify being ranked? 

After all, it's not like they've obliterated the weaker competition. The game against Mississippi State was 41-34. Arkansas was even closer, despite being played at Neyland Stadium, 34-31. These are not good teams, despite the conference patch they wear on their jerseys. This isn't to say that Tennessee is bad, or doesn't deserve to be around the top-25. But this type of benefit of the doubt, the "quality loss" formula, is seemingly only ever applied in one direction. 

Again, look at Ole Miss and Oregon to see how this plays out in practice. 

Ole Miss beat The Citadel, in Oxford. The Citadel. Oregon went on the road and played a very solid Iowa team, one that entered the game ranked No. 20 in the CFB Playoff Poll. They won. And moved down, behind Ole Miss. On what planet does that make sense? 

But this is how the voters, and the AP Poll work. Many focus exclusively on the teams in the conference or geographic region they primarily cover. They're easily swayed by poor arguments, show little-to-no interest in analytics or efficiency-based advanced ranking systems, and rarely demonstrate consistent logic in their rankings. Often, though not always, to the benefit of the SEC.

Then, when it comes time to discuss which team deserves which spot, the "ranked wins" conversation is heavily tilted in favor of SEC teams. Who benefits from "ranked" games against teams like Tennessee, which has no business being ranked. Thankfully, the AP Poll doesn't mean as much now as it did in the past. But it should, based on the poor job this season, mean even loss.