Some ranked teams hit roadblocks during Week 6, while a few hit the express lane

Back Porch Sports’ Scott Hamilton is one of 69 voters in the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll. Here’s how his Week 6 ballot shook out:

Drivers Ed Edition

One-way street: With then-No. 1 Texas losing to archrival Oklahoma, Georgia couldn’t go anywhere but up. The Bulldogs (6-0, 4-0 SEC) are now atop these rankings, advancing from the No. 2 slot after beating then-No. 5 Alabama, 20-17.

Likewise for Notre Dame and Miami. The Longhorns’ (4-1, 1-1 SEC) created a ripple that moved the Fighting Irish up to second and the Hurricanes to the No. 3 slot. Miami (5-0, 3-0 ACC) had Week 6 off, while Notre Dame (6-0) blasted Stanford, 58-7.

Rest area: In addition to Miami, three other teams didn’t play. Tenth-ranked Texas Tech (5-0, 2-0 Big 12), No. 13 Mississippi State (4-1, 2-1 SEC) and No. 22 SMU (4-1, 2-1 ACC) were all idle.

Express lane: Back-to-back overtime wins pushed Kentucky up nine spots to No. 12 in these rankings. The Wildcats (5-1, 3-1 SEC) beat then-No. 10 LSU, 35-34, for its fourth straight victory overall. The Wildcats’ only loss was a 45-17 Week 2 defeat to Alabama that Kentucky actually led at halftime.

Fun fact: Kentucky is the only team to win consecutive games in overtime by a single point since the FBS introduced extra play in 1996.

Speed bump: Wake Forest keeps creeping up these rankings and into the nation’s radar. The Deacons (5-1, 3-1 ACC) beat in-state rival N.C. State, 38-14, for their third straight win and to move up three spots to 19th. Wake Forest’s lone defeat was 33-20 to Miami, 33-20 during Week 3 in what’s been the Hurricanes’ most contested game to date.

Caution: Tennessee is still in the mix, though barely.

The Volunteers (5-1, 2-1 SEC) are still in these rankings, but dropped one spot after fighting off Arkansas, 24-17. Tennessee, which committed three turnovers against the Razorbacks, dropped from 14th to 15th despite the victory.

U-turn: After being gone for a week, Iowa is back in these rankings thanks to a 41-24 win at Washington. The Hawkeyes won with a back-up quarterback, too, as Jeremy Hecklinski subbed in for injured QB1 Hank Brown (shoulder). Hecklinksi, a junior, responded by going 14 of 19 for 202 yards and three touchdowns while connecting with nine different receivers.

And a heads-up: Iowa has a manageable path to the College Football Playoff. There are no ranked teams on the second half of the Hawkeyes’ schedule, with a balanced mix of three games each at home and away.

Dead end: The rankings road ended for Florida and Oregon.

The Gators lost to South Carolina, 38-19, to fall out from the No. 16 position. Florida (4-2, 2-2 SEC) has lost its last two games by a combined 83-38.

Oregon (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) is also parked after losing to UCLA, 17-15. A sign of the Ducks’ problems: They didn’t convert a third down until the fourth quarter, going an abysmal 1 for 12 while also failing on two fourth-down attempts. 

No passing zone: A few teams didn’t budge, including a block of Indiana, BYU and Ole Miss. Each won during Week 6 and continues to occupy Nos. 7-9. Oklahoma State (4-1, 2-0 Big 12) beat Central Florida, 42-28, but that wasn’t enough to pry it out of the 20th position.

Carpool lane: The SEC again had the most teams in these rankings with nine, though one fewer than last week after Florida dropped out. That's three more than the Big 12, which now has the second-most thanks to Arizona (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) slipping in at No. 25.

The Big Ten has five teams, while the ACC has three. Twenty-third ranked Boise State, of the Pac-12, is the only Group of 6 representative. And Notre Dame, as usual, is the lone independent. 

Hamilton’s rankings (last week): 

1. Georgia (2)

2. Notre Dame (3)

3. Miami (4)

4. Texas (1)

5. Ohio State (6)

6. Alabama (5)

7. Indiana (7)

8. BYU (8)

9. Ole Miss (9)

10. Texas Tech (11)

11. Utah (12)

12. Kentucky (21)

13. Mississippi State (17)

14. Missouri (15)

15. Tennessee (14)

16. UCLA (24) 

17. Iowa (NR)

18. Southern Cal (18)

19. Wake Forest (22)

20. Oklahoma State (20)

21. Houston (23)

22. SMU (19) 

23. Boise State (25)

24. LSU (10)

25. Arizona (NR)

Follow Scott Hamilton on X @ScottHsports