College football rankings: Week 11, 2020

By Kevin Kelley -

College football rankings for week 11 of the 2020 season have been released. Alabama (6-0) is the new top-ranked team, while Notre Dame moved up to second.

Notre Dame defeated then No. 1 Clemson at home on Saturday, 47-40 in overtime. The victory moved the Fighting Irish up two spots in both polls to No. 2. Clemson, which was without the services of quarterback Trevor Lawrence due to COVID-19, only dropped to No. 4.

Alabama, which was off this weekend, moved up one spot to No. 1 by virtue of the Clemson loss. The Crimson Tide received 59 of the 62 first-place votes in the AP Poll and 55 of the 62 first-place votes in the Coaches Poll.

The Top 5 of the AP Poll is rounded out by (3) Ohio State, (4) Clemson, and (5) Texas A&M. The Coaches Poll is the same except for Florida is ranked fifth while Texas A&M is sixth.

Indiana (3-0) moved up to No. 10 in both polls following their 38-21 win over then 23rd-ranked Michigan. The Hoosiers have also recorded wins over then 8th-ranked Penn State and Rutgers.

Boise State and Michigan each dropped out of both polls following losses in Week 10. North Carolina won at Duke 56-24 on Saturday, but still dropped out of the Coaches Poll.

Below are the full AP and FBS Coaches polls for Week 11 of the 2020 season (first-place votes in parentheses):

AP Poll – Week 11

1. Alabama (59)
2. Notre Dame (2)
3. Ohio State (1)
4. Clemson
5. Texas A&M
6. Florida
7. Cincinnati
8. BYU
9. Miami
10. Indiana
11. Oregon
12. Georgia
13. Wisconsin
14. Oklahoma State
15. Coastal Carolina
16. Marshall
17. Iowa State
18. Oklahoma
19. SMU
20. USC
21. Texas
22. Liberty
23. Northwestern
24. Auburn
25. Louisiana

Others receiving votes: North Carolina 85, Army 54, Tulsa 47, Utah 33, Washington 21, Arizona State 11, Purdue 8, Wake Forest 6, Boise State 5, Appalachian State 5, Maryland 3, California 3, Nevada 1

Dropped from rankings: Boise State 21, Michigan 23

FBS Coaches Poll – Week 11

1. Alabama (55)
2. Notre Dame (4)
3. Ohio State (3)
4. Clemson
5. Florida
6. Texas A&M
7. Cincinnati
8. BYU
9. Miami
10. Indiana
11. Georgia
12. Oregon
13. Oklahoma State
14. Wisconsin
15. Marshall
16. Iowa State
17. Coastal Carolina
18. Oklahoma
19. SMU
20. USC
21. Auburn
22. Liberty
23. Northwestern
24. Texas
25. Army

Others receiving votes: North Carolina 174, Louisiana 81, Utah 45, Purdue 43, Appalachian State 25, Arkansas 23, Missouri 18, Wake Forest 15, Boston College 15, Kentucky 12, Memphis 12, Tulsa 11, Maryland 10, Tennessee 6, Nevada 5, Michigan 5, San José State 4, Boise State 4, Kansas State 4, Virginia Tech 2

Dropped from rankings: Boise State 23, North Carolina 24, Michigan 25

Comments (5)

Here are the latest projections for the 2020 CFP semifinals on New Year’s Day based on the current rankings. Please note that I do not allow multiple teams from the same conference to be in the playoff. That is for accountability.

Rose Bowl Game: #2 Notre Dame vs. #3 Ohio State
Sugar Bowl: #1 Alabama vs. #4 (currently #7) Cincinnati

Sadly I can guarantee that Cincinnati or any team not in the Power 5 Conferences (which includes Notre Dame this year) will not be selected for the College football playoff in its current 4 team format. Lucy (Power5) are pulling the football for Charlie Brown (Group of 5) every year. I odds really good that a conference will have 2 teams in the playoff. The Committee does not like accountability, sadly.

Cincinnati dropped from #6 to #7 in both polls despite a 38-10 win against Houston. 3 one loss teams now are ranked higher than the Bearcats and also BYU.