Georgia, Kentucky and Washington State all made the biggest jumps on my Associated Press Top 25 ballot.

Georgia climbed from No. 9 to No. 6, Washington State from No. 11 to No. 7, and Kentucky from No. 14 to No. 8.

The Bulldogs and Wildcats will meet on Saturday with the winner having the inside track to the SEC East title. The Cougars maintain their spot atop the Pac-12 North after winning at Stanford.

The teams that dropped the furthest on my ballot were Florida and Texas. Six teams dropped completely out of my Top 25 rankings: Washington, Stanford, USF, Wisconsin, Texas A&M and Oregon.

With half-a-dozen teams exiting my Top 25, there’s a lot of new faces on this week’s ballot: Houston, Boston College, Mississippi State, Syracuse, UAB and Army.

Here is my latest Associated Press Top 25 ballot through games of Oct. 27 (where I ranked each team last week in parenthesis):

1. Alabama (1)
2. Clemson (3)
3. Notre Dame (2)
4. LSU (4)
5. Michigan (5)

6. Georgia (9)
7. Washington State (11)
8. Kentucky (14)
9. Oklahoma (10)
10. Ohio State (8)

11. West Virginia (12)
12. UCF (13)
13. Florida (6)
14. Texas (7)
15. Penn State (19)

16. Utah (20)
17. Utah State (23)
18. Fresno State (24)
19. Iowa (17)
20. Mississippi State (NR)

21. Houston (NR)
22. Syracuse (NR)
23. Boston College (NR)
24. UAB (NR)
25. Army (NR)

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Peeking ahead to this week:

College Football Playoff impact game

Alabama at LSU

This year’s Game of the Century will have a huge impact on which teams end up in the College Football Playoff. Alabama hasn’t been challenged so far this year; will it finally happen Saturday in Baton Rouge? As dominating as Alabama (8-0) has been this season, if the Crimson Tide loses a close one at LSU and wins out, I think 11-1 Bama would still make the playoff. A loss Saturday by LSU, however, basically eliminates the Tigers (7-1) from playoff contention.

Georgia at Kentucky

While Alabama and LSU battle for the SEC West lead, Georgia and Kentucky play for SEC East supremacy. The UGA/UK winner all but clinches the East. After this matchup, Georgia has a home game remaining with Auburn, and Kentucky visits Tennessee. If the UGA/UK winner wins out and captures the SEC, it would be tough to keep a 12-1 SEC champ – whether it’s Georgia or Kentucky – out of the playoff.

Penn State at Michigan

The Wolverines survived at Michigan State last week, now they have to take care of Penn State. The Nittany Lions are out of playoff contention, but they can end the Wolverines’ hopes as well. A Michigan win vs. Penn State means the Wolverines will have just two gimmies remaining at Rutgers and home vs. Indiana before the Nov. 24 regular season finale showdown at Ohio State.

Game of the “weak”

UTEP at Rice

These clubs are a combined 1-16. The Miners (0-8) are the nation’s only winless FBS team and have lost 20 consecutive games, while the Owls (1-8) only have one victory this season, a win against Prairie View A&M.

Stat of the week

7. Kentucky picked up win No. 7 on Saturday at Missouri, guaranteeing that the Wildcats have tied or improved their season win total every season under Coach Mark Stoops. In 2012, the year before Stoops arrived, UK won two games. In 2013, Stoops’ debut season, UK won 2. In 2014, Kentucky improved to five wins; in 2015 five wins; in 2016 seven wins; in 2017 seven wins and in 2018 seven wins and counting.

Stat of the week, part II

3. That’s the number of Kansas wins this season. The Jayhawks, who were 3-33 the past three seasons, are already 3-5 this season. That’s the same record as FAU and more victories than UCLA, Nebraska and Louisville. Rock Chalk.