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Post and Courier sports columnist Scott Hamilton is one of 65 voters in the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll. Here’s how his ballot shook out after Week 10: Election Edition Status quo: There were no changes at the top of these rankings, with Nos. 1-6 remaining exactly as they were last week. That includes Ohio State maintaining the top spot for the ninth straight week. The Buckeyes were petty robotic in their 38-14 win over Penn State, rolling up 480 yards and converting a ridiculous 7 of 10 chances on third and fourth downs. Ohio State (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) quarterback Julian Sayin was nearly perfect, too. He was 20-of-23 passing for 316 yard and four touchdowns. Conservative: Ole Miss (8-1, 5-1 SEC) is again sixth in these ranking and didn’t overload any calculators offensively during its 30-14 win over South Carolina. But it didn’t need to thanks to a swarming defense. The Rebels sacked LaNorris Sellers six times, intercepted him twice and limited the Gamecocks (3-6, 1-6 SEC) to only 230 total yards. South Carolina rushed for only 52 yards on 32 attempts for a paltry 1.6 average. Ole Miss also forced three turnovers and limited the Gamecocks to merely 4 of 16 on third and fourth downs. Negative ad: In the last three weeks, Miami has gone from being considered among the best teams in the nation to now merely another middle-of-the-pack squad. The Hurricanes are now 16th after a 26-20 overtime loss at SMU (6-3, 4-1 ACC). And it was an ugly defeat. Miami (6-2, 2-2 ACC) held the Mustangs to only 23 yards rushing on 25 carries, dominated the clock by 15 minutes and limited SMU to only 3 of 14 on third and fourth downs. But none of that matters when you have two turnovers and commit an obscene 12 penalties for 96 yards. Mavericks: Tennessee (6-3, 3-3 SEC) is the only three-loss team in these rankings and barely hanging in there at No. 25. Each of the Volunteers’ losses came to a ranked opponent, most recently their 33-27 loss to Oklahoma. It’s a weird one to assess as it wasn't pretty for either team. The Sooners (7-2, 3-2 SEC) consistently shot themselves in the foot with 11 penalties for 104 yards, yet were bailed out by three Tennessee turnovers. Incumbent: The good news for Michigan (7-2, 5-1 Big Ten) is it beat Purdue 21-16. The bad news is it wasn’t exactly an inspiring victory over a lesser opponent, the kind that warrants a nudge up the rankings. Still, winning is better than the alternative. And remaining 21st beats not being ranked at all. Debate: Indiana doesn’t like to leave any questions regarding its legitimacy. The Hoosiers (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) again beat up on an overmatched foe, this time pummeling Maryland 55-10. It was the fifth time this season that Indiana has scored at least 55 points and its sixth win by 25 or more. Here’s the real question: what was the most impressive takeaway from the Hoosiers’ lopsided win — rushing for 367 yards while holding Maryland to only 37, or that they forced five turnovers? Unseated: Houston is one-and-done in these rankings. The Cougars (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) are no longer in the mix after losing at home to West Virginia 45-35. Cincinnati is also gone. The Bearcats (7-2, 5-1 Big 12) had their seven-game winning streak snapped with a 45-14 loss at Utah. Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby threw for 221 yards — including an 88-yard scoring pass to Cyrus Allen — and had a 22-yard rushing touchdown. But he only completed 11 of 33 attempts and threw an interception. Dynasty: The SEC again has the most teams in these rankings with nine. The Big Ten now has six, followed by four from the ACC. The Big 12 dropped to only three teams. James Madison’s inclusion puts the Sun Belt Conference in the mix; the second Group of Six league along with the American Conference (Memphis is ranked 22nd). The Dukes (7-1, 5-0 Sun Belt) beat Texas State 52-20 on Tuesday night. Notre Dame (6-2), as usual, remains the only independent. Hamilton’s rankings (last week): 1. Ohio State (1) 2. Indiana (2) 3. Texas A&M (3) 4. Alabama (4) 5. Georgia (5) 6. Ole Miss (6) 7. Oregon (7) 8. BYU (13) 9. Notre Dame (12) 10. Texas Tech (14) 11. Texas (17) 12. Oklahoma (19) 13. Virginia (16) 14. Louisville (18) 15. Vanderbilt (8) 16. Miami (10) 17. Georgia Tech (9) 18. Utah (24) 19. Missouri (20) 20. Southern Cal (25) 21. Michigan (21) 22. Memphis (23) 23. Iowa (NR) 24. James Madison (NR) 25. Tennessee (13)
