This week’s edition of the AP Top 25 Risers and Fallers is heavily slanted towards the fallers, as Week 9 of the college football season saw multiple teams tumble down the rankings. As the Pac-12 begins play this week, the picture for the College Football Playoff will finally begin to take a clearer shape.

Let’s jump in and see how things turned out after a tumultuous week of play.

Rising: Iowa State

Last week's ranking: 23rd. This week: 17th

The Cyclones were the biggest beneficiary of the week’s carnage, rising six spots on the back of a thirty-point blowout of Kansas. The Iowa State offense put up more than 550 yards of offense, blowing open a 20-7 game in the second half. Breece Hall ran for 185 yards and two scores on 21 carries in the win.

With just one loss in conference play, Iowa State is very much in the running for a spot the Big 12 Championship. Their schedule is into the easier part, with Baylor up next followed by a huge matchup with Kansas State. Texas and West Virginia wait in the wings, so it will not be an easy road by any means, but if their 23rd-ranked rushing attack can continue to put up 200 yards per game, it’s a stretch they could navigate.

Falling: North Carolina 

Last week's ranking: 15th. This week: Unranked

Once the preseason darling of many college football analysts, the Tar Heels plummeted out of the AP Top 25 with a 44-41 defeat to Virginia this past weekend. North Carolina fell behind by 21 before mounting a comeback in the final 16 minutes, only to fall short after failing to get a stop on Virginia’s final drive.

North Carolina put up 536 yards of total offense, but two lost fumbles were costly. Their defense also continues to be an issue, allowing 208 yards passing on just 12 completions and allowing Virginia’s running game to control the clock with 35 minutes of possession. With Notre Dame and Miami still on the schedule, their hopes of competing for a spot in the ACC title game are all but over.

Falling: Kansas State

Last week's ranking: 16th. This week: Unranked

Joining North Carolina in the vast wilderness of the unranked are the Wildcats of Kansas State, whose four-game winning streak came to a screeching halt with a 37-10 defeat to West Virginia. The Mountaineers scored three touchdowns in the second quarter to rush out to a 24-3 lead, and then shut out the Wildcats in the second half. The defense allowed nearly 500 yards to West Virginia, and three turnovers doomed them to failure as one of them led to a pick-six.

The loss is especially painful as it comes just ahead of a visit from Oklahoma State, the first of three ranked teams who the Wildcats will play over the next four games. Unless their defense vastly improves, it is unlikely they will be able to hold onto their current spot in second in the Big 12 standings. It’s also unlikely they will see the rankings again this season.

Falling: Michigan

Last week's ranking: 13th. This week 23rd

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Jim Harbaugh lost to Michigan State. In his sixth meeting with the in-state rival, the Wolverines fell for the third time. They looked like a completely different team from the week before when they manhandled Minnesota, as 10 penalties and an inability to stop the passing game cost them in the end. Michigan State QB Rocky Lombardi went 17-of-32 for 323 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner with five minutes left.

Given the shortened season and the condensed schedule, the defeat was quite costly for the Wolverines. They now face consecutive ranked opponents with Indiana and Wisconsin (although that game could be cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak within the Badgers’ program), and Ohio State still looms at the end of the schedule. Unless Harbaugh has a way to end his oh-fer skid against the Buckeyes, Michigan’s playoff hopes are probably already over.

Falling: Oklahoma State

Last week's ranking: 6th. This week: 14th

Our final plunge down the rankings belongs to the Cowboys of Oklahoma State, as the Big 12 might have seen their hopes of a College Football Playoff spot end with a 41-34 win by Texas. The Longhorns won a close game in overtime, as Spencer Sanders was sacked on fourth down with Oklahoma State attempting to tie things up. The Cowboys led 31-26 heading into the fourth quarter, but needed a field goal in the final seconds to send the game into overtime.

Turnovers were the story of this game, as Texas forced four without giving the ball away a single time. This allowed the Longhorns to defeat the Cowboys despite being outgained 530-to-287, and dropped Oklahoma State into third place in the conference standings. That said, the Cowboys have a very favorable schedule with five games remaining, with their next two games against Kansas State and Oklahoma being the only real challenges. If they win out, they should regain a spot in the Top 10, and will have an outside chance to sneak into the postseason.

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