After wins, NC State moves up and Wake Forest falls in latest AP poll for college football

N.C. State made a big leap, Wake Forest dipped and Miami barely held on to a spot in the latest AP Top 25 college football poll released on Sunday.

The 63-member national panel voted the Wolfpack (3-0) No. 12 after N.C. State beat Texas Tech 27-14 at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday night. That’s an improvement of four spots for the Wolfpack from last week.

N.C. State started the season at No. 13 but fell to No. 18 after it avoided an upset loss and beat East Carolina, 21-20, on Sept. 3.

The No. 12 ranking is the best the Wolfpack has received since reaching No. 10 during the 2002 season.

Wake Forest (3-0) remained undefeated but the panel lost some respect as the Demon Deacons stopped a late two-point conversion attempt to edge Liberty, 37-36. Wake Forest is now No. 21 after falling two spots.

No. 25 Miami (2-1) plummeted 12 spots after losing 17-9 at Texas A&M Saturday night.

Overall, No. 13 Oregon jumped 10 places after hammering BYU, 41-20. The Cougars fell seven spots to No. 19.

Penn State (3-0) rose eight spots to No. 14 after it rocked Auburn 41-12.

Michigan State, No. 11 last week, fell out of the poll after losing 39-28 at Washington. That result caused the Huskies to enter the poll at No. 18.

App State and North Carolina remain just a few spots outside the AP Top 25 rankings. The Mountaineers received 77 votes (28th) from the national panel; the Tar Heels received 72 (29th).

Latest AP Top 25 rankings

Steve Wiseman’s latest AP poll ballot