Toppmeyer: How I voted in this week's AP poll, including strong SEC presence at the top

LSU coach Ed Orgeron celebrates with players and his wife Kelly, after defeating the Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Blake Toppmeyer, the Tennessee football beat writer for the Knoxville News Sentinel and USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee, is a voter in the AP Top 25 poll.

LSU knocked off its second top-10 opponent of the season by defeating Auburn 22-21 on the road Saturday, and the Tigers look like an early contender in the SEC. The Tigers have both Alabama and Georgia on the schedule but at least get those teams at home.

LSU rallied past a 21-10 deficit on Saturday.

I didn't have LSU ranked on my preseason ballot. But after wins over Miami and AU, the Tigers have my attention. I put them at No. 6 on my ballot this week, and that's where they landed in the poll.

Wisconsin tumbled down my ballot and in the poll after losing 24-21 to BYU, and Boise State and Hawaii fell off my ballot after Saturday losses.

Here is my ballot, followed by the AP poll.

Toppmeyer's ballot

  1. Alabama
  2. Georgia
  3. Clemson
  4. Ohio State
  5. Oklahoma
  6. LSU
  7. Stanford
  8. Notre Dame
  9. Auburn
  10. Washington
  11. Central Florida
  12. Penn State
  13. Mississippi State
  14. West Virginia
  15. TCU
  16. Wisconsin
  17. Virginia Tech
  18. Oklahoma State
  19. Texas A&M
  20. Michigan
  21. Oregon
  22. Miami
  23. Duke
  24. Iowa
  25. Kentucky

AP poll

  1. Alabama (58)
  2. Georgia
  3. Clemson (3)
  4. Ohio State
  5. Oklahoma
  6. LSU
  7. Stanford
  8. Notre Dame
  9. Auburn
  10. Washington
  11. Penn State
  12. West Virginia
  13. Virginia Tech
  14. Mississippi State
  15. Oklahoma State
  16. Central Florida
  17. TCU
  18. Wisconsin
  19. Michigan
  20. Oregon
  21. Miami
  22. Texas A&M
  23. Boston College
  24. Michigan State
  25. BYU