Arizona
Oklahoma StateReported Analysis · AP Football · Week 7
Arizona Reached No. 25 With 33 of 70 Voters
An eight-point edge over Oklahoma State came from a close mix of inclusions and placements. One voter's two rankings supplied a ten-point difference.
Arizona136Oklahoma State128Thirty-seven of the 70 AP voters left Arizona unranked. The Wildcats still finished No. 25, eight points ahead of Oklahoma State.
Arizona collected 136 points from 33 ballots. Oklahoma State collected 128 from 28. The AP poll adds points from each team's numbered placements; a team does not need a majority of the panel to reach the published Top 25.
More Inclusions, Slightly Lower Placements
Arizona's supporters placed it 21.88 on average. Oklahoma State's average among its supporters was slightly higher, at 21.43. The Wildcats made up that difference by appearing on five more ballots.
| Team | Ballots Including It | Points | Average Points per Inclusion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 33 | 136 | 4.12 |
| Oklahoma State | 28 | 128 | 4.57 |
Most of Arizona's votes were near the cutoff: 25 of its 33 placements were between No. 21 and No. 25. Eight voters placed it in their top 20, led by Riley at No. 12. Both the larger group of low placements and the smaller group of higher ones contributed to the total.
Riley's Ballot Supplied the Margin
Koki Riley placed Arizona 12th and Oklahoma State 22nd. Those choices supplied 14 points and four points, respectively, giving Arizona a ten-point advantage on his ballot. Across the other 69 ballots, Oklahoma State led 124–122.
| Actual Ballot Contributions | Arizona | Oklahoma State | Arizona's Point Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riley's ballot | 14 | 4 | +10 |
| The other 69 ballots | 122 | 124 | −2 |
| All 70 ballots | 136 | 128 | +8 |
Seventeen Added Arizona, Eight Removed It
Arizona's inclusion count rose from 24 to 33 between the October 11 and October 18 polls. The net gain of nine conceals more turnover: 17 voters added the Wildcats and eight removed them.
Sixteen voters ranked Arizona in both editions. Ten raised it, five kept it in the same position and one lowered it. Those retained ballots added 21 points. The 17 new inclusions supplied 49, while the eight departing inclusions had been worth 16.
Together, those changes produced the 54-point rise from 82 to 136. Arizona gained enough support to reach the boundary despite losing several existing votes along the way.
The cutoff balanced two different patterns: Arizona appeared more often, while Oklahoma State earned slightly more points per inclusion. Riley's ten-point difference settled the balance between those totals. Arizona's return is supported by the scoring, but the 33–37 inclusion split shows how little agreement there was about whether the Wildcats belonged in the Top 25 at all.
Sources & Methodology
The complete October 11 and October 18 polls contain the same 70 voters. All team totals, inclusion counts, distributions and paired-voter changes were independently recomputed from those ballots. Average rank and average points per inclusion exclude omissions and are rounded to two decimals.
AP scoring assigns 26 minus the submitted rank, giving 25 points at No. 1 and one point at No. 25. Riley's actual placements are subtracted from both team totals only to show each group's contribution; no alternative poll or replacement ballot is presented. The full evidence is available in All Ballots.