Navy became bowl eligible in a big way last Saturday, hanging 76 points on East Carolina in a blowout win. Apparently, that was enough for one person to include Navy on his ballot for the latest AP Top 25 poll.
The Midshipmen received three points in this week's poll, all coming from the same person that ranked them 23rd. That person? According to pollspeak.com, it's Ray Ratto, a longtime sportswriter from the Bay Area who currently works for CSN Bay Area. Ratto was apparently convinced by Navy's blowout performance, conveniently overlooking last week's shocking loss to Duke. His 23rd-place vote accounted for all of Navy's points, because a team receives three points for a 23rd ranking.
This marks the first time an AP voter has put Navy in their top 25 all season. That tends to happen when you lose your first game of the season and also suffer a loss to Duke. Sure, the Midshipmen routed East Carolina, and sure, they are now bowl eligible. But despite the large amount of parity in college football this year, they aren't a Top 25 team. All but one AP voter agrees.