AP top 25 football: Georgia reclaims No. 1; USC jumps to No. 7
Georgia reclaimed the top spot in the Associated Press college football poll Sunday, and Kentucky, Oklahoma State and Arkansas moved into the top 10 after an upset-filled weekend across the country.
The defending national champion Bulldogs, who started the season at No. 3 in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Banks, took two weeks to get back to where they spent most of last year.
Georgia jumped Alabama after it cruised to a 33-0 victory against Samford.
But it wasn’t so much about what the Bulldogs did this week as much as what they did last week, combined with the Crimson Tide needing a late field goal to escape at Texas on Saturday.
Georgia, which opened the season by beating Oregon 49-3, received 53 of 63 first-place votes from the media panel. No. 2 Alabama received nine first-place votes and No. 3 Ohio State got one first-place vote.
No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 Clemson held their places, but the rest of the top 10 was shuffled.
Oklahoma moved up a spot to No. 6. USC jumped three places to No. 7, its best ranking since September 2017.
The rest of the top 10 are new arrivals: No. 8 Oklahoma State moved up three spots. No. 9 Kentucky jumped 11 places for its best ranking since it reached No. 8 in October 2007. And No. 10 Arkansas was up six.
After being upset at home by Sun Belt schools, Texas A&M dropped from No. 6 to No. 24 and Notre Dame tumbled out all the way from No. 8.
The Aggies were beaten by Appalachian State and the Fighting Irish fell to 0-2 after losing to Marshall.
It was the fifth time in the last 10 seasons and first time since 2020 that two top-10 teams lost at home to unranked teams in the same week.
Notre Dame is unranked for the first time since Sept. 17, 2017, snapping a streak of 80 straight poll appearances, which was fourth in the country behind Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia among active runs.
A year ago this week, Clay Helton was fired by USC. His upset win over Nebraska shows how much both he and the Trojans benefited from their separation.
POLL POINTS
No. 1 winning and dropping, as Alabama did, is a common occurrence. Since the AP college football poll started in 1936, it has happened 91 times.
The last time it happened was 2019, when twice during the season the top spot flipped twice while teams remained unbeaten.
IN
— No. 21 Texas was rewarded for its effort against Alabama by moving into the ranking for the first time since Oct. 10.
The Longhorns are believed to be the first team to lose and still enter the AP Top 25 since Missouri did it in 1997. That came after the famous Flea Kicker game against Nebraska.
— No. 22 Penn State appeared in the ranking for the first time since dropping out in the middle of last November during a late-season slide.
— No. 25 Oregon is back after putting up 70 points on Eastern Washington.
OUT
— Wisconsin’s 17-14 home loss to Washington State knocked the Badgers out of the ranking for the first time this season.
— Houston dropped out after losing in overtime at Texas Tech, the Cougars’ second straight OT game to open the season.
CONFERENCE CALL
SEC — 8 (Nos. 1, 2, 9, 10, 15, 18, 20, 24).
ACC — 5 (Nos. 5, 13, 16, 19, 23).
Big Ten — 4 (Nos. 3, 4, 11, 22).
Big 12 — 4 (Nos. 6, 8, 17, 21).
Pac-12 — 3 (Nos. 7, 14, 25).
Independents — 1 (No. 12).
RANKED vs. RANKED
No. 12 BYU at No. 25 Oregon. Second straight ranked Power Five opponent for the Cougars.
No. 13 Miami at No. 24 Texas A&M. Aggies’ loss cost College Station a chance to host ESPN’s “College GameDay,” but it’s still a matchup of ranked teams.
Caleb Williams started the season as a favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, and the USC quarterback showcased why in the Trojans’ win over Stanford.
TOP 25
1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. Ohio State
4. Michigan
5. Clemson
6. Oklahoma
7. USC
8. Oklahoma State
9. Kentucky
10. Arkansas
11. Michigan State
12. BYU
13. Miami (Fla.)
14. Utah
15. Tennessee
16. North Carolina State
17. Baylor
18. Florida
19. Wake Forest
20. Mississippi
21. Texas
22. Penn State
23. Pittsburgh
24. Texas A&M
25. Oregon
Others receiving votes:
Marshall 85, Cincinnati 80, Appalachian State 80, Kansas State 77, North Carolina 71, Mississippi State 43, Florida State 42, Oregon State 42, Minnesota 37, Washington State 30, Notre Dame 23, Air Force 19, Texas Tech 17, Wisconsin 7, Auburn 4, Iowa State 4, Purdue 1.
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