AP Top 25: Texas returns to No. 1, Alabama falls to No. 7

It was a week of upheaval The Associated Press college football pollwith Texas returning to No. 1 on Sunday after a week-long absence Vanderbilt’s Monumental Surprise from Alabama.

The Commodores’ victory as underdogs by more than three touchdowns resulted in the Crimson Tide falling from No. 1 to No. 7. The last top team to fall so far was Ohio State, which plummeted to No. 11 in 2010 after an October loss to Wisconsin.

Texas, which still had an open date, received 52 of 61 first-place votes and became the first team in two years to consistently finish first in three polls. The Longhorns also became just the third team since 2008 to be picked No. 1 after not playing the previous day.

Ohio State defeated Iowa for its fourth straight easy win, receiving nine first-place votes and moving up one spot to second.

Oregon and Penn State each moved up three spots, with the Ducks moving up to No. 3 and the Nittany Lions moving up to No. 4. Georgia remained No. 5.

Miami, which came back from a Trailing by 25 points in the second half to win against California 39-38, rising two spots to No. 6.

The chaos wasn’t just limited to Alabama.

Six of the 18 AP Top 25 teams that played lost to unranked opponents (33%), the most since losing six of 16 (38%) in the first week of October 2020.

According to Sportradar, the Tide was among four teams in the top 11 to lose to unranked opponents – the first time since Nov. 12, 2016, when five teams did so.

Tennessee lost to Arkansas and went from No. 4 to No. 8. Michigan lost in Washington and rose from No. 10 to No. 24. Southern California lost in Minnesota and rose from number 11 to the top 25. The Trojans were first among the teams to also receive votes.

Texas A&M beat Missouri handily at home in the only Top 25 matchup. That earned the Aggies a move up from No. 25 to No. 15 and the Tigers a demotion from No. 9 to No. 21.

Survey points

The Big Ten dominates the top five, but the Southeastern Conference maintains its grip on the top 10. No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon and No. 4 Penn State are occupied by Texas and Georgia of the SEC. The SEC also has Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi in the top 10.

Double-digit declines at Missouri, Michigan and USC mark the first time since Nov. 13, 2016 that three teams fell 10 or more spots in the same poll. This week it happened to Auburn (8-18), Texas A&M (10-23) and North Carolina (15-18 votes).

The biggest upticks were Texas A&M (25 to 15), Clemson (15 to 10) and Iowa State (16 to 11).

In and out

SMU (5-1) was rewarded Get out of Louisville on the road and enters the rankings in 25th place. The Mustangs have been ranked in the top 25 for all but one season (2022) since 2019. Louisville (3-2) has lost two of three and is out.

Pittsburgh won at North Carolina started 5-0 for the first time since 1991 and climbed to No. 22 in the rankings for the first time in two years.

USC (3-2) lost two of its first three Big Ten games and was eliminated, as was UNLV, whose first-ever Top 25 appearance was spoiled by one Home loss to Syracuse in overtime.

Conference call

SEC – 9 (Nos. 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, 15, T-18, 21).

Big Ten – 6 (Nos. 2, 3, 4, T-18, 23, 24).

Big 12 – 4 (Nos. T-11, 14, 16, T-18).

ACC – 4 (Nos. 6, 10, 22, 25).

Mountain West – 1 (No. 17).

Independent – ​​1 (No. 11).

Rank vs. rank

– No. 1 Texas vs. No. 18 Oklahoma in Dallas. It’s their first head-to-head SEC meeting and the sixth time in eight games a top-25 matchup. Sooners scored with 15 seconds left last year handed Texas its only loss of the regular season. Both teams still have open dates.

– No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Oregon. At the start of the season, this was announced as a midseason preview of the Big Ten Championship Game. It still could be. The Buckeyes have won nine of ten previous meetings, with their only defeat coming in the last one (2021).

– No. 9 Mississippi at No. 13 LSU. Huge impact on the College Football Playoff here. Jaxson Dart of the Rebels prevailed 55-49 last year in a dizzying matchup with Heisman winner Jayden Daniels.

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This version corrects four top 11 teams’ most recent losses to unranked opponents. It was November 12, 2016, not October 2017.

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