Nov 25, 2023; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Michigan Wolverines cheerleader celebrates a touchdown against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first half at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan ascends to No. 1 in AP poll; Georgia plummets to No. 6

Michigan moved to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time since 1997, with Georgia relinquishing its long grip on the spot after its loss to Alabama on Saturday.

The latest poll was released Sunday, just an hour before the College Football Playoff committee was set to determine which four teams would vie for the national championship.

Michigan received 51 first-place votes, and No. 2 Washington was rewarded with the other 11. They were followed by No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Florida State.

The CFP selection committee agreed with the top three finishers in the AP poll. However, the committee selected one-loss Alabama over undefeated Florida State as the No. 4 team into the playoff.

Alabama climbed three spots to No. 5 in the AP poll after defeating Georgia 27-24 in the SEC championship game. Georgia had won 29 straight games and sat atop the Top 25 for 24 straight weeks amid back-to-back CFP titles.

Ohio State fell a spot to No. 7 and were followed in the Top 10 by Oregon, Missouri and Penn State.

–Field Level Media

Sep 23, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) celebrates his rushing touchdown with Ohio State Buckeyes offensive lineman Carson Hinzman (75) during the third quarter of their game against Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium.

Ohio State climbs to No. 4 in Top 25 after win at Notre Dame

Ohio State moved up in — and Colorado moved out of — the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, released Sunday.

The Buckeyes (4-0) climbed two spots to No. 4 following their thrilling, final-second 17-14 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday.

Deion Sanders’ previously undefeated Buffaloes (3-1), who entered this weekend’s action ranked No. 19 last week, fell out of the Top 25 after being drubbed by then-No. 10 Oregon.

The Ducks moved up one spot to No. 9 after the win.

Georgia remained in the top spot and captured 55 first-place votes. The remaining eight votes were spread among five other 4-0 teams in the Top 10. No. 2 Michigan (one vote), No. 3 Texas (two), Ohio State (one), No. 5 Florida State (three) and No. 7 Washington (one) each garnered a first-place vote.

Six teams had not received first-place votes in a regular-season poll since Nov. 1, 2015.

Rounding out the Top 10 were No. 6 Penn State, No. 8 Southern California, Oregon and No. 10 Utah. Each of those teams are also 4-0.

With their loss to Ohio State, Notre Dame (4-1) dropped two spots to No. 11.

Alabama (3-1) rose a spot to No. 12 after defeating Ole Miss. The Rebels plummeted five spots to No. 20 after a 24-10 loss to Alabama.

Also dropping five places to No. 19 was Oregon State, which lost 38-35 to Washington State. The Cougars rose five places to No. 16 with the win.

Moving in to the Top 25 were a trio of 4-0 teams — No. 23 Missouri, No. 24 Kansas and No. 25 Fresno State.

Missouri is ranked for the first time since 2019. Kansas is ranked in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2008-09.

Joining Colorado in falling from the rankings were UCLA and Iowa.

–Field Level Media

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett (13) warms up before the start of a NCAA college football game between Vanderbilt and Georgia in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022.

News Joshua L Jones

Top six teams unchanged as Georgia leads AP Top 25

Georgia is No. 1 for the third straight week and the top six teams held their spots in the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll released Sunday.

The Bulldogs (7-0) were idle this weekend and received 31 first-place votes. No. 2 Ohio State (7-0) got 18 votes and No. 3 Tennessee (7-0) earned 13.

Michigan (7-0), Clemson (8-0) and Alabama (7-1) round out the top six, with the Tigers receiving one first-place vote following a 27-21 win against Syracuse (6-1), who dropped two spots to No. 16.

The rest of the Top 10 — Top 11, actually — starts with No. 7 TCU (7-0), followed by Oregon (6-1), Oklahoma State (6-1), Southern California (6-1) and Wake Forest (6-1). The Trojans and Demon Deacons are tied at No. 10.

UCLA (6-1) fell three spots to No. 12 after a 45-30 loss to the Ducks.

No. 15 Ole Miss (7-1) plummeted eight places after a 45-20 setback at LSU (6-2), who rejoined the poll this week at No. 18.

No. 25 South Carolina (5-2) is ranked for the first time since 2018.

Texas and Mississippi State dropped out of the Top 25 after losses to Oklahoma State and Alabama, respectively.

The SEC has seven teams represented, followed by the ACC with five and the Big Ten and Pac-12 with four each.

–Field Level Media

Oct 15, 2022; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers tight end Princeton Fant (88) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first half at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee rises to No. 3 behind Georgia, Ohio State

Tennessee’s thrilling 52-49 victory against Alabama vaulted the Volunteers to No. 3 in the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll released Sunday.

Georgia (7-0) and idle Ohio State (6-0) held their spots atop the poll and received 31 and 17 of the 63 first-place ballots, respectively. The Bulldogs blanked Vanderbilt 55-0 on Saturday.

Tennessee (6-0) moved up three places and collected the remaining 15 votes after Chase McGrath’s 40-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Crimson Tide (6-1), who fell three spots to No. 6.

The Volunteers have not been ranked this high in the second half of a season since 2001, while the Tide saw their streak of 40 consecutive weeks in the Top 5 snapped.

No. 4 Michigan (7-0) switched places with No. 5 Clemson (7-0). The Wolverines thumped Penn State 41-17, which knocked the Nittany Lions (5-1) down six rungs to No. 16. The Tigers held on for a 34-28 win at Florida State.

After Alabama, Ole Miss (7-0), TCU (6-0), UCLA (6-0) and Oregon (5-1) round out the Top 10.

No. 11 Oklahoma State (5-1) and No. 12 Southern California (12) fell out of the Top 10 after absorbing their first losses of the season. The Cowboys lost in double-overtime at TCU and the Trojans fell 43-42 at Utah (5-2), which jumped five spots to No. 15.

No. 22 North Carolina (6-1) is ranked for the first time this season and No. 25 Tulane is in the poll for the first time since 1998.

Kansas dropped out after its second straight loss and James Madison is out after checking in at No. 25 last week in its first season as an FBS member.

–Field Level Media

Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Stetson Bennett (13) celebrates his touchdown run as Georgia takes on Auburn at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. on Saturday, Oct. 8th, 2022.Sports Richard Hamm

Georgia back to No. 1 in Top 25, Alabama slips to No. 3

Georgia reclaimed the No. 1 spot from rival Alabama in the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll released Sunday.

The defending national champion Bulldogs (6-0) received 32 of the 63 first-place ballots following a 42-10 victory against Auburn.

No. 2 Ohio State (6-0) moved up a spot and earned 20 first-place votes following a 49-20 victory at Michigan State.

Alabama (6-0) dropped to No. 3 and received 11 votes after holding on for a 24-20 defeat of Texas A&M.

No. 4 Clemson (6-0) and No. 5 Michigan (6-0) switched places, No. 6 Tennessee (5-0) moved up two spots and No. 7 Southern California (6-0) and No. 8 Oklahoma State (5-0) each fell one spot. No. 9 Ole Miss (6-0) and No. 10 Penn State (5-0) held steady.

No. 11 UCLA (6-0) jumped seven places after a 42-32 victory against Utah (4-2), which plummeted nine spots to No. 20.

No. 16 Mississippi State (5-1) matched the Bruins for the largest rise, climbing seven spots after routing Arkansas 40-17.

No. 22 Kentucky (4-2) equaled the Utes’ nine-spot tumble after falling 24-14 to South Carolina for a second straight setback.

Tied with the Wildcats at No. 22, Texas (4-2) joins the poll this week along with No. 24 Illinois (5-1) and No. 25 James Madison (5-0). The Illini are in the Top 25 for the first time since 2011 while the Dukes, out of the Sun Belt Conference, are playing their first season at the FBS level.

Dropping out of the poll were Washington, LSU and BYU.

–Field Level Media

Georgia running back Kenny McIntosh (6) drives in for touchdown during the first half of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game between Oregon and Georgia in Atlanta, on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022.

News Joshua L Jones

Georgia jumps Ohio St. to No. 2 in AP poll; Alabama on top

Georgia rode a dominating performance against Oregon to move to No. 2 in the first Associated Press Top 25 poll of the regular season, sending Ohio State to No. 3.

Alabama stayed at No. 1, earning 44 of 63 first-place votes. Georgia, with its 49-3 thrashing of Oregon, gained 17 first-place votes and moved up one spot in the poll released Tuesday. Despite a lukewarm first half in their defeat of Notre Dame, the Buckeyes received the other two first-place votes.

Rising four spots to No. 4 was Michigan while Clemson fell one spot to No. 5.

Rounding out the top 10 are No. 6 Texas A&M, followed by Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Baylor and Southern California.

The Irish fell from No. 5 with their 21-10 loss to Ohio State. The Trojans jumped four spots after their 66-14 win over Rice to open the Lincoln Riley era in Los Angeles.

Florida moved into the top 25 at No. 12 after its impressive 29-26 over Utah in the first game under new head coach Billy Napier. The Utes dropped six places to No. 13.

Also debuting in the top 25 this week is Tennessee (No. 24). This is the first ranking for the Volunteers under second-year head coach Josh Heupel.

With its loss, Oregon plummeted from No. 11 all the way out of the top 25.

Also dropping out of the poll was Cincinnati — a College Football Playoff team last season — which was ranked No. 23 in the preseason poll. The Bearcats’ streak of 45 straight top 25 appearances was snapped after losing to Arkansas, which moved up three spots to No. 16.

In all, the Southeastern Conference has eight teams in the top 25.

The rest of the Top 25:
11. Oklahoma State
12. Florida
13. Utah
14. Michigan State
15. Miami
16. Arkansas
17. Pittsburgh
18. N.C. State
19. Wisconsin
20. Kentucky
21. BYU
22. Ole Miss
23. Wake Forest
24. Tennessee
25. Houston

–Field Level Media

Sep 18, 2021; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban talks to the referee against the Florida Gators during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Alabama, Georgia remain atop AP poll; UCLA plummets

Alabama and Georgia remained No. 1 and 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, leading a group of seven ranked teams from the Southeastern Conference.

The Big Ten placed three teams in the Top 10, with Ohio State – off an unimpressive win over Tulsa — falling to No. 10 behind No. 5 Iowa and No. 6 Penn State.

Rounding out the Top 10 were No. 3 Oregon and No. 4 Oklahoma, who flipped places, along with No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 8 Cincinnati and No. 9 Clemson.

The Tigers fell three spots from No. 9; Penn State replaced Clemson at No. 6 after a 28-20 win over Auburn.

Except for Ohio State and Clemson, both of which are 2-1, all teams in the Top 10 are 3-0.

Taking the biggest tumble of the week was UCLA, which fell from No. 13 to 24. A feel-good story after years of mediocrity, the Bruins entered the week at 2-0 but lost to Fresno State 40-37.

With the win, the Bulldogs (3-1) entered the poll at No. 22.

Florida (2-1) stayed at No. 11 after a tough 31-29 loss to Alabama on Saturday, the highest ranked of the second tier of SEC schools – No. 13 Ole Miss (3-0), No. 16 Arkansas (3-0) and No. 23 Auburn (2-1).

The non-Power 5 conferences retained their strong presence in the poll, with No. 15 BYU rising eight spots, above No. 17 Coastal Carolina. Both teams are undefeated after three weeks of the season.

Undefeated Michigan State, with a 38-17 victory Saturday over Miami (FL), entered the poll at No. 20, immediately following its Big Ten mates Wisconsin (1-1) and Michigan (3-0).

Falling out of the Top 25 were Miami and Arizona State after losses. Kansas State (3-0) entered at No. 25.

–Field Level Media

Jan 11, 2021; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Mac Jones (10) celebrates with the CFP National Championship trophy after beating the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship Game. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Alabama finishes atop AP Top 25 poll for 11th time

Alabama was the unanimous No. 1 in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll of the season after its 52-24 drubbing of Ohio State in the College Football Playoff championship game Monday night.

The Crimson Tide (13-0) were followed by the Buckeyes (7-1), with Clemson (10-2), Texas A&M (9-1) and Notre Dame (10-2) rounding out the top five.

Alabama now has finished in the No. 1 spot 11 times in its storied history. The Crimson Tide have won six of the past 12 national championships.

After the game, Alabama quarterback Mac Jones said his team deserves the highest accolades.

“We set this as a goal, to potentially be the greatest team to ever play,” Jones said. “I think we made a valid statement in winning the national championship tonight.”

The rest of the top 10 was led by Oklahoma (9-2), followed by Georgia (8-2), Cincinnati (9-1), Iowa State (9-3) and Northwestern (7-2).

The Southeastern Conference wound up with three of the top seven teams in the nation — Alabama, Texas A&M and Georgia. The No. 4 spot was the highest final ranking for the Aggies since 1939.

The SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference each had four teams in the Top 25.

Cincinnati led the group of eight non-Power Five conference teams to make the Top 25, followed by independent BYU (No. 11), Coastal Carolina (No. 14) and Louisiana (No. 15) of the Sun Belt Conference, independent Liberty (No. 17), Mid-American Conference schools Ball State (No. 23) and Buffalo (No. 25), and No. 24 San Jose State of the Mountain West Conference.

–Field Level Media

Nov 28, 2020; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA;  Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) breaks free for a touchdown against Auburn at Bryant-Denny Stadium in the Iron Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser via USA TODAY Sports

Alabama stays unanimous No. 1 in AP Top 25 poll

Alabama is the top-ranked team in college football for the fourth straight week, taking home the unanimous No. 1 in the The Associated Press college football poll.

Alabama received 62 first-place votes for the second consecutive week. Notre Dame (9-0) comes in No. 2 while Ohio State (4-0) is No. 3 and Clemson (8-1) at No. 4.

The Crimson Tide posted a 42-13 win over No. 22 Auburn on Saturday to move to 8-0 on the season.

Texas A&M (6-1) comes in at No. 5 in the top 25, while Florida (7-1) is ranked 6. Cincinnati, which is undefeated at 8-0, is ranked seventh and undefeated BYU (9-0) is eighth.

Miami (7-1) moves into the top 10 at No. 9 with Indiana (5-1) at 10.

Oregon (3-1) fell out of the top 10 after a 41-38 loss to Oregon State. The Ducks go from No. 9 to No. 21.

Three teams dropped out of the top 25, Texas, Auburn and North Carolina. Each lost this past week for the third time this season.

Washington (3-0) moves into the top 25 at No. 23, while Iowa (4-2) comes in at No. 24, and Liberty (9-1) sits at No. 25.

— Field Level Media