AP Top 25 College Football Poll: Alabama Falls to No. 3
Georgia took back the No. 1 spot in The Associated Press college football poll from Alabama on Sunday after being bumped out last week by the Crimson Tide, which slid to No. 3.
The Bulldogs received 32 first-place votes and 1,535 points in the Top 25, presented by Regions Bank, to easily reclaim No. 1. They were just two points behind Alabama at No. 2 last week.
Georgia thumped Auburn 42-10 on Saturday. The Tide, whose Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young was sidelined by injury, escaped an upset bid at home by Texas A&M.
Ohio State moved up a spot to No. 2, receiving 20 first-place votes and 1,507 points.
No. 3 is a season-low for Alabama, which was preseason No. 1 but fell to No. 2 after Week 2. The Tide received 11 first-place votes.
There were two notable season debuts in the Top 25: No. 24 Illinois is ranked for the first time since 2011 and James Madison is in the AP Top 25 for the first time in its program history. The Dukes are playing their first season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference in Division I college football’s highest level.
Clemson overtook Michigan and moved up to No. 4 and the Wolverines fell one spot to No. 5.
Tennessee moved up to No. 6, which is the best ranking for the currently undefeated Volunteers since No. 5 early in the 2005 season. Tennessee stumbled to a 5-6 and unranked finish that year.
Southern California fell one spot to No. 7, and Oklahoma State, Mississippi and Penn State held their places to round out the top 10.
Alabama is the first team to drop from No. 1 to No. 3 off a victory in 25 years, when Nebraska beat Missouri in overtime on the famous “Flea Kicker.” Michigan jumped from No. 4 to No. 1 on Nov. 10, 1997, after it won 34-8 at No. 2 Penn State.
Elsewhere in the SEC, LSU’s return to the Top 25 was brief after getting thumped at home by Tennessee.
AP TOP 25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL (FIRST-PLACE POINTS IN PARENTHESES; SEC TEAMS IN BOLD):
- Georgia (32)
- Ohio State (20)
- Alabama (11)
- Clemson
- Michigan
- Tennessee
- USC
- Oklahoma State
- Ole Miss
- Penn State
- UCLA
- Oregon
- TCU
- Wake Forest
- NC State
- Mississippi State
- Kansas State
- Syracuse
- Kansas
- Utah
- Cincinnati
- Texas
- Kentucky
- Illinois
- James Madison
Here are the upcoming games on Saturday featuring ranked teams:
No. 10 Penn State at No. 5 Michigan.
No. 3 Alabama at No. 6 Tennessee.
No. 8 Oklahoma State at No. 13 TCU.
No. 15 North Carolina State at No. 18 Syracuse.
No. 16 Mississippi State at No. 22 Kentucky.
No. 7 USC at No. 20 Utah.
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