AP Top 25 College Football Poll: Georgia Still No. 1, Tennessee and Ohio State Tied at No. 2

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer

Tennessee has moved into a tie with Ohio State for No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll. That sets up a 1 vs. 2 matchup next week between the Volunteers and top-ranked Georgia.

It’ll be the 25th regular-season game matching the top two teams in the AP poll, and the third straight involving Southeastern Conference teams. Neither the Bulldogs nor the Volunteers have ever played in a 1-2 game in the regular season.

Georgia remained No. 1 for the fourth straight week, receiving 30 first-place votes and 1,528 points. The Volunteers moved up a spot to No. 2, receiving 18 first-place votes and 1,500 points to match Ohio State. The Buckeyes received 15 first-place votes.

On Saturday, Tennessee routed Kentucky 44-6 and Ohio State won 44-31 at Penn State. Tennessee has not been ranked this high since it was No. 2 in 2001, a season the Vols finished fourth.

No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Clemson, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 TCU and No. 8 Oregon held their spots in the rankings. USC moved up a spot to ninth and No. 10 UCLA gave the Pac-12 three teams in the top-10 for the first time since November 2016.

The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season will be released Tuesday night.

The last two 1-2 regular-season games both involved Alabama and LSU. The Tigers were No. 1 in 2019 when they beat the second-ranked Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa on the way to an SEC and national championship.

In 2011, the top-ranked Tigers won at No. 2 Alabama in overtime and the two SEC West rivals played again in the BCS national championship game. The Tide won the rematch and finished No. 1.

Including postseason games, this will be the 53rd game matching AP’s No. 1 and No. 2 since the poll began in 1936.

Three teams are making there season debuts on the Top 25 this week. No. 23 Liberty is ranked for the first time since 2020, No. 24 Oregon State becomes the latest Power Five school to snap a long absence from the rankings and No. 25 UCF is ranked for the first time since Sept. 27, 2020.

Kentucky and South Carolina both dropped out of the poll after absorbing their third losses of the season. Cincinnati also dropped out of the rankings.