AP Top 25 College Football Poll: Alabama Rises to No. 6 after Iron Bowl Victory

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer

Alabama has risen two spots to No. 6 in the AP Top 25 College Football Poll released today, following the Crimson Tide’s 49-27 win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl.

Michigan moved up to No. 2, with TCU at No. 3 and Southern California at No. 4 behind top-ranked Georgia after four top-10 teams lost on the final day of regular-season games.

The Bulldogs (12-0) are No. 1 for the eighth straight week and 11th time this season. Georgia received 58 first-place votes and Michigan received the other five.

The Wolverines (12-0) reached a season-high No. 2 after beating Ohio State, which dropped the Buckeyes three spots to No. 5.

TCU (12-0) has its highest ranking since reaching No. 2 in the 2015 season, and USC has its best ranking this late in the season since finishing the 2016 season at No. 3.

Other top-10 teams to fall were LSU, Clemson and Oregon. LSU’s loss to Texas A&M dropped those Tigers five spots to No. 11. Clemson’s loss to South Carolina sent it falling three spots to No. 10 The Ducks’ fourth-quarter collapse against Oregon State cost Oregon a spot in the Pac-12 title game and five spots in the poll, where it fell to No. 15.

Alabama is just ahead of No. 7 Tennessee, which beat the Crimson Tide on a last-second field goal at home earlier this season.

No. 8 Penn State and No. 9 Washington both have their best rankings of the season. The Huskies haven’t been in the top 10 since the 2018 season, when they peaked at No. 6.

No. 23 UTSA (10-2) made its season debut in the AP Top 25. The Roadrunners reached the rankings last year for the first time in the short history of the program.

Texas-San Antonio became an FBS school in 2012. The defending Conference USA champions peaked at No. 15 last season and will head into a second straight C-USA title game ranked.

No. 20 South Carolina (8-4) is back in the rankings after its second straight upset of a top-10 team. The Gamecocks beat Clemson on Saturday after taking down Tennessee last week. South Carolina was ranked for one week in October, but then immediately lost to Missouri.

No. 25 Mississippi State (8-4) returned to the rankings for the second time this season.

Ole Miss (8-4) fell out of the rankings for the first time this season. The Rebels reached No. 7 after starting 7-0 but finished the season losing four of five.

Cincinnati (9-3) is out again. The Bearcats have bounced in and out for most of the season. Losing to Tulane on Friday dropped them out again.

Coastal Carolina dropped out after being routed by James Madison but still has a spot in the Sun Belt championship game next week.

AP TOP 25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL (FIRST-PLACE POINTS IN PARENTHESES; SEC TEAMS IN BOLD):

1. Georgia (58)
2. Michigan (5)
3. TCU
4. USC
5. Ohio State
6. Alabama
7. Tennessee
8. Penn State
9. Washington
10. Clemson
11. LSU
12. Utah
13. Kansas State
14. Florida State
15. Oregon
16. Oregon State
17. UCLA
18. Tulane
19. Notre Dame
20. South Carolina
21. Texas
22. UCF
23. UTSA
24. North Carolina
25. Mississippi State

Championship week features matchup of ranked teams in five conferences:

— No. 11 LSU vs. No. 1 Georgia, Southeastern Conference championship.

— No. 3 TCU vs. No. 13 Kansas State, Big 12 championship.

— No. 4 USC vs. No. 12 Utah, Pac-12 championship.

— No. 10 Clemson vs. No. 24 North Carolina, Atlantic Coast Conference championship.

— No. 18 Tulane vs. No. 22 UCF, American Athletic Conference championship.

(Copyright 2022 The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)