AP Top 25 College Football Poll: Alabama rises to No. 5 with SEC Championship Win

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer

Alabama has moved up from No. 8 to No. 5 in the AP Top 25 College Football Poll after beating then-No. 1 Georgia 27-24 in the SEC Championship Game.

The poll was released shortly before the College Football Playoff rankings, which have Alabama at No. 4 and in contention for another national championship.

Michigan is No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll for the first time since it won its last national championship in 1997 while Georgia slipped to No. 6 on Sunday after its 29-game winning streak was snapped by Alabama.

Michigan received 51 first-place votes. No. 2 Washington had 11 first-place votes and the Huskies were followed by Texas at No. 3 and Florida State at No. 4. All four are conference champions and all but the Longhorns are unbeaten.

Georgia had its string of 24 straight weeks at No. 1 snapped. It is the second longest in AP poll history behind Southern California’s 33 straight from 2003-05.

Ohio State was seventh, with Oregon, Missouri and Penn State rounding out the top 10.

Michigan is the first No. 1 team from outside the the SEC since Clemson in 2020 and the first No. 1 from outside the South since Big Ten rival Ohio State held the top spot in 2015.

Washington has its best ranking since reaching No. 2 in 1997 and Texas its best ranking since it finished No. 2 in 2009.

AP TOP 25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL (First-place votes in parentheses; SEC teams in bold):

1. Michigan (51)
2. Washington (11)
3. Texas
4. Florida State
5. Alabama
6. Georgia
7. Ohio State
8. Oregon
9. Missouri
10. Penn State
11. Ole Miss
12. Oklahoma
13. LSU
14. Arizona
15. Notre Dame
16. Louisville
17. SMU
18. Liberty
19. NC State
20. Iowa
21. Oregon State
22. Oklahoma State
23. Tulane
24. James Madison
25. Tennessee

Troy, which won the Sun Belt Conference for the second straight year, received 65 votes in the poll

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