AP Top 25: Alabama remains No. 7, Tennessee falls to No. 11 before they face off in Knoxville
Despite Alabama’s struggles to beat unranked South Carolina, the Crimson Tide remains No. 7 in the AP Top 25 College Football Poll before heading to Knoxville to face now-No. 11 Tennessee.
Tennessee had been in the top 10 in four straight polls before slipping to No. 11 following its own difficulties in beating unranked Florida 23-17 in overtime.
Alabama was able to hold off South Carolina 27-25 on Saturday with an interception after allowing the Gamecocks a chance at handing the Crimson Tide its second straight SEC loss by botching an onside-kick recovery before the game’s final drive. The narrow win followed the 40-35 loss to Vanderbilt the week before.
Elsewhere in the poll, Texas strengthened its hold on No. 1 with its 31-point victory over Oklahoma. The Longhorns received 56 of 62 first-place votes, four more than last week and their most since they were a unanimous No. 1 in October 2008. Oklahoma has now dropped from No. 18 to out of the poll with the loss.
Oregon and Penn State each moved up a spot following thrilling wins in high-profile games.
Oregon’s 32-31 home win over Ohio State featured seven lead changes and moved the Ducks to No. 2 with the other six first-place votes. It’s their highest ranking since they ended the 2014 season at No. 2 after losing to the Buckeyes in the inaugural College Football Playoff championship game.
Penn State rose to No. 3 with a 33-30 overtime win at Southern California, the Nittany Lions’ highest ranking in seven years.
Ohio State dropped two spots to No. 4 and Georgia remained No. 5.
Army, which beat UAB 44-10, and Navy, which was idle, broke through for their first simultaneous rankings since Oct. 3, 1960.
LSU and Ole Miss were the biggest movers in the wake of the Tigers’ 29-26 overtime win. The Tigers went from No. 13 to No. 8, their first top-10 appearance since they were No. 5 in the 2023 preseason poll. Ole Miss, which lost for the second time in three games, dropped from No. 9 all the way to No. 18.
The Southeastern Conference holds down eight spots in the AP Top 25. e 2022 season.
AP Top 25 College Football Poll: First-place votes in parentheses, SEC teams in bold:
| Record | Pts | Prv | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Texas (56) | 6-0 | 1544 | 1 |
| 2. Oregon (6) | 6-0 | 1493 | 3 |
| 3. Penn St. | 6-0 | 1380 | 4 |
| 4. Ohio St. | 5-1 | 1357 | 2 |
| 5. Georgia | 5-1 | 1300 | 5 |
| 6. Miami | 6-0 | 1232 | 6 |
| 7. Alabama | 5-1 | 1127 | 7 |
| 8. LSU | 5-1 | 994 | 13 |
| 9. Iowa St. | 6-0 | 982 | 11 |
| 10. Clemson | 5-1 | 980 | 10 |
| 11. Tennessee | 5-1 | 959 | 8 |
| 12. Notre Dame | 5-1 | 914 | 11 |
| 13. BYU | 6-0 | 889 | 14 |
| 14. Texas A&M | 5-1 | 744 | 15 |
| 15. Boise St. | 5-1 | 597 | 17 |
| 16. Indiana | 6-0 | 580 | 18 |
| 17. Kansas St. | 5-1 | 567 | 18 |
| 18. Mississippi | 5-2 | 511 | 9 |
| 19. Missouri | 5-1 | 409 | 21 |
| 20. Pittsburgh | 6-0 | 397 | 22 |
| 21. SMU | 5-1 | 260 | 25 |
| 22. Illinois | 5-1 | 249 | 23 |
| 23. Army | 6-0 | 137 | – |
| 24. Michigan | 4-2 | 133 | 24 |
| 25. Navy | 5-0 | 84 | – |
Others receiving votes: Vanderbilt 68, Nebraska 62, Arizona St. 39, Oklahoma 36, Washington St. 32, Iowa 29, Texas Tech 18, Syracuse 13, Arkansas 13, Utah 7, Louisville 6, Southern Cal 5, Liberty 2, UNLV 1.
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