Alabama has risen two places to No. 11 in the AP Top 25 College Football Poll after its 28-14 victory over Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
Elsewhere, Ohio State, Miami and Clemson plunged in the poll following losses.
Eight of the top 10 teams moved up one spot and Oregon was No. 1 for the seventh straight week. The shakeup creates two top-five matchups in conference championship games Saturday: No. 1 Oregon against No. 3 Penn State in the Big Ten and No. 2 Texas against No. 5 Georgia in the SEC, which is a rematch of their game in October that Georgia won.
No. 4 Notre Dame won’t play again until the College Football Playoff.
Ohio State fell to No. 7, Miami to No. 14 and Clemson to No. 18.
SMU is No. 8 and followed by Indiana and Boise State. The Broncos are in the top 10 for the first time since 2011 and the highest-ranked Group of Five team, two spots ahead of No. 12 Arizona State, the highest-ranked Big 12 team.
If the Broncos win the Mountain West title and are one of the top four-seeded conference champions in the final CFP rankings, they would receive a bye to the quarterfinals.
Miami’s loss at Syracuse cost the Hurricanes a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, and possibly the CFP, and dropped them six spots to No. 14. Clemson, which plays SMU in the ACC game, lost at South Carolina and fell six places to No. 18.
South Carolina has won six straight — four against ranked opponents — and earned a three-rung promotion to No. 13. Ole Miss remained No. 15 and was followed by Iowa State and BYU.
It’s been 10 years since South Carolina was ranked higher than in-state rival Clemson. In 2014, the Gamecocks were No. 13 following a 3-1 start and finished 7-6 and unranked in Steve Spurrier’s last full season as coach.
Notre Dame has its highest ranking since it was No. 4 on Dec. 22, 2020.
In and out
No. 23 Syracuse enters the Top 25 for the first time since Oct. 30, 2022, after winning nine games for the first time since 2018 under first-year coach Fran Brown. The win over Miami was its first over a top-10 opponent since 2017.
No. 25 Memphis, which was last ranked in October 2020, knocked off Tulane as a double-digit road underdog and has 10 wins for the second straight year.
Tulane, which plays at No. 24 Army in the American Athletic Conference title game, went from No. 18 to out of the rankings.
Texas A&M, No. 20 last week, was bounced after losing at home to Texas and dropping its last three SEC games.
AP Top 25 College Football Poll (first-place votes in parentheses, SEC teams in bold):
1. Oregon (62 1st-place votes)
2. Texas
3. Penn State
4. Notre Dame
5. Georgia
6. Tennessee
7. Ohio State
8. SMU
9. Indiana
10. Boise State
11. Alabama
12. Arizona State
13. South Carolina
14. Miami
15. Ole Miss
16. Iowa State
17. BYU
18. Clemson
19. UNLV
20. Colorado
21. Illinois
22. Missouri
23. Syracuse
24. Army
25. Memphis
Ranked vs. ranked games on Saturday, December 7:
— No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 3 Penn State in Indianapolis, Big Ten championship.
— No. 2 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia in Atlanta, Southeastern Conference championship.
— No. 8 SMU vs. No. 18 Clemson in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
— No. 10 Boise State vs. No. 19 UNLV in Boise, Idaho, Mountain West championship.
— No. 12 Arizona State vs. No. 16 Iowa State in Arlington, Texas, Big 12 championship.
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