Alabama slips in AP Top 25 College Football Poll following blowout loss to Georgia

Alabama’s 28-7 loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game caused to the Crimson Tide to fall and the Bulldogs to rise in the AP Top 25 College Football Poll.

Alabama dropped one spot to No. 11. Georgia moved up one spot to No. 2 for its highest ranking of the season.

Elsewhere, Indiana is the No. 1 team for the first time after going through the regular season and Big Ten championship game 13-0, ending Ohio State’s 14-week run atop the rankings.

The Hoosiers’ 13-10 win over the Buckeyes in Indianapolis on Saturday night made them the unanimous pick for No. 1 and they locked up the top seed for their second straight appearance in the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Ohio State, the defending national champion, slipped two spots to No. 3.

Texas Tech, a 27-point winner over BYU in the Big 12 championship game, also has its highest ranking of the season after rising one rung to No. 4.

Oregon was No. 5 and followed by Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Miami. Miami moved up two spots and returned to the top 10 for the first time since mid-October. After Alabama at No. 11 came BYU at 12.

Among Group of Five teams, American Conference champion Tulane jumped four spots to No. 17 for its highest ranking in two years. Sun Belt Conference champion James Madison remained No. 19.

The final AP Top 25 will be released Jan. 20, the day after the national championship game.

AP Top 25 College Football Poll (first-place votes in parentheses; SEC teams in bold):

1. Indiana (66)
2. Georgia
3. Ohio State
4. Texas Tech
5. Oregon
6. Ole Miss
7. Texas A&M
8. Oklahoma
9. Notre Dame
10. Miami
11. Alabama
12. BYU
13. Vanderbilt
14. Texas
15. Utah
16. USC
17. Tulane
18. Michigan
19. James Madison
20. Virginia
21. Arizona
22. Navy
23. North Texas
24. Georgia Tech
25. Missouri

Others receiving votes: Houston 82, Iowa 74, Tennessee 61, New Mexico 21, Duke 18, Boise St. 16, UNLV 10, South Florida 10, SMU 8, Arizona St. 6, Louisville 6, UConn 5, Washington 4, Pittsburgh 3, Kennesaw St 3, Illinois 2, Iowa St. 2, W. Michigan 1, TCU 1.

Poll points

— Indiana, which had the most losses in major college football history prior to Curt Cignetti’s arrival two years ago, had never been ranked higher than No. 2 before Sunday. That was the position the Hoosiers held for seven straight weeks before they rose to the top. They were 100 ballot points ahead of Georgia. The Bulldogs were just 12 points ahead of Ohio State.

— With the limited schedule of games, all teams that were in the Top 25 remained in the poll.

— Virginia took the biggest fall after losing in overtime to Duke in the ACC championship game, going from No. 16 to No. 20.

Conference call

SEC (8 ranked teams): Nos. 2 Georgia, 6 Mississippi, 7 Texas A&M, 8 Oklahoma, 11 Alabama, 13 Vanderbilt, 14 Texas, 25 Missouri.

Big Ten (5): Nos. 1 Indiana, 3 Ohio State, 5 Oregon, 16 Southern California, 18 Michigan.

Big 12 (4): Nos. 4 Texas Tech, 12 BYU, 15 Utah, 20 Arizona.

ACC (3): Nos. 10 Miami, 21 Virginia, 24 Georgia Tech.

American (3): Nos. 17 Tulane, 22 Navy, 23 North Texas.

Independent (1): No. 9 Notre Dame.

Sun Belt (1): No. 19 James Madison.

(Copyright 2025 The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)