Alabama plunges to No. 13 in AP Top 25 College Football Poll after loss at Tennessee

ACTION 8 LACE UP SPORTS (AP) – Alabama’s brutal 26-10 loss to Tennessee in Knoxville has dropped the Crimson Tide seven places to No. 13 in this week’s AP Top 25 College Football Poll.

Alabama never led in the game as the Tide’s offense struggled from the start. With the win, Tennessee three spots to No. 11. Alabama is now the fifth-highest ranked SEC team.

While Auburn shocked then-top ranked Georgia 27-24 in Athens, the Tigers remain unranked, although they received some votes.

Overall, Saturday’s games left behind chaos as five of the top seven ranked teams from last week’s poll were beaten, some, like Georgia, in shocking defeats.

With Georgia’s loss, and fall to No. 5, Miami is the new No. 1. No. 2 BYU has its highest ranking since its 1984 national championship season and Notre Dame and Georgia stayed in the top five Sunday after both lost close games.

Miami survived end-of-game drama to beat rival Florida State in double overtime and stay unbeaten. The Hurricanes’ two-spot jump made them No. 1 for the first time since the 2002 season ended in the national championship game against Ohio State.

The Hurricanes received 40 of the 70 first-place votes from the media voting panel and were just 22 points ahead of BYU, which won a thriller at home over Notre Dame. The Cougars got 20 first-place votes and were 26 points ahead of Ohio State. The Buckeyes got nine first-place votes and were well ahead of No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 5 Georgia.

Miami is the first No. 1 team from the Atlantic Coast Conference team since Clemson in 2020. Other than Clemson, there had not been another ACC team ranked No. 1 since Florida State in 2014.

BYU went into its game against Notre Dame as a 10.5-point underdog and came out with a 28-24 win to go 6-0 for a third straight year. Since their championship season 42 years ago, the Cougars hadn’t been higher than No. 4 in a poll or in the top five since 1996.

Every single spot in the Top 25 has a new team this week, but only two teams dropped out of the rankings. A wholesale shakeup of the top 10 did not happen largely because Notre Dame, Georgia and No. 6 Indiana had built-up capital with their 6-0 starts, plus the losses by the Fighting Irish and Hoosiers were against top-10 opponents.

Indiana, which lost at home to Ohio State, was followed by Mississippi, Texas Tech, UCLA and Utah. Texas Tech received the remaining first-place vote.

Texas plummeted 12 rungs to No. 19 after its home loss to Florida.

In and out

In: No. 20 Florida, which dropped out last week after consecutive lopsided losses, is back after going to Texas and handing the Longhorns a second loss in a row.

In: No. 25 Arizona, which had an open date, has four straight double-digit wins since losing to BYU and makes its season debut in the poll.

Out: Oklahoma State’s loss at Houston brought an end to the Cowboys’ three-week run in the poll.

Out: Mississippi State got bounced for the 31-0 loss at LSU that followed a 23-point home loss to Alabama.

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

1. 1. Miami (40)
   2. BYU (20)
   3. Ohio State (9)
   4. Notre Dame
   5. Georgia
   6. Indiana
   7. Ole Miss
   8. Texas Tech
   9. UCLA
   10. Utah
   11. Tennessee
   12. Kentucky
   13. Alabama
   14. Houston
   15. Iowa
   16. USC
   17. Wake Forest
   18. LSU
   19. Texas
   20. Florida
   21. Boise State
   22. Missouri
   23. SMU
   24. Northwestern
   25. Arizona

Also receiving votes: Oklahoma State 128, Oregon 79, Auburn 61, James Madison 52, Mississippi State 30, New Mexico 6, Oregon State 3.

Ranked vs. ranked games this weekend:

No. 7 Ole Miss at No. 19 Texas: The Rebels have found their footing after that 24-point loss to Florida, outscoring Vanderbilt and Missouri by a combined 83-20. Longhorns are reeling and might have a new QB this week.

No. 14 Houston at No. 10 Utah: The Cougars have beaten one ranked team each of the last three seasons and will go for a second against an unbeaten Utah team that escaped Colorado as a 15.5-point favorite.

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