AP Top 25: Texas returns to No. 1, Alabama drops to No. 7 after upsets force reshuffling of rankings

AP College Football Writer

It was a week of upheaval in The Associated Press college football poll, with Texas returning to No. 1 on Sunday after a one-week absence following Vanderbilt’s monumental upset of Alabama.

The Commodores’ win as more than three-touchdown underdogs caused the Crimson Tide to drop from No. 1 to No. 7. The last top-ranked team to fall so far was Ohio State, which plunged to No. 11 in 2010 following an October loss to Wisconsin.

Texas, which had an open date, received 52 out of 61 first-place votes and became the first team in two years to bounce in and out of the top spot in a span of three polls. The Longhorns also were just the third team since 2008 to be voted No. 1 after not playing the day before.

Ohio State beat Iowa for its fourth straight easy win, received nine first-place votes and moved up a spot to No. 2.

Oregon and Penn State each rose three spots, with the Ducks up to No. 3 and the Nittany Lions fourth. Georgia remained No. 5.

Miami, which came back from a 25-point second-half deficit to beat California 39-38, rose two spots to No. 6.

The mayhem wasn’t limited to Alabama.

Six of the 18 AP Top 25 teams that played lost to unranked opponents (33%), the highest mark since six of 16 (38%) lost the first week of October 2020.

The Tide were among four teams in the top 11 to lose to unranked opponents — the first time that’s happened since Nov. 12, 2016, when five teams did it, according to Sportradar.

Tennessee lost to Arkansas and went from No. 4 to No. 8. Michigan lost at Washington and went from No. 10 to No. 24. Southern California lost at Minnesota and went from No. 11 to out of the Top 25. The Trojans were first among teams also receiving votes.

Texas A&M soundly beat Missouri at home in the only Top 25 matchup. That earned the Aggies a promotion from a tie for No. 25 to No. 15 and the Tigers a demotion from No. 9 to No. 21.

Poll points

The Big Ten dominates the top five, but the Southeastern Conference maintains its grip on the top 10. No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon and No. 4 Penn State are bookended by the SEC’s Texas and Georgia. The SEC also has Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi in the top 10.

Double-digit drops by Missouri, Michigan and USC mark the first time since Nov. 13, 2016, that three teams fell 10 or more spots in the same poll. That week it happened to Auburn (8 to 18), Texas A&M (10 to 23) and North Carolina (15 to receiving votes).

The biggest upward movers were Texas A&M (25 to 15), Clemson (15 to 10) and Iowa State (16 to 11).

In-and-out

SMU (5-1) was rewarded for knocking off Louisville on the road and enters the rankings at No. 25. The Mustangs have appeared in the Top 25 all but one season (2022) since 2019. Louisville (3-2) has lost two of three and dropped out.

Pittsburgh won at North Carolina to start 5-0 for the first time since 1991 and enters the rankings at No. 22 for its first appearance in two years.

USC (3-2) has lost two of its first three Big Ten games and is out, as is UNLV, whose first-ever Top 25 appearance was spoiled by an overtime home loss to Syracuse.

Conference call

SEC — 9 (Nos. 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, 15, T-18, 21).

Big Ten — 6 (Nos. 2, 3, 4, T-18, 23, 24).

Big 12 — 4 (Nos. T-11, 14, 16, T-18).

ACC — 4 (Nos. 6, 10, 22, 25).

Mountain West — 1 (No. 17).

Independent — 1 (No. 11).

Ranked vs. Ranked

— No. 1 Texas vs. No. 18 Oklahoma, at Dallas. It’s their first head-to-head SEC meeting, and it’s a Top 25 matchup for the sixth time in eight games. Sooners scored with 15 seconds left last year to hand Texas its only regular-season loss. Both teams are coming off open dates.

— No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Oregon. Entering the season, this was billed as a midseason preview of the Big Ten championship game. It still could be. The Buckeyes have won nine of 10 previous meetings, the only loss coming in the most recent one (2021).

— No. 9 Mississippi at No. 13 LSU. Huge College Football Playoff implications here. Rebels’ Jaxson Dart prevailed 55-49 last year in a dizzying matchup with Heisman winner Jayden Daniels.

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This version corrects the last time four top-11 teams lost to unranked opponents. It was Nov. 12, 2016, not in October 2017.

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