Sports

UGA near-unanimous No. 1; Bama, Clemson fall

UGA near-unanimous No. 1; Bama, Clemson fall

Georgia tightened its hold on No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll Sunday, with TCU climbing up to No. 4 and Alabama dropping all the way to No. 10.

The Bulldogs had their strongest support of the season after manhandling Tennessee on Saturday, receiving 62 of 63 first-place votes from the media panel. No. 2 Ohio State got the other first-place vote.

Michigan moved up a spot to No. 3, and TCU jumped three spots to No. 4 — its highest ranking since late in the 2017 season.

No. 5 Tennessee fell three spots after losing on the road to the defending national champions.

For the first time in the College Football Playoff era, Alabama and Clemson lost on the same day, and both tumbled in the rankings. The Crimson Tide fell to LSU by a point in overtime to end up at No. 10 for their worst ranking since 2015.

LSU jumped eight spots to No. 7, the Tigers’ best ranking since they started No. 6 in 2020. That was the year they stumbled out of the gate a season after winning the national title.

Clemson fell seven spots to a season-low No. 12 after losing to Notre Dame. Last year, the Tigers fell all the way out of the Top 25 for the first time since 2011.

Oregon reached a season-high No. 6, and Pac-12 rivals No. 8 USC and No. 9 UCLA finished out the top 10.

POLL POINTS

Alabama held on to its top-10 ranking and its streak of weeks ranked in the top 10. The Crimson Tide have a streak of 120 straight polls ranked no worse than No. 10. That is the second-longest such streak in the history of the AP poll, behind Miami (1985-93).

IN

• No. 18 Texas has yo-yoed back into the rankings this week and still has a chance to win the Big 12.

• No. 20 Notre Dame went from preseason No. 5 to unranked by Week 3. After taking a circuitous road, the Fighting Irish are back in the rankings.

• No. 24 Washington had a moment in September then stumbled on the road. The Huskies are real tough at home, and that’s been good enough.

• No. 25 Florida State was ranked for a week in October before a three-game losing streak. The Seminoles might stick around this time.

OUT

• ACC rivals Syracuse and Wake Forest departed the rankings after absorbing second straight losses. The Demon Deacons are unranked for the first time this season.

Oklahoma State is also out of the Top 25 for the first time this season.

Oregon State had a one-week stay after breaking a nine-season Top 25 drought.

CONFERENCE CALL

SEC: 5 (Nos. 1, 5, 7, 10, 11)
Pac-12: 5 (Nos. 6, 8, 9, 13, 24)
ACC: 4 (Nos. 12, 15, 17, 25)
Big Ten: 4 (Nos. 2, 3, 14, 21)
Big 12: 3 (Nos. 4, 18, 23)
American: 2 (Nos. 16, 22)
Independents: 2 (Nos. 19, 20)

RANKED vs. RANKED

No. 10 Alabama at No. 11 Ole Miss

No. 24 Washington at No. 6 Oregon

No. 4 TCU at No. 18 Texas

No. 22 UCF at No. 16 Tulane