Ohio State Moves to No. 4 in AP Top 25; Colorado leaves

A season-high six teams received first-place votes, the most since the preseason poll in 2016. Georgia is still where it started at No. 1, but 55 out of a possible 63 votes are below the top spots.

Michigan went from No. 2 to No. 1. Texas held on at No. 3 with two first-place votes. Ohio State moved up two spots to No. 4 and took over No. 1 after holding Notre Dame for a touchdown on its final offensive play.

The Fighting Irish dropped two spots to 11th.

Florida State was ranked No. 5 after its win at Clemson, but it received three first-place votes.

No. 6 Penn State and no. 7 Washingtons took one spot each. The Huskies received first-place votes.

USC fell three spots to No. 8, while No. 9 Oregon and No. 10 Utah moved up one spot each, giving the Pac-12 four of the top-10 teams in conference history.

The Ducks’ performance by Sanders’ Colorado team bumped the Buffaloes from No. 19 in the AP Top 25.

Colorado has been the story of the early season, starting 3-0 after winning just one game last season. The Buffaloes moved up in the rankings with an opening week loss to last season’s national runner-up, TCU.

After the Buffaloes dominated Oregon, USC comes to Boulder next week to give Colorado a chance to jump back up the rankings or become an afterthought to voters for the rest of the season.

Utah’s win over UCLA knocked the Bruins out of the polls, two weeks later, leaving the Pac-12 with six ranked teams along with a conference-record eight.

Alabama, which fell out of the top 10 last week, moved to No. 12 for the first time since 2015, beating Ole Miss, which fell five spots to No. 20.

Poll points

Since November 1, 2015, six teams have received first-place votes in the regular season poll.

Ohio State was the No. 1 team in that poll, and remained so from the previous season, as was Georgia, the defending national champion. The Buckeyes only received 39 first-place votes. No. 2 Baylor received six first-place votes, as did No. 3 Clemson earned. No. 4 earned LSU. No. 5 TCU four and no. 7 Alabama got one.

moving in

Three teams entered the rankings this week, all for the first time this season:

Missouri is ranked No. 23 for the first time since a brief hiatus in 2019.

No. 24 Kansas is ranked for the second consecutive season. The Jayhawks haven’t had two straight years with any poll appearances since 2008-09.

No. 25 Fresno State has won 13 straight games, the second-longest streak in the nation behind Georgia, after finishing No. 24 last season.

moving out

Iowa lost the vote along with Colorado and UCLA. The Hawkeyes have yo-yoed in and out of the rankings and haven’t picked up a point this week after being shut out at Penn State.

Conference call

The SEC moves back into first place, though more than half are in the lower block.

SEC: 7 (No. 1, 12, 13, 20, 21, 22, 23)
Pac-12: 6 (No. 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, 19)
ACC: 4 (No. 5, 15, 17, 18)
The Big Ten: 3 (No. 2, 4, 6)
The Big 12: 3 (No. 3, 14, 24)
West Hill: 1 (No. 25)
Independent: 1 (No. 11)

Rank and rank

No. 10 Utah no. 19 at Oregon State: The first ranking match between the two after 25 meetings.

No. No. 3 in Texas. 24 Kansas: It was the first time the Jayhawks had played the Longhorns while they were ranked.

No. 13 LSU at No. 20 Ole Miss: 11th in the tournament rankings.

No. No. 17 at Duke. 11 Notre Dame: The first trip to Durham, North Carolina for ESPN’s “College GameDay” could be the biggest home game in Duke history. With Duke not on the team, only six schools in the Power 5 conferences did not host a pregame show: California, Illinois, Maryland, Rutgers, Syracuse and Virginia.

Coaches poll

Ohio State’s win over Notre Dame helped the Buckeyes move up to No. 3 in the AFCA Coaches Poll. No. 1 Georgia received 61 of 64 first-place votes, while No. 2 Michigan received two votes and No. 8 Washington got another.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.