Huskies, FSU moved up in poll; Buckeyes now 6th

Published 5:51 pm Sunday, November 26, 2023

The Associated Press

No. 3 Washington, No. 4 Florida State and No. 5 Oregon all moved up a spot in The Associated Press college football poll Sunday, giving the Pac-12 two top-five teams for the first time since the final ranking of the 2016 season.

Georgia remained No. 1 as the two-time defending national champions have been for 24 straight polls, dating back to the middle of the last season. The Bulldogs received 52 of 62 first-place votes.

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Michigan returned to No. 2 following a week at No. 3 and received 10 first-place votes after beating Ohio State 30-24 in Ann Arbor on Saturday.

The Buckeyes slipped from second to No. 6, clearing the way for Washington to reach its best ranking since finishing the 2000 season at No. 3 and setting up a top-five matchup with Oregon in the Pac-12 championship game on Friday in Las Vegas.

The final Pac-12 championship game in the conference’s current form before 10 members leave for other Power Five conferences will be its first matching top-five teams.

The last time there were two Pac-12 teams in the top five of the AP poll was 2016, when Southern California finished No. 3 and Washington No. 4. The last time it happened during the season was Oct. 6, 2013, when Oregon was No. 2 and Stanford was fifth.

No. 7 Texas and No. 8 Alabama held their places Sunday. Missouri moved up one spot to ninth and Penn State to No. 10.

POLL POINTS

The same eight teams have been the top eight teams in the country for five straight weeks, with the only loss among those teams during that span being Ohio State’s to Michigan.

The last time there was no team turnover in the top eight for that long was 2008 in Weeks 11-15. That year Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, USC, Penn State, Utah and Texas Tech held the top eight spots in some order for five weeks.

Among the top eight teams there are only four losses, one each for Oregon, Ohio State, Texas and Alabama. Of those four losses, three have come to other teams in the top eight: Oregon lost to Washington, Ohio State lost to Michigan and Alabama lost to Texas.

Texas’ loss came to No. 12 Oklahoma. Extend it out to the top 12 to include No. 11 Mississippi and the only loss to a currently unranked team among that group is Oklahoma’s to Kansas.

IN-N-OUT

North Carolina State and SMU made their AP Top 25 season debuts this week, raising to 44 the total number of teams to be ranked for at least a week this season.

Falling out for the first time this season was Tennessee, which finished its regular season 8-4 with a victory over Vanderbilt after barely hanging on at No. 25 last week.

Kansas State also dropped out again after losing a high-scoring game in the snow to Iowa State.

CONFERENCE CALL

Five teams from non-Power Five conferences in the AP Top 25 is the most since the final 2021 poll.

SEC — 5 (Nos. 1, 8, 9, 11, 13).

Pac-12 — 4 (Nos. 3, 5, 14, 21-tie).

Big Ten — 4 (Nos. 2, 6, 10, 18).

ACC — 3 (Nos. 4, 15, 21-tie).

Big 12 — 3 (Nos. 7, 12, 19).

American — 2 (Nos. 17, 25).

Conference USA — 1 (No. 20).

Sun Belt — 1 (No. 24).

Mid-American — 1 (No. 23).

Independent — 1 (No. 16).

RANKED vs. RANKED

— No. 8 Alabama vs. No. 1 Georgia in Atlanta, Southeastern Conference championship.

— No. 18 Iowa vs. No. 2 Michigan in Indianapolis, Big Ten championship.

— No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 3 Washington in Las Vegas, Pac-12 championship.

— No. 15 Louisville vs. No. 4 Florida State in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlantic Coast Conference championship.

— No. 19 Oklahoma State vs. No. 7 Texas in Arlington, Texas, Big 12 championship.

— No. 25 SMU at No. 17 Tulane, American Athletic Conference championship.

AP College Football Poll

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Nov. 25, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:

Record Pts Prv
1. Georgia (52) 12-0 1540 1
2. Michigan (10) 12-0 1495 3
3. Washington 12-0 1413 4
4. Florida St. 12-0 1358 5
5. Oregon 11-1 1277 6
6. Ohio St. 11-1 1251 2
7. Texas 11-1 1205 7
8. Alabama 11-1 1125 8
9. Missouri 10-2 1011 10
10. Penn St. 10-2 961 11
11. Mississippi 10-2 936 12
12. Oklahoma 10-2 857 13
13. LSU 9-3 809 14
14. Arizona 9-3 712 16
15. Louisville 10-2 689 9
16. Notre Dame 9-3 592 17
17. Tulane 11-1 557 18
18. Iowa 10-2 458 20
19. Oklahoma St. 9-3 407 21
20. Liberty 12-0 293 22
21. NC State 9-3 269
21. Oregon St. 8-4 269 15
23. Toledo 11-1 176 23
24. James Madison 11-1 121 24
25. SMU 10-2 108

Others receiving votes: Tennessee 98, Clemson 57, Kansas St. 41, Utah 40, Troy 7, Kansas 6, New Mexico St. 5, Kentucky 4, Memphis 1, North Carolina 1, Miami (Ohio) 1.

USA Today College Football Coaches Poll

The USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll Top 25 with first-place votes received, team’s records, total points based on 25 for first place through one point for 25th and ranking in last weeks poll.

Record Pts Pvs
1. Georgia (59) (12-0) 1571 1
2. Michigan (4) (12-0) 1506 3
3. Washington (12-0) 1417 5
4. Florida State (12-0) 1403 4
5. Oregon (11-1) 1278 6
6. Ohio State (11-1) 1250 2
7. Texas (11-1) 1226 7
8. Alabama (11-1) 1182 8
9. Missouri (10-2) 1034 10
10. Penn State (10-2) 967 11
11. Mississippi (10-2) 937 12
12. Oklahoma (10-2) 895 13
13. LSU (9-3) 780 14
14. Louisville (10-2) 716 9
15. Arizona (9-3) 681 16
16. Notre Dame (9-3) 602 17
17. Iowa (10-2) 553 19
18. Tulane (11-1) 549 18
19. Oklahoma State (9-3) 417 21
20. North Carolina State (9-3) 303 24
21. Oregon State (8-4) 253 15
21. Liberty (12-0) 236 22
23. Tennessee (8-4) 209 23
24. SMU (10-2) 135 25
25. James Madison (11-1) 79 NR

Dropped out: No. 20 Kansas State (8-4).

Others Receiving Votes: Toledo (11-1) 68; Clemson (8-4) 64; Kansas State (8-4) 54; Utah (8-4) 54; Troy (10-2) 25; Kansas (8-4) 15; West Virginia (8-4) 10; UNLV (9-3) 4; New Mexico State (10-3) 1; San Jose State (7-5) 1.