Tennessee has climbed to No. 5 in the Associated Press college football poll as the Volunteers continue their impressive rise in the rankings. In addition, No. 25 Boise State has re-entered the AP Top 25 for the first time in four years.
For the second consecutive week, Texas has secured the top spot, earning 44 out of 62 first-place votes. The Longhorns maintained their position after defeating Louisiana-Monroe, marking their first victory as the nation’s top-ranked team since 2008. This game also marked quarterback Arch Manning’s debut as a starter.
Georgia holds onto the No. 2 position with 13 first-place votes, followed by Ohio State at No. 3 with five votes, and Alabama at No. 4. Both Georgia and Alabama had a bye week, gearing up for an anticipated top-five clash in Tuscaloosa the following Saturday.
Meanwhile, Tennessee achieved a 25-15 road victory over Oklahoma in their first game in the Southeastern Conference, recovering from an early season ranking of No. 15 to now sit at No. 5. Last week, they were ranked No. 6, having steadily ascended the rankings after an initial jump to No. 14 after Week 1 and No. 7 after Week 2.
This marks the first time since 2022 that Tennessee has been in the top five, with their previous peak being No. 2 on October 30, 2022.
Mississippi has slipped to No. 6, while Miami, Oregon, and Penn State have all improved their rankings by one spot, coming in at No. 7, No. 8, and No. 9, respectively. Utah has made an even bigger leap, moving up two spots to No. 10 after defeating Oklahoma State on the road in a matchup between ranked Big 12 teams.
Poll Points
The SEC’s dominance in the rankings has loosened a bit due to Missouri’s overtime loss to Vanderbilt, causing them to drop four spots to No. 11. Despite this, the conference continues to achieve impressive milestones.
For the past two weeks, the SEC has held six of the top seven spots in the rankings, a record for any conference in poll history. Before this, no league had ever managed more than five teams in the top seven—and the SEC remains strong this week with five of the top six teams. Moreover, the conference has maintained four of the top five spots for three consecutive weeks, another historical achievement.
Previously, in the history of the 88-year poll, the only occurrence of a conference having four of the top five teams was the SEC on October 19, 2014, with Mississippi State, Mississippi, Alabama, and Auburn ranked 1, 3, 4, and 5, respectively.
In-and-Out
Boise State’s absence from the AP rankings was noteworthy, as the Broncos had previously been a regular fixture in the Top 25 for nearly two decades. From their first appearance in 2002 until 2020, Boise State made the rankings 19 straight seasons, finishing the year in the Top 25 13 times.
After a strong performance on Saturday night, No. 22 BYU has entered the rankings for the first time this season. The Cougars (4-0) made their comeback by routing Kansas State at home, which led to a significant drop for the previously undefeated Wildcats, who fell 10 spots to No. 23.
This week, Nebraska and Northern Illinois exited the rankings after suffering their first losses of the season. Nebraska lost in overtime to Illinois, a result that allowed the Illini to rise five spots to No. 19. Meanwhile, NIU, which had not played since upsetting Notre Dame two weeks prior, faced defeat against Buffalo in another overtime finish in a Mid-American Conference matchup.
Conference Breakdown
SEC — 9 teams (Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 11, 14, 21, 24).
Big Ten — 6 teams (Nos. 3, 8, 9, 12, 13, 19).
Big 12 — 5 teams (Nos. 10, 18, 20, 22, 23).
ACC — 3 teams (Nos. 7, 15, 17).
Mountain West — 1 team (No. 25).
Independent — 1 team (No. 16).
Ranked Matchups Ahead
— No. 2 Georgia will face No. 4 Alabama. These teams have met eight times from 2012 to 2023, but only twice during regular seasons at each other’s home fields. The others were in national championship games and SEC title matches.
— No. 19 Illinois will take on No. 9 Penn State, marking their first meeting as ranked rivals since 2008.
— No. 20 Oklahoma State faces No. 23 Kansas State for the second consecutive week against a ranked Big 12 opponent. This will be just the third time in 68 matchups that both teams are ranked.
— No. 15 Louisville will go head-to-head with No. 16 Notre Dame, as the Cardinals and Fighting Irish meet for the second straight season with both teams ranked.
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Follow Ralph D. Russo on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP
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