Oregon has a unanimous No. 1 lead for first place in the CFP rankings, followed by Georgia, Ohio State

Oregon was the unanimous choice for No. 1 in The Associated Press College Football Poll on Sunday, it strengthened its bid for the top spot in the College Football Playoff Selection Committee’s first rankings of the season.

The Ducks are ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the third straight week, and unanimously for the first time, after the 21 point road win against Michigan.

Georgia, which received one No. 1 vote last week, remained No. 2 after overcoming Carson Beck’s three interceptions and late to pull away to beat Florida.

Ohio State earned its promotion one spot to No. 3 win at Penn Statethe Buckeyes’ eighth straight in the series. No. 4Miami, who defeated Dukeand No. 5 Texas, which was inactive, each moved up one spot. Penn State, which had been in the top five in the previous four polls, fell to No. 6.

The expansion of the CFP to twelve teams this season means that top teams’ losses against other top teams won’t exactly mean a disqualification in the race for the national championship. The first CFP rankings of the season will be released Tuesday and updated weekly until the rankings are announced on December 8.

Tennessee kept its spot at No. 7 despite battling late into the fourth quarter against Kentucky and three wins win 28-18.

Indiana moved up five spots to No. 8, its highest ranking since it was No. 7 in 2020 — and its best in a non-pandemic season since the Hoosiers were No. 4 during their 1967 Rose Bowl season. Hoosiers rolled past Michigan State 47-10 on his way to going 9-0 for the first time in program history; every win this season has been by double digits.

No. No. 9 BYU and No. 10 Notre Dame were at a standstill.

SMU’s 48-25 win over Pittsburgh earned the Mustangs a promotion from No. 20 to No. 13 – the biggest upward move this week. They haven’t been ranked this high since they were No. 3 on Oct. 1, 1985, two years before the NCAA imposed the “death penalty” that shut down the program in 1987 for flagrant rule violations. The school also chose not to field a team in 1988.

Poll points

Clemson and Iowa State, tied for No. 11 last week, suffered the biggest drops after losing at home. The Tigers dropped their eight spots to number 19 33-21 loss to Louisville. The Cyclones dropped their six spots to number 17 23-22 loss to Texas Tech. Texas A&M, Kansas State and Pittsburgh each fell five places.

Army, at No. 18, has its highest ranking since it was No. 10 at midseason in 1960.

Boise State, at No. 12, has its best ranking since it was No. 8 in the last 2011 poll.

Indiana is ahead of Notre Dame for the first time since the last poll in 1979, when the Hoosiers were No. 19 and the Irish were unranked. In Indiana, schools are 200 miles apart.

In-and-out

Vanderbilt’s 17-7 win at Auburn allowed the Commodores to return to the polls after a week-long absence, at number 24.

Louisville, which ranked every week in September, is back at No. 25 after the upset at Clemson.

Illinois, ranked 24th last week, saw its seven-week run in the Top 25 end with its 25-17 loss to Minnesota At home.

Missouri, which was in the poll every week and ranked No. 6, dropped out after an open date. The Tigers remained at No. 25 last week despite a 34-0 loss to Alabama.

Conference call

SEC – 8 (Nos. 2, 5, 7, 11, 14, 15, 16, 24).

ACC — 5 (Nos. 4, 13, 19, 23, 25).

Big Ten – 4 (Nos. 1, 3, 6, 8).

Big 12 — 4 (Nos. 9, 17, 21, 22).

AAC – 1 (No. 18).

Berg West – 1 (No. 12).

Pac-12 — 1 (No. 20).

Independent – 1 (No. 10).

Ranked vs Ranked

– No. 2 Georgia at No. 16 Mississippi: Bulldogs haven’t traveled to Oxford since losing 45-14 there in 2016. Georgia routed Ole Miss 52-17 at home last year.

– No. No. 11 Alabama at No. 14 LSU: LSU’s 32-31 overtime win over ‘Bama sparked a field storm two years ago, the last time the Crimson Tide visited Death Valley. Both teams come from open data.

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