UCLA is 9-0 for the first time since 1998 and moved up to No. 4 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll released Sunday.
It’s the Bruins’ highest ranking since their 2001 team was No. 4 following a 6-0 start.
While first-year UCLA coach Bob Chesney urged his players to ignore all rankings, including the first round of College Football Playoff rankings that had the Bruins at No. 8, fans have celebrated the move up to No. 4. UCLA is the highest-ranked Big Ten team in the poll.
USC, which had a bye, moved up to No. 15 in the poll and is on a collision course with the rival Bruins for a potential College Football Playoff spot.
Georgia was voted No. 1 in the poll for the second time this season and Ohio State’s free fall continued after a wild weekend that followed the first College Football Playoff rankings of the year.
Miami became the fourth No. 1 team to get knocked out of the top spot, the most in a single season since 2008. Only one team — No. 6 Indiana, which was idle — remained in the same spot it had a week ago in the top 25.
Georgia turned in one of the most dominant performances of the season in a 42-7 victory at Mississippi on Saturday. The Bulldogs had been No. 1 for one week when they were upset by Auburn on Oct. 17 but never dropped out of the top five, and they were the voters’ choice for No. 1 by a wide margin over Utah and Notre Dame.
Utah moved up one spot to No. 2 after its 28-20 win over rival Brigham Young and the Utes now have their highest AP regular-season ranking. The Fighting Irish’s 31-24 win over Miami pushed them up one rung to No. 3, while the Hurricanes fell to No. 5 after their first loss.
Georgia earned 53 of the 70 first-place votes from the media voting panel. Utah received 12 first-place votes and Notre Dame got five.
After Miami, Indiana, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee and Texas Tech completed the top 10.
Alabama and Texas both were rewarded for road wins and moved up two spots. The Crimson Tide won at Louisiana State and the Longhorns at Missouri.
Tennessee jumped from No. 16 to No. 9, its highest ranking in two years, after an impressive 34-6 win over a top-10 Kentucky. Texas Tech returned to the top 10 after outscoring West Virginia 53-48.
Ohio State, which was No. 2 two weeks ago, went from No. 11 after its loss at USC to No. 21 this week after a 41-28 home loss to Oregon. The Buckeyes hadn’t been ranked so low, excluding the 2020 pandemic season, since 2014.
In and out
In: No. 18 Oregon’s big win at Ohio State, which followed a ranked home win over Northwestern, put the Ducks in the poll for the first time in five weeks.
In: No. 25 Southern Methodist had been ranked all season until it lost at Syracuse and is now back after throttling Virginia Tech.
Out: Missouri’s loss to Texas was its second in three games and left the Tigers 1-3 against ranked opponents.
Out: Florida has lost four of five since its 4-0 start.
Conference call
SEC (8 ranked teams): No. 1 Georgia, No. 7 Alabama, No. 8 Texas, No. 9 Tennessee, No. 13 Kentucky, No. 19 Mississippi, No. 20 South Carolina, No. 24 LSU.
Big Ten (6): No. 4 UCLA, No. 6 Indiana, No. 15 USC, No. 16 Iowa, No. 18 Oregon, No. 21 Ohio State.
Big 12 (5): No. 2 Utah, No. 10 Texas Tech, No. 12 BYU, No. 14 Houston, No. 22 Arizona.
ACC (3): No. 5 Miami, No. 11 Wake Forest, No. 25 SMU.
Independent (1): No. 3 Notre Dame.
Pac-12 (1): No. 17 Boise State.
Mountain West (1): No. 23 New Mexico.
Ranked vs. ranked
This week’s top 25 matchups:
No. 2 Utah at No. 22 Arizona: Utes, alone in first place in the Big 12, haven’t won in Tucson since 2021.
No. 8 Texas at No. 24 LSU: Longhorns have won three straight and can go 5-0 against Top 25 opponents with a win here.
No. 11 Wake Forest at No. 25 SMU: Demon Deacons can take a big step toward securing a spot in the ACC championship game.
No. 15 USC at No. 6 Indiana: Trojans are 1-7 on road against Top 25 opponents under Lincoln Riley, their only win against crosstown rival UCLA in 2022.
Olson writes for the Associated Press.
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