Ohio State, Miami and Clemson plunged in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll Sunday following their losses during a wild weekend, eight of the top 10 teams moved up one spot and Oregon was No. 1 for the seventh straight week.
The shakeup creates two top-five matchups in conference championship games coming up on Saturday, a day before the College Football Playoff bracket is announced. Oregon, the nation’s only unbeaten team, will face No. 3 Penn State in the Big Ten game in Indianapolis. No. 2 Texas will play No. 5 Georgia in the Southeastern Conference game in Atlanta, a rematch of their top-five meeting in October won by the Bulldogs.
No. 4 Notre Dame, 11-1 and a winner of 10 straight, won’t play again until the College Football Playoff.
Ohio State, which lost for the fourth straight time to Michigan and was knocked out of the Big Ten title game, dropped five spots to No. 7, behind Tennessee.
SMU is No. 8 and followed by Indiana and Boise State. The Broncos are in the top 10 for the first time since 2011 and the highest-ranked Group of Five team, two spots ahead of No. 12 Arizona State, the highest-ranked Big 12 team.
If the Broncos win the Mountain West title and are one of the top four-seeded conference champions in the final CFP rankings, they would receive a bye to the quarterfinals.
Miami’s loss at Syracuse cost the Hurricanes a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, and possibly the CFP, and dropped them six spots to No. 14. Clemson, which plays SMU in the ACC game, lost at South Carolina and fell six places to No. 18.
South Carolina has won six straight — four against ranked opponents — and earned a three-rung promotion to No. 13. Mississippi remained No. 15 and was followed by Iowa State and BYU.
Colorado (9-3) climbed up three spots to No. 20 after the Buffaloes shut out Oklahoma State, 52-0, on Friday.
Poll points
Ohio State’s 13-10 loss to Michigan marked the fifth time this season a top-five team lost to an unranked opponent, the most since it happened five times in 2017.
Miami’s 42-38 loss to Syracuse was the 12th by a top-10 team against an unranked opponent, the most since there were 12 such losses in 2021.
It’s been 10 years since South Carolina was ranked higher than in-state rival Clemson. In 2014, the Gamecocks were No. 13 following a 3-1 start and finished 7-6 and unranked in Steve Spurrier’s last full season as coach.
Notre Dame has its highest ranking since it was No. 4 on Dec. 22, 2020.
In and out
No. 23 Syracuse enters the Top 25 for the first time since Oct. 30, 2022, after winning nine games for the first time since 2018 under first-year coach Fran Brown. The win over Miami was its first over a top-10 opponent since 2017.
No. 25 Memphis, which was last ranked in October 2020, knocked off Tulane as a double-digit road underdog and has 10 wins for the second straight year.
Tulane, which plays at No. 24 Army in the American Athletic Conference title game, went from No. 18 to out of the rankings.
Texas A&M, No. 20 last week, was bounced after losing at home to Texas and dropping its last three SEC games.
Conference call
SEC — 7 (Nos. 2, 5, 6, 11, 13, 15, 22).
Big Ten — 5 (Nos. 1, 3, 7, 8, 21).
Related Articles
Football: CU Buffs fall short of reaching Big 12 title game
What needs to happen for CU Buffs to make the Big 12 Championship game?
Keeler: CU’s Travis Hunter closes Heisman Trophy case with thrashing of Oklahoma State: “There’s no argument at this point”
Coach Prime after CU Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders’ five-touchdown day: “Shedeur should be right beside (Travis Hunter)” at Heisman ceremony
CU Buffs vs. Oklahoma State quick hits: Travis Hunter, Buffs D send message to Cowboys — with a hammer
ACC — 4 (Nos. 8, 14, 18, 23).
Big 12 — 4 (Nos. 12, 16, 17, 20).
AAC — 2 (Nos. 24, 25).
Mountain West — 2 (Nos. 10, 19).
Independent — 1 (No. 4).
Ranked vs. ranked
— No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 3 Penn State in Indianapolis, Big Ten championship.
— No. 2 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia in Atlanta, Southeastern Conference championship.
— No. 8 SMU vs. No. 18 Clemson in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
— No. 10 Boise State vs. No. 19 UNLV in Boise, Idaho, Mountain West championship.
— No. 12 Arizona State vs. No. 16 Iowa State in Arlington, Texas, Big 12 championship.
AP college football poll
Mobile users, tap here to see the chart.
School
Record
Points
Pvs.
1. Oregon (62)
12-0
1,550
1
2. Texas
11-1
1,484
3
3. Penn State
11-1
1,378
4
4. Notre Dame
11-1
1,373
5
5. Georgia
10-2
1,302
6
6. Tennessee
10-2
1,200
7
7. Ohio State
10-2
1,174
2
8. SMU
11-1
1,127
9
9. Indiana
11-1
1,059
10
10. Boise State
11-1
1,036
11
11. Alabama
9-3
840
13
12. Arizona State
10-2
832
14
13. South Carolina
9-3
789
16
14. Miami (Fla.)
10-2
756
8
15. Ole Miss
9-3
717
15
16. Iowa State
10-2
647
17
17. BYU
10-2
548
19
18. Clemson
9-3
502
12
19. UNLV
10-2
340
21
20. Colorado
9-3
295
23
21. Illinois
9-3
274
22
22. Missouri
9-3
214
24
23. Syracuse
9-3
206
–
24. Army
10-1
182
25
25. Memphis
10-2
121
–
Dropped out of rankings: Tulane (18), Texas A&M (20).
Others receiving votes: Texas A&M 93, Louisville 45, Duke 30, Kansas State 10, Tulane 9, LSU 6, Louisiana-Lafayette 5, Florida 4, Michigan 1, Baylor 1.
Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.