Reaction to New Rankings
As of Saturday night, Michigan, Clemson and Washington were upset as #2, #3 and #4 ranked in the nation for the first time. Ohio State and Louisville move up behind #1 Alabama in the AP College Football rankings. #4 Michigan and #5 Clemson each dropped two spots and #7 Washington fell three after losing for the first time. Wisconsin moved up a spot to #6. The only teams that held onto the spots in the Top 25 that they had last week were the only unbeatens left in the FBS: the top-ranked Crimson Tide and #14 Western Michigan. The Crimson Tide have been No. 1 since the preseason.
The Crimson Tide is the first unanimous No. 1 since Ohio State on Sept. 8, 2015.
#12 Colorado and #13 Oklahoma State each moved up four spots. Colorado has its highest ranking since it was No. 12 on Dec. 1, 2002.
Penn State, LSU, Florida State and 20 Washington State all moved up three spots. Washington State has its best ranking since the Cougars finished the 2003 season at No. 9.
A couple of SEC teams took the biggest falls. Texas A&M fell 13 spots after the Aggies lost for the second straight week. A&M started 6-0 but has now lost three of four and three consecutive SEC games. Auburn dropped 10 spots after losing 13-7 at Georgia. The Tigers' loss eliminated them from the SEC West race and helped Alabama clinch.
Southern California is back in the rankings for the first time since the preseason after handing Washington its first loss. The Trojans started the season 1-3 but have won six straight behind red-shirt freshman quarterback Sam Darnold.
San Diego State is in the rankings for the second time this season.
Troy is ranked for the first time in school history. The Trojans (8-1) won a match up of unbeaten Sun Belt Conference teams on Saturday against Appalachian State and their only loss was by six points at Clemson.
Virginia Tech and North Carolina dropped out after losing to unranked ACC rivals. Baylor is also out of the rankings for the first time this season.
