Vols jump to No. 3 in AP poll; Bama falls to 6th
Tennessee moved to No. 3 in The Associated Press college football poll behind No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Ohio State after knocking off Alabama.
The Crimson Tide were one of five unbeaten teams to fall during a wild weekend and dropped three places to No. 6 in the AP Top 25. Alabama swapped places with the Volunteers after losing to them 52-49 on a field goal as time expired Saturday.
Georgia remained No. 1 and received 31 first-place votes, while Ohio State had 17 first-place votes.
The Volunteers received 15 first-place votes and have their best ranking since starting the 2005 season at No. 3. The last time Tennessee was ranked this high in the second half of the season was 2001, reaching the top 10 in late October and heading into the SEC championship at No. 2.
No. 4 Michigan moved up a spot Sunday, switching places with No. 5 Clemson after the Wolverines blew out now-No. 16 Penn State.
No. 7 Ole Miss moved up two spots, and No. 8 TCU, No. 9 UCLA and No. 10 Oregon all moved into the top 10.
POLL POINTS
The Crimson Tide had their string of 40 straight appearances in the top five snapped. It was the longest such active streak in the country.
Georgia now has the longest run of top-five appearances with 24.
The Tide’s latest top-five run is only the third longest of the Saban era. Their 68 straight top-five appearances from 2015 to 2019 is the AP poll record, and a string of 48 consecutive top-five rankings from 2011 to 2013 is tied for fourth.
EXPLAIN YOUR VOTE
Tennessee made a case to be the No. 1 team in the country, and it swayed some voters.
Those who bought in on the Volunteers cited a résumé that includes four victories against teams that were ranked at the time (at Pitt, Florida, at LSU and Alabama).
“I voted Tennessee No. 1 because the Vols’ strength of schedule is far superior to UGA and Ohio State,” said Ron Counts of the Idaho Statesman in Boise.
For comparison, Georgia has played just one team (Oregon) that has been ranked at any point this season. Ohio State has played three, though only one was ranked at the time (Notre Dame) and all those opponents have at least three losses.
Plus, beating Alabama doesn’t happen often and holds a lot of weight with voters. No team this season has beaten a team with a better ranking at the time the game was played than Tennessee.
“It was a tough call between Tennessee and Georgia for No. 1,” said Kellis Robinett of The Wichita (Kansas) Eagle. “I have been voting the Bulldogs ahead of everyone else for several weeks, mostly because their blowout victory over Oregon has aged like a fine wine. But I think beating Alabama is slightly more impressive.”
So why only No. 3 for Tennessee?
The ranked-at-the-time argument falls flat for some voters, who were less impressed with victories against Florida and Pitt and give Georgia and Ohio State credit for being more dominant overall.
“I’ve been high on Tennessee all year, but I don’t think ranking them No. 3 is any kind of snub this week,” said Mike Barber of the Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch.
IN
• No. 22 North Carolina is ranked for the first time this season.
• No. 25 Tulane is this week’s breakthrough team. The Green Wave (6-1) are ranked for the first time since 1998, when quarterback Shaun King led them to an unbeaten season and No. 7 in the final Top 25.
OUT
• Kansas lost two straight games after snapping a poll drought of 13 years and is unranked again.
• James Madison is out after becoming the first team to be ranked in its first season as an FBS member. The Dukes lost 45-38 on the road at new Sun Belt rival Georgia Southern.
CONFERENCE CALL
SEC – 6 (Nos. 1, 3, 6, 7, 19, 24)
ACC – 5 (Nos. 5, 13, 14, 22, 23)
Big 12 – 4 (Nos. 8, 11, 17, 20)
Big Ten – 4 (No. 2, 4, 16, 18)
Pac-12 – 4 (Nos. 9, 10, 12, 15)
American – 2 (Nos. 21, 25)
RANKED vs. RANKED
After six games matching ranked teams this past weekend, five more are on tap, including the first top-10 matchup in the Pac-12 since the 2016 conference championship game (No. 4 Washington and No. 9 Colorado).
No. 14 Syracuse at No. 5 Clemson
No. 20 Texas at No. 11 Oklahoma State
No. 9 UCLA at No. 10 Oregon
No. 24 Mississippi State at No. 6 Alabama
No. 17 Kansas State at No. 8 TCU
Tulane coach Jon Sumrall has emerged as the clear favorite to be the next head coach of the Florida Gators, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Florida turned its attention away from Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin earlier this week after getting the sense through irregular communication that he is interested in other options, likely a move to LSU or remaining with the Rebels, sources told ESPN on Friday.
Sumrall is expected to make a decision on his future by Sunday morning as he considers staying at Tulane or a move to Gainesville. He also received significant interest from Auburn, but the Tigers have since shifted their focus to other candidates, another indicator that Florida looms as the clear leader for Sumrall’s services, sources said.
Sumrall, a former SEC player at Kentucky, where he later served as an assistant coach and co-defensive coordinator, is 18-7 in two seasons at Tulane. He also won back-to-back Sun Belt titles as head coach at Troy in 2022 and 2023.
Sumrall, 43, garnered outside interest after his first season with Tulane, earning a contract extension after just one season at the helm.
Tulane (9-2) hosts Charlotte on Saturday night in its regular-season finale. The Green Wave can clinch a spot in the American Conference championship game against North Texas with a win over the 49ers.
Rivalry Week has already seen one upset that will affect a conference championship and College Football Playoff seeding. Could we see another one?
On Friday, Texas upset the Texas A&M Aggies to give A&M its first loss of the season and knock the Aggies out of the SEC championship game. Michigan is in a strikingly similar position. Ohio State is undefeated and No. 1 in the CFP rankings. It needs a win to set up a meeting with Indiana in next week’s Big Ten title game.
OSU has been largely unchallenged since defeating Texas in Week 1, and now it faces its biggest rival, which is hasn’t beaten in four years. Can the Wolverines pull another upset? It’s “The Game,” and we’re tracking the top moments and biggest plays:
-
Sports2 years agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports3 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment3 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment1 year agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024