Georgia received 55 first-place votes to remain the clear No. 1. Michigan was No. 2, with two first-place votes. No. 3 Florida State moved up a spot and received three first-place votes.
Texas received two first-place votes after its biggest regular-season victory in years. The Longhorns are in the top five for the first time since starting the 2010 season at No. 5 and have their highest ranking since finishing No. 2 after losing the BCS Championship Game to Alabama in 2009.
Behind quarterback Quinn Ewers, Texas became the first team to beat Alabama by double digits on its home field under coach Nick Saban.
The loss dropped Alabama seven spots to No. 10, its lowest ranking since early last November, when the Crimson Tide also were 10th.
USC moved up a spot to No. 5, giving each Power 5 conference top-five representation for the first time since Sept. 24, 2017.
No conference has more teams in the Top 25 than the Pac-12, which is in its last season with its current membership before 10 schools depart for other leagues in 2024.
Only the SEC had ever placed as many eight teams in a single Top 25, doing it 21 times with a record 10 in September 2015.
The Pac-12’s previous high was six ranked teams, achieved multiple times, including last week.
Oregon State and Washington State are the only members of the conference committed to it beyond this school year and would like to preserve the Pac-12, but whether its Power 5 status can be preserved remains to be seen.
After Washington State beat Wisconsin on Saturday night, Cougars coach Jake Dickert noted his school’s unfortunate position.
“We belong in the Power 5,” Dickert told ESPN among a swarm of Cougars, who rushed the field in Pullman.
Colorado, which was unranked to begin the season, moved up another four spots to No. 18 with its victory over Nebraska in coach Deion Sanders’ home debut at Folsom Field.
The Buffaloes will again be in the national spotlight next Saturday as they host Colorado State with ESPN’s “College GameDay” coming to Boulder for the first time since 1996.
“At the risk of sounding arrogant, we truly expect that,” Coach Prime said of the national attention. “And that’s why those kids come, they want the biggest stage and they’re getting that every darn week. And the numbers justify it.”
The last time “GameDay” came to Boulder was Sept. 14, 1996, when the fifth-ranked Buffaloes lost to No. 11 Michigan 20-13. “GameDay” visited Boulder twice in 1995, the year after ESPN began sending its crew to college campuses.
Poll points
Alabama’s streak of top-10 rankings is at 128, which dates back to the 2015 season. The Crimson Tide’s streak is the second longest in AP poll history behind Miami‘s 137 from 1985 to 1993.
The next five longest streaks of appearing in the top five: Clemson (97, 2015-21); Nebraska (96, 1993-98); Florida (81, 1992-97).
Moving in
UCLA and Washington State were two of four teams to move into the rankings this week.
No. 22 Miami is ranked for the first time since last September, when it fell out of the AP Top 25 after losing at Texas A&M. The Hurricanes beat the Aggies on Saturday to move back in and knock out A&M.
Miami and Florida State are both ranked in the regular season for the first time since Sept. 18, 2017.
No. 25 Iowa slipped back in after falling out last week. The Hawkeyes beat Iowa State on Saturday.
Moving out
Falling out along with Texas A&M were Wisconsin, which lost at Washington State, and Tulane, which lost at home to Ole Miss.
Clemson also slipped out of the rankings, ending a streak of 21 appearances. The Tigers barely held on to a spot in the poll at No. 25 last week following an opening loss to Duke. Their rout of Charleston Southern on Saturday wasn’t enough to keep them ranked.
Conference call
With Tulane dropping out, there are no ranked teams from conferences outside the Power 5. The last time that happened was a little less than a year ago, though three Group of 5 conference teams ended up finishing the season ranked.
Behind the Pac-12’s eight ranked teams is the SEC (five), ACC (four), Big Ten (four) and Big 12 (three).
Differing opinion
While the top three teams are in the same spots as the AP Top 25 — with Georgia getting all but one of the first-place votes — the AFCA Coaches Poll differed on where to slot the Longhorns after their victory against the Crimson Tide.
The coaches currently have Texas at No. 6, behind both the Buckeyes and Trojans, respectively. And the coaches also had Notre Dame at No. 11, with Tennessee at No. 9.
LAS VEGAS — NHL linesman Bryan Pancich left Sunday night’s Minnesota–Vegas playoff game 3:37 into the second period after a collision with Golden Knights forward Brett Howden.
Backup official Frederick L’Ecuyer took Pancich’s place in the opening game of the first-round Western Conference series.
Howden was trying to bat down a puck in the offensive zone when he appeared to make contact with Pancich’s head with both by the boards. Howden briefly kneeled down to check on the official before joining his team as the Wild went on an offensive rush.
The 22-year-old forward scored twice in the second period Sunday to help the Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils4-1 in the opener of their first-round playoff series. It was part of a strong debut that included his work on the Hurricanes’ top defensive forward line with captain Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook.
“I love playing in the big games and meaningful hockey. I’m motivated to try to contribute in any way possible,” Stankoven said. “Yeah, it’s always a nice feeling to get on the scoresheet.”
Stankoven’s play was part of a strong top-to-bottom start for the Hurricanes in their seventh straight trip to the playoffs. And it offered an example of why he was the primary return in a trade-deadline deal that allowed Carolina to pivot out of its big-swing January addition of scoring winger Mikko Rantanen.
“He’s got a little more skill than me and Marty, and obviously he can put the puck in the net,” Staal said. “He’s a good little player obviously: finds holes, he’s got good speed, and he can shoot the puck. So he’s just getting warmed up.”
The 5-foot-8, 165-pound Stankoven had five goals and four assists in 19 regular-season games with Carolina, with coach Rod Brind’Amour tinkering with the line groupings to find Stankoven’s best fit. That eventually led to Stankoven playing alongside the 6-4, 220-pound Staal and the 6-1, 208-pound Martinook more as the Hurricanes closed the regular season, even as they lost seven of eight after clinching their playoff spot on April 3 while resting key guys with the goal of being healthy for the postseason.
“It worked tonight,” Brind’Amour said. “But you’re right, it’s a safety net for players to play with two guys that do it the right way every shift — or at least certainly try to. there’s a lot of comfort there I think for any player that gets to play with guys like that.”
Stankoven’s first goal offered an example of the fit, coming when Martinook pushed up ice on the right side and tried to send a backhand feed across the ice back toward the crease. Devils center Nico Hischier knocked it down, but Martinook stayed on the forecheck and forced Hischier into a turnover behind the goal.
Martinook then slipped the puck to a trailing Stankoven, who sent the puck past Jacob Markstrom for a 2-0 lead. Stankoven slid to a stop as he bumped into Staal, the linemates facing each other as they raised both arms in victory before embracing with Martinook skating over to join them.
“I mean, I think they’ve got skill, too,” Stankoven said with a smile of his linemates. “It’s nice having a couple of big bodies on my line. They do such a good job of creating space for me, and I think we can thrive down low.”
Minutes later, Stankoven provided a needed punch to a power play. Fellow new addition Taylor Hall whipped a cross-ice pass to the right side to Stankoven, who had a clean lane from the faceoff dot with Markstrom. Stankoven whipped a rising shot past Markstrom’s right shoulder, the puck pinging off the inside of the left post and into the net for a 3-0 lead.
“I’m just trying to adapt to those players and be in the right spots to get pucks off,” Stankoven said. “Like you said, it takes a bit of time at first, but I think I’ve been adjusting pretty well. The guys have done a good job of communicating with me and helping me out.”
According to the Padres, Arraez was transported to Houston Methodist Hospital for further evaluation, and he was stable, conscious, responsive and could move his extremities.
During an in-game interview with ESPN’s Buster Olney on “Sunday Night Baseball,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said that Arraez has “a little bit of a cut on the jaw,” and that the club is “worried about the jaw, the stability of that.”
Arraez was seen in the Padres’ clubhouse after the game, which San Diego won 3-2.
On the first pitch of his at-bat, Arraez hit a drag bunt down the first-base line to Christian Walker, who flipped it to second baseman Dubon as he ran to cover first. Dubon then collided with Arraez, who appeared to hit Dubon’s arm or elbow with his face.
Both players hit the ground, but Arraez took the worst of it, lying motionless in foul territory next to first base as trainers and coaches from both teams attended to him.
Dubon and Walker, as well as Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado, watched as Arraez was placed on a backboard and carted out of the stadium. As he was being placed on the cart, Arraez put his arm around Shildt.
Arraez entered hitting .287 with three home runs and seven RBIs this season. He is in his second season with the club after he was dealt to San Diego by the Miami Marlins last year.
