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.
Infielder Ha-Seong Kim and the Tampa Bay Rays are in agreement on a two-year, $29 million contract that includes an opt-out after the first season, sources told ESPN, adding a Gold Glove winner to a Rays team that places significant emphasis on defense.
Kim, 29, who is expected to return from shoulder surgery in May, likely will start at shortstop but also has played second and third base, with his Gold Glove coming in a utility role.
The deal, which will pay Kim $13 million this season, is the most Tampa Bay has guaranteed in free agency for a position player since signing outfielder Greg Vaughn for four years and $34 million in 1999.
Before the partial tear of his right labrum required surgery, Kim was expected to land a free agent deal in the nine-figure range. With his opt-out, he can join a free agent class next year that’s thin on infielders, with shortstop Bo Bichette and second baseman Luis Arraez the only players of Kim’s caliber.
He arrived from Korea in 2021, signing with the San Diego Padres as a bat-first middle infielder. While the power Kim displayed in Korea didn’t show up as frequently as it did with the Kiwoom Heroes, his glove was a revelation, and in four seasons with the Padres, he posted double-digit wins above replacement despite never slugging above .400.
Tampa Bay enters the 2025 season with playoff aspirations but had been relatively quiet over the winter, signing catcher Danny Jansen and trading left-hander Jeffrey Springs to Oakland. The Rays used Jose Caballero and Taylor Walls at shortstop last season and are expected to do the same this year before the return of Kim.
Shortstop Wander Franco, who was expected to be the Rays’ long-term solution at the position after signing an 11-year deal, remains on the restricted list while facing charges in the Dominican Republic of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation against a minor and human trafficking.
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New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner weighed in on the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ offseason spending spree, saying it will be even more “difficult” to keep up with the reigning World Series champions.
The Dodgers have spent more than $450 million guaranteed this offseason, pushing their 2025 luxury tax payroll to approximately $390 million.
With the penalties for exceeding the $241 million threshold, the Dodgers’ total payroll for this year likely will be in excess of $500 million.
“It’s difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they’re doing,” Steinbrenner said during an interview with the YES Network that aired Tuesday. “We’ll see if it pays off.”
Despite losing superstar Juan Soto as a free agent to the crosstown rival Mets, the Yankees also have had an active offseason, headlined by Max Fried‘s eight-year, $218 million deal.
The Yankees currently have Major League Baseball’s third-highest luxury tax payroll at just under $303 million. The Phillies are second at just under $308 million, more than $80 million behind the Dodgers.
The Yankees were listed in March 2024 by Forbes as MLB’s most valuable franchise, worth an estimated $7.55 billion, while the Dodgers were the second-most valuable at approximately $5.45 billion.
Steinbrenner, whose Yankees lost to the Dodgers in last season’s World Series, added Tuesday that Los Angeles’ busy offseason does not guarantee another championship.
“They still have to have a season that’s relatively injury-free for it to work out for them,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s a long season as you know, and once you get to the postseason, anything can happen. We’ve seen that time and time again. We’ll see who’s there at the end.”
Karabell: The top 10 fantasy baseball prospects for 2025 (1/29)
