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Oregon rises to No. 1 in AP Top 25; Georgia to No. 2; Texas at 5

Oregon rises to No. 1 in AP Top 25; Georgia to No. 2; Texas at 5

Oregon became the fourth team to be ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll this season, moving to the top spot for the first time in 12 years on Sunday after Texas lost at home to Georgia.

Vanderbilt was making its first appearance since the 2013 season at No. 25, and defending national champion Michigan was eliminated after a second straight loss that dropped them to 4-3.

Undefeated Oregon followed its 1-point home win over Ohio State with its first road game in 32 years, a 35-0 win over Purdue, receiving 59 of 61 first-place votes.

Georgia, which has won three straight games since its loss to Alabama, jumped three spots to No. 2 thanks to its 30-15 win over No. 1 Texas. The Bulldogs received the other two first-place votes .

No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Penn State were inactive Saturday and retained their spots. Texas fell to No. 5 after Georgia held the Longhorns to 28 points below their scoring average.

Miami prevailed in a wild game at Louisville to remain No. 6, and Tennessee moved up four spots to No. 7 after its win over Alabama. LSU, Clemson and Iowa State rounded out the top 10.

No team has held first place for more than three consecutive weeks this season. Georgia was atop the poll in the preseason, but a one-point win at unranked Kentucky in Week 3 knocked the Bulldogs out of contention. Texas took the lead for two weeks and then gave way to Alabama after the Crimson Tide’s victory over Georgia.

Alabama stayed at No. 1 for a week and was upset after beating Georgia at Vanderbilt. This allowed Texas to return to the top spot for two weeks.

Chip Kelly coached the only other Oregon teams to reach No. 1. The 2012 Ducks, led by Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, were on top for a week in November after suffering a loss to Stanford following a 10-0 start. The 2010 team that lost to Auburn in the BCS title game spent six weeks at No. 1.

POLL POINTS

This is the first time since 2012 that four teams will play a game as the No. 1 team in the same season. In addition to Oregon, there were USC, Alabama and Notre Dame. The other seasons since 2000 with four or more No. 1 teams were 2007 (4), 2008 (6) and 2010 (4).

Tennessee’s 24-17 victory over Alabama caused the biggest change in the poll. The Volunteers jumped from No. 11 to No. 7. The Crimson Tide fell eight spots to No. 15, their lowest ranking since 2010.

Texas’ loss to Georgia was the first home loss by a No. 1 team to a top-five opponent since Miami lost 17-16 to Florida State in 1991.

WHO’S IN; WHO’S OUT

Vanderbilt’s previous ranking was No. 24 in the final 2013 season poll. The Commodores, who defeated Ball State to improve to 5-2, are off to their best start since opening 5-0 in 2008. That was also the last time Vandy was ranked in the regular season.

Michigan, which scored its fewest points in a game since 2014 in a 21-7 loss to Illinois, has been ranked in the polls in 54 consecutive times since 2021.

Conference call

SEC: 9 (No. 2, 5, 7, 8, 14, 15, 18, 21, 25).

Big Ten: 5 (No. 1, 3, 4, 13, 20).

ACC: 4 (No. 6, 9, 19, 22).

Big 12: 3 (No. 10, 11, 16).

American: 2 (No. 23, 24).

Mountain West: 1 (No. 17).

Independent: 1 (No. 12).

RANKING VS. RANKING

No. 20 Illinois at No. 1 Oregon: The Illini will play the top-ranked team for the first time since 2007. They won 28-21 at Ohio State that year.

No. 5 Texas at No. 25 Vanderbilt: The first duel since these teams met twelve times from 1899 to 1928. The Commodores haven’t beaten two top-25 opponents in the same season since 2008.

No. 8 LSU at No. 14 Texas A&M: This has become one of the better series in the SEC as of late. The teams have split their last three meetings.

No. 12 Notre Dame at No. 24 Navy: This is the eleventh time in 97 meetings and the first time since 2019 that both teams are ranked when they meet.

No. 21 Missouri at No. 15 Alabama: Nothing is easy for either team this season. The Crimson Tide, which has suffered two losses, has not lost three games before November since 2006.

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