It was a week of upheaval in the Associated Press college football poll, with Texas returning to No. 1 on Sunday after a one-week absence following Vanderbilt‘s monumental upset of Alabama.
The Commodores’ win as more than three-touchdown underdogs caused the Crimson Tide to drop from No. 1 to No. 7. The last top-ranked team to fall so far was Ohio State, which plunged to No. 11 in 2010 after an October loss to Wisconsin.
Texas, which had an open date, received 52 out of 61 first-place votes and became the first team in two years to bounce in and out of the top spot in a span of three polls. The Longhorns also were just the third team since 2008 to be voted No. 1 after not playing the day before.
Ohio State beat Iowa for its fourth straight easy win, received nine first-place votes and moved up a spot to No. 2.
Oregon and Penn State each rose three spots, with the Ducks up to No. 3 and the Nittany Lions fourth. Georgia remained No. 5.
Miami, which came back from a 25-point second-half deficit to beat California 39-38, rose two spots to No. 6.
The mayhem wasn’t limited to Alabama.
Six of the 18 AP Top 25 teams that played lost to unranked opponents (33%), the highest mark since six of 16 (38%) lost the first week of October 2020.
