As expected, there was very little change in the first release of the USA Today coaches’ poll following the opening week of the 2013 season. What change there was, though, was drastic.
Following its three-point loss on the road to Clemson Saturday night, Georgia tumbled down seven spots to No. 12. The Tigers, on the other hand, moved up three to No. 5.
The other marquee matchup of the weekend, LSU against TCU, saw the latter fall from No. 20 to No. 24 after the Horned Frogs’ loss, with the Tigers climbing slightly from No. 13 to No. 11 on the strength of the neutral-site win.
Alabama, a near-unanimous preseason No. 1, maintained its stranglehold on the top spot according to the coaches, with 58 of 62 voters placing them atop their ballots. No. 2 Ohio State (three) and No. 7 Texas A&M (one) were the only other teams to receive first-place votes.
Oregon and Stanford each maintained its spots at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, while South Carolina (No. 6), Louisville (No. 8) and Florida (No. 9) each moved up a spot. Florida State moved up to No. 10 to round out the Top Ten.
Oregon State (preseason No. 25), thanks to its loss to an FCS team, and Boise State (No. 19), throttled by Washington, both dropped out of the poll. Those teams were replaced by Washington (No. 23) and Miami (T-No. 24).
