The Tigers of Clemson and LSU are starting to roar a bit louder in the AP Top 25. No. 3 Clemson moved up three spots and No. 4 LSU moved up one spot in this week’s AP Top 25, and each picked up a small share of first-place votes from the voters. No. 1 Ohio State remains firmly in first place, with No. 2 Baylor still in second, but for the first time in a while the Big Ten and Big 12 dominance at the top of the AP poll has been loosened.
Clemson picked up six first-place votes, one fewer than Baylor and one more than LSU. Coming off a dominating 58-0 victory over Miami, Clemson has now stepped into the discussion as a serious playoff contender. The same holds true for LSU, with the top-ranked team in the SEC entering a bye week before taking on Alabama in two weeks. No. 5 TCU fell one spot in the poll, while No. 6 Michigan State actually moved up a spot this week. The Spartans took advantage of losses by No. 13 Utah (dropped from No. 3) and No. 17 Florida State (down from No. 9) over the weekend to wiggle back up a spot. No. 7 Alabama is the highest ranked one-loss team, and the Crimson Tide also picked up a first-place vote following a tight win at home against Tennessee. No. 9 Notre Dame and No. 10 Iowa each moved up two spots to get into the top 10.
No. 20 Toledo dropped a spot after a slow start on the road against UMass. No. 24 UCLA and No. 25 Mississippi State jumped into the top 25 this week following wins against ranked opponents. Their victims, California and Texas A&M respectively, each fell out of the poll this week.
Here is this week’s AP top 25 poll, with first-place votes noted:
- Ohio State (39)
- Baylor (7)
- Clemson (6)
- LSU (5)
- TCU (3)
- Michigan State
- Alabama (1)
- Stanford
- Notre Dame
- Iowa
- Florida
- Oklahoma State
- Utah
- Oklahoma
- Michigan
- Memphis
- Florida State
- Houston
- Ole Miss
- Toledo
- Temple
- Duke
- Pittsburgh
- UCLA
- Mississippi State