The top portion of the latest AP poll remains largely unchanged from a week ago. The rest? Not so much.
Let’s start with Utah State, whose 56-17 drubbing of Hawaii on the big island has the 8-1 Aggies enjoying their highest ranking since finishing No. 10 in the year-end 1961 poll. And the Aggies weren’t this week’s biggest gainers; that honor belongs to No. 13 Syracuse, up nine spots after a 41-24 win over Wake Forest. The No. 13 ranking is the Orange’s highest since 1998.
ACC bunkmate Boston College moved up seven spots to No. 17 after a 31-21 win over Virginia Tech heading into the Eagles’ massive home game with No. 2 Clemson.
It was the kind of week where Texas, a 42-41 home loser to West Virginia, managed to hold steady at No. 15. The Mountaineers moved up five spots to No. 7.
Five of the bottom six teams are new as well, as No. 20 Washington, No. 22 NC State, No. 24 Michigan State and No. 25 Cincinnati are back in and Iowa State is in for the first time at No. 23.
At the top of the poll, LSU sunk five spots to No. 9 after a 29-0 blanking to No. 1 Alabama, while a 34-17 loss to No. 5 Georgia saw Kentucky slip one spot to No. 11.
The full poll:
1. Alabama -- 1,500 total points (60 first-place votes)
2. Clemson -- 1,435
3. Notre Dame -- 1,381
4. Michigan -- 1,304
5. Georgia -- 1,263
6. Oklahoma -- 1,181
7. West Virginia -- 1,065
8. Ohio State -- 1,025
9. LSU -- 1,020
10. Washington State -- 1,010
11. UCF -- 1,001
12. Kentucky -- 780
13. Syracuse -- 624
14. Utah State -- 586
15. Texas -- 559
16. Fresno State -- 506
17. Boston College -- 490
18. Mississippi State -- 486
19. Florida -- 400
20. Washington -- 342
21. Penn State -- 278
22. NC State -- 264
23. Iowa State -- 230
24. Michigan State -- 215
25. Cincinnati -- 141