Notre Dame is back in the top five and Texas back in the top 10 after major wins on Saturday.
The Irish went to Blacksburg and knocked off then-No. 24 Virginia Tech 45-23, the club’s second straight convincing win over a ranked opponent. Texas has rocketed up the rankings after its third win over a ranked opponent in the past four weeks; the AP voters put the Longhorns at No. 9, two spots ahead of vanquished Oklahoma. (The pathetic Coaches’ Poll still has OU ahead of Texas, despite the Sooners owning a neutral field head-to-head loss and an objectively worse resume.)
The No. 9 ranking is Texas’s highest ranking in October or later since finishing the 2009 season at No. 2.
West Virginia moved up three spots to No. 6 to claim the top spot among the Big 12’s three ranked teams.
Florida rose eight spots and LSU dropped eight after the Gators’ 27-19 win over the Tigers, putting LSU one spot ahead of Florida at No. 13. Mississippi State and Texas A&M both re-joined the poll after wins over No. 13 Kentucky (now No. 18) and No. 8 Auburn (now No. 21).
A pair of AAC unbeatens joined the poll for the first time this season; 5-0 South Florida is in at No. 23 and 6-0 Cincinnati made its debut at No. 25. The ranking marks a significant milestone in Year 2 of the Luke Fickell era. After going 4-8 a year ago, Cincinnati is ranked for the first time since Oct. 14, 2012.
The full poll:
1. Alabama -- 1,522 total points (59 first-place votes)
2. Georgia -- 1,426
3. Ohio State -- 1,420 (1)
4. Clemson -- 1,331 (1)
5. Notre Dame -- 1,315
6. West Virginia -- 1,174
7. Washington -- 1,098
8. Penn State -- 1,097
9. Texas -- 956
10. UCF -- 917
11. Oklahoma -- 879
12. Michigan -- 875
13. LSU -- 794
14. Florida -- 719
15. Wisconsin -- 710
16. Miami -- 591
17. Oregon -- 505
18. Kentucky -- 485
19. Colorado -- 419
20. NC State -- 342
21. Auburn -- 335
22. Texas A&M -- 257
23. South Florida -- 144
24. Mississippi State -- 136
25. Cincinnati -- 114
