The most newsworthy changes in the latest AP poll come at the bottom. Michigan is out after falling 42-13 at No. 2 Penn State. Taking their place? The twisting Cyclones of Iowa State. Following a 31-13 win at Texas Tech and riding the crest of a 3-game winning streak that began at then-No. 3 Oklahoma, Matt Campbell‘s crew is off to its best start since 2002 and in the AP poll for the first time since Sept. 25, 2005. The Cyclones will have to earn their keep, though. Their next three games: No. 4 TCU, at No. 22 West Virginia and No. 11 Oklahoma State.
Elsewhere, Notre Dame jumped four spots to No. 9 after a 49-14 destruction of USC, a loss that pushed the Trojans down 10 spots to No. 21.
After a 31-21 win at Navy, Central Florida continues to track down I-4 rival South Florida as the top-ranked Group of 5 team; the Knights are up two spots to No. 18, while South Florida dropped a spot to No. 17.
The full poll:
1. Alabama -- 1,525 total points (61 first-place votes)
2. Penn State -- 1,444
3. Georgia -- 1,409
4. TCU -- 1,327
5. Wisconsin -- 1,241
6. Ohio State -- 1,165
7. Clemson -- 1,113
8. Miami -- 1,101
9. Notre Dame -- 1,066
10. Oklahoma -- 1,040
11. Oklahoma State -- 894
12. Washington -- 836
13. Virginia Tech -- 791
14. NC State -- 666
15. Washington State -- 648
16. Michigan State -- 615
17. South Florida -- 604
18. Central Florida -- 500
19. Auburn -- 397
20. Stanford -- 344
21. USC -- 319
22. West Virginia -- 196
23. LSU -- 182
24. Memphis -- 111
25. Iowa State -- 98
Ranked-on-ranked action for Week 9:
No. 11 Oklahoma State at No. 22 West Virginia (noon ET, ABC)
No. 2 Penn State at No. 6 Ohio State (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
No. 4 TCU at No. 25 Iowa State (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN2)
No. 14 NC State at No. 9 Notre Dame (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
