Upset losses by Ohio State, Miami and Clemson sent those teams plummeting in the latest Associated Press Top 25 college football poll, released Sunday, as Oregon again was a unanimous No. 1.
This is the seventh consecutive week atop the poll for the Ducks (12-0).
Ohio State (10-2), which lost to Michigan for the fourth year in a row, fell from No. 2 to No. 7, with Miami (10-2) crashing from No. 8 to No. 14 with a loss to Syracuse. Clemson (9-3) lost to South Carolina and moved from No. 12 to No. 18.
A trio of 11-1 teams slotted in behind Oregon, with Texas at No. 2, followed by Penn State and Notre Dame. Georgia and Tennessee, both 10-2, jumped a spot to rank at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively.
Two of next weekend’s conference championship games will feature top-five matchups, with Oregon to play Penn State in the Big Ten title game, and Texas to meet Georgia in Atlanta for the Southeastern Conference crown.
The Longhorns and Bulldogs played in October, with Georgia victorious 30-15.
Following the Buckeyes are three 11-1 teams, all of which moved up one spot: No. 8 SMU, No. 9 Indiana and No. 10 Boise State.
The decision as to which teams will play in the expanded 12-team playoff rests with the College Football Playoff selection committee, which next meets Tuesday.
With its fourth win over a ranked opponent in the past six games, South Carolina moved to No. 13 and will wait to see if it has impressed the committee.
Syracuse (9-3), which won its first game over a top-10 opponent since 2017, entered the poll for the first time in more than two years, slotting in at No. 23. Also entering the poll was No. 25 Memphis (10-2), which had not been ranked since October 2020.
Falling out of the Top 25 was Tulane, which lost to Memphis on Thanksgiving to move from No. 18.
Texas A&M, which entered Saturday’s loss to Texas at No. 20, also dropped out of the rankings after falling to 8-4.
The remainder of the Top 25:
11. Alabama (9-3)
12. Arizona State (10-2)
13. South Carolina (9-3)
14. Miami (10-2)
15. Ole Miss (9-3)
16. Iowa State (10-2)
17. BYU (10-2)
18. Clemson (9-3)
19. UNLV (10-2)
20. Colorado (9-3)
21. Illinois (9-3)
22. Missouri (9-3)
23. Syracuse (9-3)
24. Army (10-1)
25. Memphis (10-2)
–Field Level Media
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