Since the preseason Associated Press Top 25 Poll for college football dropped last month, six ranked teams have suffered losses across games played in Week Zero and Week One. Four teams ranked in the top 10 were upset, none more surprising than Alabama’s season-opening loss at Florida State.
College Football Rankings: Alabama falls, Florida State rises, and there’s a new No. 1
Florida State is back in the AP Top 25 Poll, Ohio State is No. 1, and the Group of Five race is wide open.
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Mitchell Northam is a Senior Writer for SB Nation, covering women’s college sports at Breakaway.
The Seminoles’ triumph over the Crimson Tide was noteworthy for several reasons. First, it brought Thomas Castellanos’ preseason guarantee to fruition: “They don’t have Nick Saban to save them. I just don’t see them stopping me.” And indeed, the Boston College transfer carved up Alabama for 230 yards of total offense while opposing quarterback Ty Simpson looked wildly mediocre. Second, it stands as a statement win for Florida State, which went 2-10 last season with one FBS win over Cal by five points. And third, it just turned up the heat on the seat of Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, who is now 6-4 against unranked teams as the Tide’s head coach.
Restlessness and disappointment is setting in for Alabama fans, something they haven’t felt in a while. The Crimson Tide don’t look like a contending team. But this is what can happen when a generational coaching talent isn’t leading that program. Most college teams are lucky to have just one of those. Alabama football — like North Carolina basketball with Dean Smith and Roy Williams — has been lucky enough to have two in Bear Bryant and Nick Saban. That’s not lightning in a bottle; that’s like harnessing lightning in a greased Mountain Dew bottle cap.
Right now, it sure doesn’t seem like a statue of DeBoer will be joining the likenesses of Saban and the Bear on the grounds of Tuscaloosa anytime soon.
Alabama’s fall and Florida State’s rise are among the several noteworthy moves in the latest AP Top 25 Poll released on Tuesday. We have a new No. 1 team too, following Texas’ loss at Ohio State, which turned out to be a massively underwhelming debut for Arch Manning as the Longhorns’ starting quarterback.
Also, the race for the Group of Five bid into the College Football Playoff is wide open following Boise State’s shocking defeat at South Florida.
Here’s the full AP Top 25 Poll:
1. Ohio State
2. Penn State
3. LSU
4. Georgia
5. Miami
6. Oregon
7. Texas
8. Clemson
9. Notre Dame
10. South Carolina
11. Illinois
12. Arizona State
13. Florida
14. Florida State
15. Michigan
16. Iowa State
17. SMU
18. Oklahoma
19. Texas A&M
20. Ole Miss
21. Alabama
22. Tennessee
23. Indiana
24. Texas Tech
25. Utah
A few quick takeaways:
- South Florida didn’t enter the poll this week despite thrashing then-No. 25 Boise State 34-7, earning the program’s first victory over a ranked opponent since 2016. It was also the Bulls’ largest margin of victory over a ranked opponent since 2005. USF has the opportunity this week to star in the upset role again though as they visit No. 13 Florida. If the Bulls can stun the Gators — or perhaps even play just a close, competitive game against them — momentum may start to build for USF as a contender in the American. USF was the Group of Five leader in “others receiving votes” with 25, followed by Tulane, James Madison, Liberty, UNLV, Navy and Memphis.
- After one in Week Zero and three in Week One, we’ll have just one ranked-on-ranked helmet game this week: No. 15 Michigan at No. 18 Oklahoma. This is a big opportunity for the Sooners to cool down Brent Venables’ seat against a Wolverines’ team with a talented young quarterback.
- Alabama took the biggest tumble in this week’s poll, falling 13 spots. The highest risers were LSU and Iowa State, both jumping up six spots.
- In addition to Florida State, Utah is the lone other newcomer to the poll. Kansas State joined Boise in falling out.
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