AP Top 25: Clemson is No. 1, Oklahoma 2nd after 'Bama falls
Clemson is the new No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll , taking a close vote with Oklahoma after the top two teams in the rankings lost in the same weekend for the first time since 2012.
The Tigers jumped from fourth to No. 1 after blowing out South Carolina on Saturday night. Clemson received 27 first-place votes and No. 2 Oklahoma had 24. No. 3 Wisconsin received 10 first-place votes.
Auburn rose to No. 4 after beating Alabama, which had been No. 1 since the preseason . The Crimson Tide slipped to fifth. Georgia moved up a spot to No. 6 and Miami fell five spots to No. 7. The Hurricanes lost for the first time this season on Friday at Pittsburgh.
The last time the top two teams in the AP poll lost on the same regular-season weekend was Nov. 17, 2012. Then, No. 1 Oregon lost to No. 14 Stanford and No. 2 Kansas State went down to Baylor.
Ohio State, Penn State and TCU round out the top 10.
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POLL POINTS
- Defending national champion Clemson is No. 1 for the first time since finishing atop the AP poll last season and ninth time overall. The Tigers were No. 1 for five weeks in 2015, entering the College Football Playoff title game against Alabama that way before losing.
- Alabama's loss means there still will be only two teams in the history of the AP poll to go from preseason to final poll as No. 1: Florida State was first to do it in 1999 and Southern California did it in 2004.
- Wisconsin has its best ranking since the Badgers were No. 2 on Oct. 21, 1963.
UP
- No. 14 Stanford moved up six spot after beating Notre Dame .
DOWN
- Notre Dame dropped six spots to No. 15.
- No. 21 Washington State fell seven spots after being routed by Washington , which moved up two spots to No. 13.
- No. 24 Mississippi State dropped eight spots after losing to rival Mississippi on Thanksgiving night.
IN
- No. 25 Fresno State was the only team to move into the rankings this week. The Bulldogs replaced Boise State after beating the Broncos on Saturday. Fresno State is ranked for the first time since spending most of the 2013 season in the Top 25.
CONFERENCE CALL
SEC - 5
Big Ten - 5
Pac-12 - 4
ACC - 3
American - 3
Big 12 - 3
Mountain West - 1
Independent - 1
RANKED vs. RANKED
Championship weekend will feature four games on Saturday matching teams ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll. That's happened only one other time before bowl season. On Nov. 24, 1973, these four games were played: No. 1 Ohio State tied No. 4 Michigan, 10-10; No. 2 Alabama defeated No. 7 LSU, 21-7; No. 3 Oklahoma defeated No. 10 Nebraska, 27-0; No. 8 UCLA lost to No. 9 Southern California, 23-13.
This week's lineup of game matching ranked teams:
No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 7 Miami, ACC championship in Charlotte, North Carolina. The winner likely goes to the College Football Playoff.
No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 10 TCU. Big 12 championship in Arlington, Texas. The Sooners beat the Horned Frogs in Norman and now have to do it again in the return of the Big 12 title game.
No. 3 Wisconsin vs. No. 8 Ohio State, Big Ten championship in Indianapolis. The last time the Buckeyes and Badgers played in the conference title was 2014 and Ohio State won 59-0 to lock up a playoff spot.
No. 4 Auburn vs. No. 6 Georgia, SEC championship in Atlanta. The Tigers handed the Bulldogs their only loss earlier this month in Auburn.
No. 11 Southern California vs. No. 14 Stanford, Pac-12 championship in Santa Clara, California. USC beat the Cardinal in September.
No. 12 UCF vs. No. 16 Memphis, American championship game in Orlando, Florida. The Knights try to stay unbeaten against the Tigers, whom they beat in September.
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Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP
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