After holding off Georgia’s miraculous comeback on Saturday, Alabama leaped to the top spot in the AP Top 25 rankings. They hopped up three spots from number four after beating the 2nd-ranked Bulldogs 41-34 leading by as many as 28 points. They lost the lead in the fourth quarter before Jalen Milroe’s incredible 75-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Williams.
Texas Slips
Last week’s top-ranked Texas Longhorns fell one spot to number two in the AP rankings. They beat Mississippi State handedly on Saturday 35-13. But the lead was only 14-6 at halftime. Even though starting quarterback Quinn Ewers didn’t play, Alabama beating a top-five team was enough to justify placing them over Texas.
Georgia Falls
Tennessee was idle this week but still managed to jump up a spot to fourth overall. That is mostly because Georgia fell three spots to the number five. Regardless of their incredible comeback, they still fell short. They also looked about as bad as a team can look in the first half of the game. The defense got dominated early and quarterback Carson Beck looked completely lost. They’re still a formidable contender, but they got some things to fix.
Missouri Rises
Missouri was also the beneficiary of having a bye last week. They jumped two spots to number nine. The Tigers are undefeated at 4-0 even though they have played close games against perceived lesser competition. They have a big matchup this week with Texas A&M.
Ole Miss Upset Loss Hurts
One of the biggest falls in the top 25 this week was by Ole Miss after they got upset 20-17 by unranked Kentucky. Ole Miss was favored by 15-and-a-half points going into the game. The Rebels fell six spots this week from sixth down to 12th-ranked. Kentucky looks more impressive each week, but after that loss Ole Miss was destined to have a considerable drop.
LSU Moves Up a Spot
The LSU Tigers jumped up one spot from 14 to 13 after their easy 42-10 win last week over a lesser South Alabama team. Garrett Nussmeier continued his solid run with 409 yards passing and the Tigers rushed for 227 yards as a team. LSU gets to rest this week with a bye.
Sooners Jump Up Two
Oklahoma jumped up two spots to 19th-ranked in the country after their seemingly improbable win over Auburn 27-21. The Sooner were down 21-10 going into the fourth quarter but a missed field goal and a devastating pick-six from the Tigers cost them the game. Oklahoma also gets a week to bask in that comeback win with their own bye week.
The Aggies Are Missing
The SEC conference has eight teams ranked in the top 25 this week, but one omission is surprising. Texas A&M was ranked 24th last week. They beat Arkansas this week 21-17 in a game that neither team played very well. But even with the win, the Aggies dropped out of the AP top 25 this week. In fact, they weren’t even one of the 14 teams that received top 25 votes.
Two SEC Teams Get Votes
Two teams from the SEC did receive votes for the top 25. Idle South Carolina received eight votes. The Kentucky Wildcats got six votes after their upset win over Ole Miss last week. That would technically put the Gamecocks as the 33rd-ranked team and Kentucky as the 35th-ranked team in the country.
