Clemson Falls to No. 25, Alabama Stays No. 1 in AP Top 25 Poll

Ken Ruinard/staff via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Clemson tumbled to No. 25 in The Associated Press college football poll Sunday, snapping its streak of 97 straight weeks in the top 10.

The Tigers (2-2) lost for the second time this season Saturday — falling in double overtime to North Carolina State — and dropped 16 spots from No. 9 in the AP Top 25.

Clemson’s top-10 streak was tied with Alabama for the longest current run in college football and second-longest in the history of the AP poll, behind Miami’s 137 from 1985-93.

The Crimson Tide remained No. 1 with 58 first-place votes out of 62. No. 2 Georgia received the remaining four first-place votes. Oregon stayed No. 3. Penn State moved up two spots to No. 4, Iowa held at No. 5 and Oklahoma slipped two spots to No. 6.

Cincinnati moved up a spot to No. 7 and Arkansas jumped eight spots to No. 8 after beating Texas A&M. The Razorbacks have their best ranking since they were No. 8 early in the 2012 season.

That season, Arkansas lost its second game of the season to Louisiana-Monroe and was never ranked again. The Razorbacks had finished fifth the season before under Bobby Petrino.

No. 9 Notre Dame and Florida rounded out the top 10.

Clemson did manage to extend its streak of weeks ranked to 107, the third-longest active streak behind Alabama (218) and Ohio State (150).

The Buckeyes’ streak does not include polls in which they were ineligible during the 2020 season because the Big Ten was not planning to play due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Alabama’s current streak of poll appearances is second all time to Nebraska’s 348 from 1981-2002.

AP Top 25

1. Alabama (58)
2. Georgia (4)
3. Oregon
4. Penn State
5. Iowa
6. Oklahoma 
7. Cincinnati
8. Arkansas
9. Notre Dame
10. Florida
11. Ohio State
12. Ole Miss
13. BYU
14. Michigan
15. Texas A&M
16. Coastal Carolina
17. Michigan State
18. Fresno State
19. Oklahoma State
20. UCLA
21. Baylor
22. Auburn
23. N.C. State
24. Wake Forest
25. Clemson

Others receiving votes: Texas 131, Maryland 91, San Diego State 57, Boston College 55, SMU 44, Kentucky 26, Iowa State 25, LSU 24, Arizona State 23, Virginia Tech 20, Wisconsin 13, Rutgers 6, Kansas State 5, UTSA 4, Oregon State 4, Louisville 3, North Carolina 1