Tennessee Soars Up Rankings in AP College Football Poll

Tennessee led the way for the teams that leaped up the Associated Press’s Top 25 college football rankings after a Week 7 filled with offensive shootouts between top-tier teams.

The Volunteers scooted up three spots with a thrilling 52–49 victory over Alabama Saturday. The win marked the first time that Nick Saban had lost to Tennessee since taking over in Tuscaloosa and dropped the Crimson Tide to No. 6 in the latest rankings. 

With Georgia and Ohio State still reigning supreme, Michigan moved up one position to No. 4, following a thorough dismantling of a top-ten Penn State. Clemson filled in at No. 5 following a somewhat unconvincing win over Florida State. 

After the Tide, undefeated Ole Miss and UCLA took over at No. 7 and No. 8 spots. A pair of Pac-12 programs, UCLA and Oregon rounded out the top 10, setting up what’s expected to be a competitive College Gameday matchup next week.

Among the other biggest movers in the poll were Syracuse (up four spots to No. 14), Utah (up five spots to No. 15) and Illinois (up six spots to No. 18). USC, Penn State, NC State and Mississippi State experienced slides down the rankings after losses to other top 25 teams.

North Carolina and Tulane entered the poll after wins in Week 7. James Madison and Kansas fell out of the rankings with losses to Georgia Southern and Oklahoma, respectively.

Here’s the AP Top 25 ahead of Week 8:

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Tennessee
4. Michigan
5. Clemson
6. Alabama
7. Ole Miss
8. TCU
9. UCLA
10. Oregon
11. Oklahoma State
12. USC
13. Wake Forest
14. Syracuse
15. Utah
16. Penn State
17. Kansas State
18. Illinois
19. Kentucky
20. Texas
21. Cincinnati
22. North Carolina
23. NC State
24. Mississippi State
25. Tulane

Others receiving votes: Purdue 95, LSU 87, UCF 13, South Carolina 13, Kansas 12, James Madison 6, Oregon State 6, Maryland 5, South Alabama 4, Liberty 2, Arkansas 1, Minnesota 1, Florida State 1