Alabama Football Gains Ground on Clemson in Latest Polls

After a weekend that saw Clemson struggle against unranked Boston College and Alabama put away Mississippi State with relative ease, is there a new No. 1 in this week's college football polls?

In short, no there isn't.

The Tigers remain in first place in both polls following the release of the Amway Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 on Sunday. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence was not in attendance on Saturday due to contracting COVID-19, and it seems that the voters in Sunday's poll understood that the adversity that Clemson was forced to suddenly overcome warranted them to remain at the top of the polls this week.

Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney said after the game that Lawrence will also be unable to participate in the team's upcoming top-five matchup at Notre Dame, so a shakeup in the polls remains a possibility next week.

Meanwhile in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide handed first-year Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach the first total shutout of his career, downing the Bulldogs 41-0. Alabama looked like the best overall team in the country on Sunday despite it being the first complete game where wide receiver Jaylen Waddle did not suit up for the game due to his season-ending ankle injury.

Alabama moves on to its bye week while the highly-anticipated matchup between the Tigers and the Fighting Irish will most definitely provide a new look to the polls next week. Another key matchup is Georgia and Florida, as both the Bulldogs and the Gators travel to Jacksonville to square off in another top-10 matchup.

For now, things remain mostly the same as the hype continues to build for this next weekend.

And with that, here's a look at this week's polls:

AP Top 25 Poll

Ranking, team, record, points, first-place votes

1. Clemson (7-0) 1,515 (33)

2. Alabama (6-0) 1,513 (29)

3. Ohio State (2-0) 1,430

4. Notre Dame (6-0) 1,351

5. Georgia (4-1) 5 1,289

6. Cincinnati (5-0) 1,199

7. Texas A&M (4-1) 1,156

8. Florida (3-1) 1,066

9. Brigham Young (7-0) 1,014

10. Wisconsin (1-0) 985

11. Miami (FL) (5-1) 946

12. Oregon (0-0) 831

13. Indiana (2-0) 765

14. Oklahoma State (4-1) 760

15. Coastal Carolina (6-0) 527

16. Marshall (5-0) 523

17. Iowa State (4-2) 427

18. SMU (6-1) 420

19. Oklahoma (4-2) 405

20. USC (0-0) 354

21. Boise State (2-0) 336

22. Texas (4-2) 190

23. Michigan (1-1) 151

24. Auburn (4-2) 144

25. Liberty (6-0) 118

Also receiving votes:

Northwestern 106, Louisiana-Lafayette 101, North Carolina 92, Penn State 87, Tulsa 73, Army 57, Kansas State 51, West Virginia 44, Utah 44, Washington 21, Purdue 15, Virginia Tech 11, San Diego State 8, Arizona State 7, Appalachian State 6, Wake Forest 5, Michigan State 4, California 3.

USA Today Coaches Poll

Ranking, team, record, points, first place votes

1. Clemson (7-0) 1527 (43)

2. Alabama (6-0) 1503 (17)

3. Ohio State (2-0) 1407 (2)

4. Notre Dame (6-0) 1358

5. Georgia (4-1) 1304

6. Cincinnati (5-0) 1157

7. Texas A&M (4-1) 1154

8. Florida (3-1) 1101

9. Brigham Young (7-0) 1025

10. Miami (5-1) 964

11. Wisconsin (1-0) 908

12. Oklahoma State (4-1) 783

13. Indiana (2-0) 730

14. Oregon (0-0) 725

15. Marshall (5-0) 473

16. Coastal Carolina (6-0) 464

17. Iowa State (4-2) 433

18. SMU (6-1) 421

19. Oklahoma (4-2) 413

20. USC (0-0) 365

21. Auburn (4-2) 246

22. Army (6-1) 208

23. Boise State (2-0) 204

24. North Carolina (4-2) 192

25. Michigan (1-1) 141

Also receiving votes:

Texas 115; Northwestern 112; Liberty 92; UL Lafayette 90; Kansas State 64; Utah 57; Penn State 56; Purdue 55; West Virginia 49; Virginia Tech 37; Appalachian State 32; Tulsa 29; Missouri 23; Boston College 20; NC State 16; Kentucky 13; Memphis 12; Wake Forest 11; Tennessee 11; Arizona State 11; Michigan State 9; California 9; South Carolina 8; Arkansas 8; Nevada 3; San Diego State 1; Central Florida 1.