Week 6 AP Poll: UCLA Football Breaks Into Top 25 After Upset Win
The national media has jumped on the Bruin bandwagon.
UCLA football (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) earned 510 points in the Week 6 edition of the AP Poll on Sunday, slotting them in at No. 18 in the country. The Bruins had not been ranked all season long – only earning a total of four votes across the first five polls of the year – but have now earned the nationwide attention that comes along with an undefeated start and primetime upset victory.
While wins over Bowling Green, Alabama State, South Alabama and Colorado didn't move the needle, a win over then-No. 15 Washington did. The Bruins ran out to a 24-point lead in the second half and eventually won 40-32 at the Rose Bowl, giving them their first 5-0 start since 2015.
The last time UCLA was ranked was Week 5 of the 2021 season, when they were No. 20 coming off a road win over Stanford. A loss to Arizona State the following weekend knocked them out of the top 25, though, and the Bruins were unable to crawl back up the polls for the remainder of the season.
UCLA has played 48 games with coach Chip Kelly leading the program, but they have only been ranked in three of those contests. The highest the Bruins have been in the polls was No. 13, following a bye week and their big-time win over then-No. 16 LSU at the Rose Bowl in Sept. 2021.
Coming into 2022, the Mercury News' Jon Wilner and Orange County Register's Adam Grosbard had the Bruins ranked No. 25 on their preseason ballots, but dropped them off in the ensuing weeks. The Fayetteville Observer's David Thompson was the lone voter who had UCLA on his ballot in Week 5, slotting them in at No. 23.
Now, UCLA is on nearly every voter’s ballot.
UCLA also made its debut in the USA Today Coaches Poll, earning the No. 19 spot earlier on Sunday.
Towards the top of the AP poll, Georgia gave away its No. 1 ranking after narrowly avoiding an upset against unranked Missouri. Alabama took hold of the top spot despite receiving fewer first-place votes than the Bulldogs, while Ohio State remained at No. 3 with a few additional top votes.
Elsewhere in the Pac-12, USC stayed put at No. 6 after shaking off a rough start to beat Arizona State. Utah went from No. 12 to No. 11 thanks to its 42-16 win over Oregon State, while Oregon climbed from No. 13 to No. 12 after beating Stanford 45-27.
Washington State remained in the receiving votes section at No. 26, picking up a few extra points thanks to its 28-9 win over Cal. Oregon State fell out of the polls entirely after suffering a second-straight loss. Washington, meanwhile, dropped from No. 15 to No. 21 after their loss to UCLA.
The Bruins are ranked third-highest in the Pac-12, and their next game is against the No. 11 Utes at the Rose Bowl on Saturday.
The full AP Poll is listed below:
1. Alabama (5-0), 1523 points (25 first-place votes)
2. Georgia (5-0), 1521 (28)
3. Ohio State (5-0), 1488 (10)
4. Michigan (5-0), 1348
5. Clemson (5-0), 1345
6. USC (5-0), 1233
7. Oklahoma State (4-0), 1182
8. Tennessee (4-0), 1129
9. Ole Miss (5-0), 1068
10. Penn State (5-0), 959
11. Utah (4-1), 884
12. Oregon (4-1), 872
13. Kentucky (4-1), 832
14. North Carolina State (4-1), 691
15. Wake Forest (4-1), 627
16. BYU (4-1), 550
17. TCU (4-0), 514
18. UCLA (5-0), 510
19. Kansas (5-0), 476
20. Kansas State (4-1), 417
21. Washington (4-1), 180
22. Syracuse (5-0), 173
23. Mississippi State (4-1), 134
24. Cincinnati (4-1), 134
25. LSU (4-1), 108
Others Receiving Votes: Washington State 91, Baylor 88, Florida State 78, Arkansas 76, James Madison 39, Florida 37, Maryland 25, Coastal Carolina 17, Minnesota 14, Tulane 9, Illinois 6, North Carolina 5, Texas A&M 4, Purdue 2, Oklahoma 2
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