AP Prime 25: Texas A&M Makes Huge Leap, Notre Dame Hangs On, Ohio State at No. 1

Texas A&M made a big jump into the top 10 of The Associated Press college football poll Sunday after its dramatic win at Notre Dame, and the Irish became the first team since 1988 to stay in the Top 25 with an 0-2 record.

Ohio State, Penn State and LSU remained the top three teams, with Miami moving up to No. 4 and Georgia to No. 5 even after a close call at No. 15 Tennessee.

Oregon slipped two spots to No. 6 despite a 20-point road win against Northwestern and was followed by Florida State, Texas, Illinois and the Aggies.

Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and Southern California made their season debuts in the Top 25.

Ohio State tussled with Ohio into the middle of the third quarter of a 37-9 win and received 55 first-place votes, two fewer than last week. Penn State got five first-place votes, LSU got two, Miami got three and Oregon got one. The Hurricanes’ first-place votes are their first since getting three on Nov. 19, 2017.

Alabama was rewarded for its 24-point home win against Wisconsin and moved up five spots to No. 14. Voters didn’t punish Tennessee for its overtime home loss to Georgia and kept the Volunteers No. 15.

Texas A&M was promoted six spots after it overcame a scary injury to safety Bryce Anderson, a blocked punt returned for a touchdown and 13 penalties to win 41-40 on Marcel Reed’s fourth-and-goal pass to Nate Boerkircher with 11 seconds left.

The Aggies, who opened with solid wins over UTSA and Utah State, are 3-0 for the first time since 2021 and have their highest ranking since they were No. 10 entering November last season.

Notre Dame has lost its first two games, both against ranked opponents, by a total of four points. The Irish lost 27-24 at Miami and had an open date before Texas A&M visited. They fell from No. 8 to No. 24.

The 1988 Michigan Wolverines, the previous team to start 0-2 and remain ranked, also had an extremely tough first two games. They entered the season No. 9 and lost to No. 13 Notre Dame 19-17, dropped to No. 15 and lost 31-30 at No. 1 Miami. Michigan was No. 19 the following week and went 9-0-1 the rest of the way.

Other teams that started 0-2 and stayed in the rankings were 1984 Auburn, 1958 SMU, 1949 Missouri and 1948 Purdue.

In and out

Georgia Tech, coming off its win over Clemson, is 3-0 for the first time since 2016, and its No. 18 ranking is its highest since 2015.

No. 20 Vanderbilt’s 24-point win at South Carolina earned the Commodores their highest ranking since they started 5-0 in 2008.

No. 25 USC has its first ranking since the first week of last October.

South Carolina (11), Clemson (12) and South Florida (18) are out.

The Gamecocks were down 14-7 late in the first half when quarterback LaNorris Sellers was knocked out of the game with a concussion. Clemson, ranked No. 4 in the preseason, hasn’t been 1-2 since 2014.

South Florida’s weeklong stay in the Top 25 ended with its 49-12 loss at Miami.

Conference call

SEC (11) — Nos. 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 20, 22, 23.

Big Ten (7) — Nos. 1, 2, 6, 9, 19, 21, 25.

ACC (3) — Nos. 4, 7, 18.

Big 12 (3) — Nos. 12, 16, 17.

Independent (1) — No. 24.

Ranked vs. ranked

No. 17 Texas Tech at No. 16 Utah: The Red Raiders’ 58 points per game lead the nation, but now the Behren Morton-led 600-yards-per-game offense gets its first real test on the road. Utah has limited each of its first three opponents to under 250 yards.

No. 22 Auburn at No. 11 Oklahoma: Tigers QB Jackson Arnold started 10 games for the Sooners over the previous two seasons. His replacement at OU, John Mateer, is one of the leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy.

No. 9 Illinois at No. 19 Indiana: A matchup of top-10 offenses and defenses. Indiana has scored 156 points against three weak opponents. The Illini have played a light, but better, schedule and have allowed just 22 points over three games.

AP Top 25 college football poll rankings

1. Ohio State
2. Penn State
3. LSU
4. Miami
5. Georgia
6. Oregon
7. Florida State
8. Texas
9. Illinois
10. Texas A&M
11. Oklahoma
12. Iowa State
13. Ole Miss
14. Alabama
15. Tennessee
16. Utah
17. Texas Tech
18. Georgia Tech
19. Indiana
20. Vanderbilt
21. Michigan
22. Auburn
23. Missouri
24. Notre Dame
25. USC

Reporting by The Related Press. 

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