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AP Top 25: No. 5 Tennessee continues to rise, Boise State enters poll for first time since 2020

Tennessee rose to No. 5 in The Associated Press Poll on College Football On Sunday, the Volunteers continued to climb the rankings, with No. 25 Boise State returning to the AP Top 25 for the first time in four years.

Texas was No. 1 for the second week in a row, receiving 44 of the 62 first-place votes, while the top four teams remained the same. The Longhorns won a game as the nation’s top-ranked team for the first time since 2008, edging Louisiana-Monroe in The first time quarterback Arch Manning started as a player.

Georgia is ranked No. 2, with 13 first-place votes, and Ohio State is ranked No. 3, with five first-place votes. Alabama is ranked No. 4.

The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide both had the weekend off as they prepare for a game next Saturday in Tuscaloosa, where they will play each other in the top five.

The Volunteers welcomed Oklahoma to the Southeastern Conference with a 25-15 victory over visiting who helped Tennessee climb the rankings for the fourth straight week. The Vols began the season ranked No. 15, then moved to No. 14 after Week 1, No. 7 after Week 2 and No. 6 last week.

Tennessee last ranked in the top five in 2022, peaking at second place on October 30.

Mississippi dropped one spot to No. 6 and Miami to No. 7, Oregon to No. 8 and Penn State to No. 9 all rose one spot.

No. 10 Utah rose two spots after Defeat Oklahoma State in a match between teams from the Big 12.

Boise State makes its first poll appearance since a two-week hiatus in early November 2020. The Broncos, two weeks removed from losing at Oregon on a last-second field goal, improved to 2-1 with a win over Portland State on Saturday.

Polling points

The SEC’s stranglehold on the top of the rankings has loosened somewhat, with Missouri’s Overtime Win Against Vanderbilt causing the Tigers to drop four spots to No. 11. However, the conference reached another milestone.

The SEC had occupied six of the top seven spots in the rankings for two straight weeks, a first for a league in the poll’s history. No conference had previously held even five of the top seven spots, which the now 16-team SEC still holds this week.

With Missouri slipping, the SEC still holds five of the top six spots, and has been in the midst of holding four of the top five spots for three weeks. That streak is a first for an AP poll.

The only other time in the poll’s 88-year history that a conference had four of the top five ranked teams was the SEC on Oct. 19, 2014 (No. 1 Mississippi State, No. 3 Mississippi, No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Auburn). That lasted one week.

In and out

Boise State’s absence from the AP rankings was notable, as the Broncos had been a fixture in the polls for nearly two decades.

Boise State has had at least one appearance in the AP Top 25 for 19 consecutive seasons, from its inaugural appearance in 2002 through 2020. The Broncos have finished the season in the top 25 13 times during that span.

No. 22 BYU also made its season debut in the rankings. The Cougars (4-0) are back in the game for the first time since Oct. 2, 2022, after Beating Kansas State at home Saturday night. The loss dropped the previously undefeated Wildcats 10 spots to No. 23.

This week, Nebraska and Northern Illinois fell out of the rankings after short spells and their first losses of the season.

The Cornhuskers lost in overtime to Illinoisa win that saw the Illini climb five spots to No. 19.

NIU, which had not played since a surprise game against Notre Dame two weeks ago, lost in overtime to Buffalo in a Mid-American Conference game.

Conference call

SEC – 9 (Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 11, 14, 21, 24).

Big Ten – 6 (Nos. 3, 8, 9, 12, 13, 19).

Big 12 — 5 (Nos. 10, 18, 20, 22, 23).

ACC — 3 (nos. 7, 15, 17).

Berg West — 1 (no. 25).

Independent — 1 (no. 16).

Ranked vs. Ranked

—No. 2 Georgia at No. 4 Alabama. The Bulldogs and Tide played eight times from 2012-23, but only twice in regular-season meetings on each other’s home court. The other six were two national title games and four SEC championships.

—No. 19 Illinois vs. No. 9 Penn State. The last time the Big Ten rivals met as ranked teams was in 2008.

—No. 20 Oklahoma State vs. No. 23 Kansas State. Second straight game against a ranked Big 12 opponent for the Cowboys. Only the third time in 68 meetings that both have been ranked.

—No. 15 Louisville vs. No. 16 Notre Dame. For the second straight season, the Cardinals-Fighting Irish is a ranked matchup.

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Follow Ralph D. Russo on https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP

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