Defending national champion Clemson sits at No. 2 in the latest Associated Press poll released Sunday.
Defending national champion Clemson sits at No. 2 in the latest Associated Press poll released Sunday.
The Tigers (3-0) jumped over now-No. 3 Oklahoma (3-0) with a convincing 47-21 victory over Louisville. The Tigers received 15 first-place votes.
Alabama (3-0) remains in the top spot after receiving 45 first-place votes.
Penn State (3-0) and USC (3-0) round out the top five after flipping spots. USC dropped a spot after beating Texas 27-24 in double-overtime while Penn State posted a 56-0 victory over lower-level Georgia State.
Clemson started the season at No. 5 after losing star quarterback Deshaun Watson from the team that defeated Alabama in last season’s title game.
But the Tigers have overcome Watson’s departure splendidly in the early stages behind new starter Kelly Bryant, who passed for 316 yards and one touchdown and added two rushing scores in a the demolition of the Cardinals (2-1), who dropped from 14th to No. 19.
Meanwhile, Clemson has been ranked in the top five for 28 consecutive polls, the longest active streak. Alabama is next at 26.
Oklahoma State (3-0) is ranked sixth with Washington (3-0) close behind. Three Big Ten teams round out the top 10 — Michigan (3-0), Wisconsin (3-0) and Ohio State (2-1).
The SEC has six teams in this week’s poll. The ACC and Pac-12 each has five. The Big Ten has four.
One team that plummeted was LSU (2-1), which fell from No. 12 to 25 after being routed 37-7 by Mississippi State. The Bulldogs (3-0) entered the poll at No. 17, their first ranking since the 2015 season.
San Diego State is ranked for the first time this season after beating then-No. 19 Stanford 20-17. The Aztecs are No. 22 after beating Pac-12 programs (first Arizona State) in back-to-back weeks.
Stanford fell out of the poll. Also falling out were Kansas State (No. 18), Tennessee (No. 23) and UCLA (No. 25).
Other newcomers to the rankings are No. 23 Utah (3-0) and No. 24 Oregon (3-0).
Florida State (0-1), which didn’t play for the second straight week due to the effects of Hurricane Irma, dropped one spot to No. 12. Miami (1-0), which is in the same predicament, jumped three spots to No. 14.
Georgia (3-0) is No. 11, Virginia Tech (3-0) is at 13th, Auburn (2-1) sits at No. 15 and TCU (3-0) went up four spots to No. 16.
Washington State (3-0) is 18th, Florida (1-1) is No. 20 and South Florida (3-0) is No. 21.
