Alabama rises to No. 11 in the AP Top 25 college football poll after Iron Bowl win

SMU is No. 8, followed by Indiana and Boise State. The Broncos are in the top 10 for the first time since 2011 and are the top-ranked Group of Five team, two spots ahead of No. 12 Arizona State, the top-ranked Big 12 team.

If the Broncos win the Mountain West title and are among the four seeds of conference champions in the final CFP rankings, they will receive a bye to the quarterfinals.

Miami’s loss at Syracuse cost the Hurricanes a berth in the Atlantic Coast Conference and possibly the CFP championship game and dropped them six spots to No. 14. Clemson, which plays SMU in ACC play, lost at South Carolina and fell six spots to No. 18.

South Carolina has won six straight – four against ranked opponents – and secured a three-tier promotion to No. 13. Ole Miss remained at No. 15, followed by Iowa State and BYU.

It has been 10 years since South Carolina was ranked higher than in-state rival Clemson. In 2014, the Gamecocks were No. 13 after a 3-1 start and finished 7-6 and unranked in Steve Spurrier’s last full season as coach.

Notre Dame has its highest ranking since No. 4 on December 22, 2020.

In and out

No. 23 Syracuse enters the Top 25 for the first time since Oct. 30, 2022, after winning nine games for the first time since 2018 under first-year coach Fran Brown. The win over Miami was the first against a top-10 opponent since 2017.

No. 25 Memphis, which was last ranked in October 2020, displaced Tulane as a double-digit underdog on the road and has rattled off 10 wins for the second straight year.

Tulane, playing at No. 24 Army in the American Athletic Conference title game, has moved from No. 18 to the bottom of the rankings.

Texas A&M, ranked No. 20 last week, bounced back after losing to Texas at home and dropping its last three SEC games.

AP Top 25 College Football Poll (first-place votes in parentheses, SEC teams in bold):

1. Oregon (62 first place finishers)
2. Texas
3. Penn State
4. Notre Dame
5. Georgia
6. Tennessee
7. Ohio State
8. SMU
9.Indiana
10. Boise State
11. Alabama
12. Arizona State
13. South Carolina
14.Miami
15. Ole Miss
16. Iowa State
17.BYU
18. Clemson
19.UNLV
20.Colorado
21. Illinois
22. Missouri
23. Syracuse
24th Army
25. Memphis

Ranked vs Ranked Matches on Saturday December 7th:

– No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 3 Penn State in Indianapolis, Big Ten Championship.
– No. 2 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia in Atlanta, Southeastern Conference championship.
– No. 8 SMU vs. No. 18 Clemson in Charlotte, North Carolina, Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
– No. 10 Boise State vs. No. 19 UNLV in Boise, Idaho, Mountain West championship.
– No. 12 Arizona State vs. No. 16 Iowa State in Arlington, Texas, Big 12 Championship.

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