AP Top 25: UW now Pac-12’s top-ranked team; WSU rises
Sep 24, 2023, 11:28 AM
Ja'Lynn Polk of the UW Huskies celebrates a reception against Cal on Sept. 23, 2023. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The UW Huskies are the new top-ranked team from the Pac-12 in the latest Associated Press college football poll.
Washington (4-0) moved up a spot to No. 7 on Sunday following Saturday’s blowout 59-32 win over Cal in Seattle. The Huskies jump ahead of USC, who fell three spots to No. 8 despite beating Arizona State 42-28 on Saturday to improve to 4-0. UW earned one first-place vote.
Saturday: UW Huskies cruise past Cal | WSU tops Oregon State
The WSU Cougars (4-0) also rose in the poll, jumping five spots to No. 16 after holding off Oregon State 38-35 on Saturday. The Beavers (3-1) fell five spots to No. 19.
Also in the Pac-12, Colorado and Deion Sanders fell out of the AP poll after a resounding loss in one of the weekend’s showcase games, and No. 9 Oregon and No. 10 Utah each moved up a spot to give the Pac-12 four teams in the top 10 for the first time in the history of the conference.
A season-high six teams received first-place votes in Sunday’s poll, the most since the 2016 preseason poll. Georgia is still where it started at No. 1 in the AP Top 25, but it is down to 55 first-place votes out of a possible 63.
Michigan remained No. 2 and got a first-place vote. Texas stayed at No. 3 with two first-place votes. Ohio State moved up two spots to No. 4 and got a first-place vote after beating Notre Dame with a touchdown on its final offensive play.
The Fighting Irish slipped to two spots to No. 11.
Florida State dropped a spot to No. 5 after a victory at Clemson, but it nevertheless received three first-place votes.
No. 6 Penn State also moved up a spot.
IN
Three teams entered the rankings this week, all for the first time this season:
• No. 23 Missouri is ranked for the first time since a brief stay in 2019.
• No. 24 Kansas is ranked for the second consecutive season. The Jayhawks have not had two straight years with poll appearances of any kind since 2008-09.
• No. 25 Fresno State, which has won 13 straight games, the second-longest streak in the country behind Georgia, finished last season at No. 24.
OUT
Joining Colorado and UCLA in falling out the poll was Iowa.
CONFERENCE CALL
The Southeastern Conference moves back into the top spot, though more than half are in the bottom batch.
SEC — 7 (Nos. 1, 12, 13, 20, 21, 22, 23).
Pac-12 — 6 (Nos. 7, 8, 9, 10, 16, 19).
Big Ten — 3 (Nos. 2, 4, 6).
ACC — 4 (Nos. 5, 15, 17, 18).
Big 12 — 3 (Nos. 3, 14, 24).
Mountain West — 1 (No. 25).
Independent — 1 (No. 11).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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