Ohio State passed Michigan and moved up to No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll Sunday, six days before the Big Ten rivals face off in another top-five matchup, and No. 4 Washington flip-flopped with No. 5 Florida State.
Two-time reigning national champion Georgia remained No. 1 and received a season-high 61 first-place votes out of a total of 62. The Bulldogs have been atop the rankings for 23 straight weeks, the second-best streak in the history of the poll and 10 behind the record set by Southern California from 2003-05.
Georgia wrapped up its Southeastern Conference regular-season schedule 8-0 for the third straight year, doing so by cruising to a 38-10 win at Tennessee.
The top five teams, all unbeaten, had held their places for five straight weeks in the AP Top 25. All improved to 11-0 on Saturday, but their order changed Sunday.
Michigan had been No. 2 since the preseason but slipped a spot after playing its closest game yet. The Wolverines beat Maryland 31-24, doing so without suspended head coach Jim Harbaugh as he remained away for the second leg of his Big Ten-issued three-game suspension that will wrap up this week against the Buckeyes.
Ohio State received one first-place vote after blowing out Minnesota 37-3.
"Our team did a great job of staying focused this week," Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said after the game. "Not easy to do for anybody, but we did stay in the moment and played well. But the moment we got in that locker room, it's on to next week."
The Wolverines host the Buckeyes on Saturday with both teams 8-0 in Big Ten play and the East Division title on the line. The winner advances to the Big Ten title game on Dec. 2 in Indianapolis and helps its case for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Washington, 8-0 in Pac-12 play, moved up a spot after winning 22-20 on the road against Oregon State, which fell to 5-3 against league foes and slipped five poll places to No. 15. The Huskies have their highest ranking since reaching No. 4 in 2016, their lone playoff season and the last time the Pac-12 had a team in the four-team bracket.
Florida State, already bound for the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, dropped a spot after beating Football Championship Subdivision member North Alabama 58-13, but it suffered a far more significant loss. Seminoles quarterback Jordan Travis was carted off the field in the first quarter with what appeared to be a serious injury to his lower left leg.
The Seminoles visit nonconference rival Florida this week before taking on Louisville on Dec. 2 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
No. 6 Oregon (10-1, 7-1 Pac-12), No. 7 Texas (10-1, 7-1 Big 12), No. 8 Alabama (10-1, 7-0 SEC) and No. 9 Louisville (10-1, 7-1 ACC) all held their spots after victories, and Missouri (9-2, 5-2 SEC) moved up to No. 10 after a close win over Florida.
Alabama breezed to a victory in its home finale against the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, which learned Sunday that it's bound for the FCS playoffs, and returns to SEC play this week by visiting Auburn for their annual Iron Bowl rivalry game. After that, the Crimson Tide will take on Georgia in the SEC title game in Atlanta.
Tennessee, which fell to 7-4 overall and 3-4 in SEC play with its loss to Georgia, dropped four spots to No. 25.
POLL POINTS
Michigan and Ohio State will be a matchup of top-five teams for the 13th time, the most of any rivalry. The Buckeyes are 7-4-1 in those games.
The Buckeyes and Wolverines will enter this season's meeting exactly as they did last year: both unbeaten, with Ohio State ranked No. 2 and Michigan No. 3. The Wolverines won "The Game" for the second straight season.
"The guys on the team, we think about it every day, especially the way the last two years have gone," Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord said. "So to be in kind of the same position that we were last year with a chance to right the ship, I think everybody's definitely excited."
Oklahoma-Texas is the only other rivalry that has double-digit top-five matchups; the Sooners and Longhorns have met 10 times as top-10 teams.
Nebraska and Oklahoma are next at eight top-10 matchups.
IN & OUT
Utah (7-4, 4-4 Pac-12) is out of the AP Top 25 for the first time this season. The Utes plummeted from No. 16 after losing 42-18 at Arizona, their third loss in four games. The Wildcats (8-3, 6-2) are up to 16th.
The Utes had appeared in 33 straight polls dating to the 2021 season. It was the fifth-longest active streak in the country behind Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Michigan.
North Carolina (8-3, 4-3 ACC) also fell out again after losing to Clemson (7-4, 4-4), which has won three in a row but remains unranked.
Moving into the poll was No. 23 Toledo (10-1, 7-0 Mid-American Conference) for the first time this season. The Rockets are ranked for the first time since Nov. 1, 2015.
Iowa (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten) is back in at No. 20 after clinching the West Division championship with 15-13 victory against Illinois. The Hawkeyes visit Nebraska on Friday before taking on either Michigan or Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game.
CONFERENCE CALL
Toledo's entry increased the number of teams from the Group of Five conferences in the AP Top 25 to a season-high four.
The MAC's Rockets join No. 18 Tulane (10-1, 7-0) from the American Athletic Conference, No. 22 Liberty (11-0, 7-0) from Conference USA and No. 24 James Madison (10-1, 6-1) from the Sun Belt.
James Madison stayed in the poll after taking its first loss of the season, with the Dukes falling 26-23 in overtime to Appalachian State.
SEC: Six (Nos. 1, 8, 10, 12, 14, 25).
Pac-12: Four (Nos. 4, 6, 15, 16).
Big 12: Four (Nos. 7, 13, 19, 21).
Big Ten: Four (Nos. 2, 3, 11, 20).
ACC: Two (Nos. 5, 9).
AAC: One (No. 18).
C-USA: One (No. 22).
Sun Belt: One (No. 24).
MAC: One (No. 23)
Independent: One (No. 17).
RANKED vs. RANKED
No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Michigan: In addition to the most top-five pairings, the Buckeyes and Wolverines also lead in ranked matchups (this will be 49) and top-10 matchups (26).
No. 15 Oregon State at No. 6 Oregon: This will be their sixth meeting with both teams ranked and second consecutive.
AP TOP 25 SCHEDULE
Thursday, Nov. 23
No. 12 Ole Miss at Mississippi State, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 24
No. 6 Oregon vs. No. 15 Oregon State, 8:30 p.m.
No. 7 Texas vs. Texas Tech, 7:30 p.m.
No. 10 Missouri at Arkansas, 4 p.m.
No. 11 Penn State vs. Michigan State at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
No. 13 Oklahoma vs. TCU, noon
No. 18 Tulane vs. UTSA, 3:30 p.m.
No. 20 Iowa at Nebraska, noon
No. 23 Toledo at Central Michigan, noon
Saturday, Nov. 25
No. 1 Georgia at Georgia Tech, 7:30 p.m.
No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Michigan, noon
No. 4 Washington vs. Washington State, 4 p.m.
No. 5 Florida State at Florida, 7 p.m.
No. 8 Alabama at Auburn, 3:30 p.m.
No. 9 Louisville vs. Kentucky, noon
No. 14 LSU vs. Texas A&M, noon
No. 16 Arizona at Arizona State, 3:30 p.m.
No. 17 Notre Dame at Stanford, 7 p.m.
No. 19 Kansas State vs. Iowa State, 8 p.m.
No. 21 Oklahoma St. vs. BYU, 3:30 p.m.
No. 22 Liberty at UTEP, 3:30 p.m.
No. 24 James Madison at Coastal Carolina, 3:30 p.m.
No. 25 Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt, 3:30 p.m.