No. 3 Washington, No. 4 Florida State and No. 5 Oregon all moved up a spot in The Associated Press college football poll Sunday, giving the Pac-12 a pair of top-five teams for the first time since the final ranking of the 2016 season.
The Georgia Bulldogs were No. 1, just as the two-time reigning national champions have been for 24 straight polls dating to the middle of the 2022 season, as they received 52 of 62 first-place votes Sunday.
The Bulldogs (12-0), who finished their third straight undefeated regular season with a nonconference victory at Georgia Tech on Saturday, are returning to Atlanta this weekend to face No. 8 Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the NFL’s Falcons.
After a week at No. 3, Michigan (12-0) returned to No. 2 — where the Wolverines had been since the preseason — and received 10 first-place votes after Saturday’s 30-24 home win against previously unbeaten Ohio State to earn a spot in the Big Ten championship game.
The Buckeyes (11-1) slipped from second to No. 6, clearing the way for Washington (12-0) to reach its best ranking since finishing the 2000 season at No. 3 and setting up a top-five matchup with Oregon (11-1) in the Pac-12 championship game on Friday in Las Vegas. The final Pac-12 title game in the conference’s current form before 10 members leave for other Power Five conferences will be its first matching top-five teams.
The last time there were two Pac-12 teams in the top five of the AP poll was 2016, when Southern California finished No. 3 and Washington was No. 4. The last time it happened during the season was Oct. 6, 2013, when Oregon was No. 2 and Stanford was fifth.
Florida State (12-0) is in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game on Saturday, and with a chance to get that league back into the College Football Playoff after a two-year absence.
No. 7 Texas (11-1), set to play in the Big 12 title game this week in its final season in that conference before jumping to the SEC, held its place Sunday. So did Alabama (11-1) — after surviving Auburn in a thrilling finish to their Iron Bowl rivalry matchup.
The SEC’s Missouri (10-2) moved up one spot to ninth and the Big Ten’s Penn State (10-2) to No. 10.
POLL POINTS
The same eight teams have been the top eight teams in the country for five straight weeks — though the order has shuffled some — with the only loss among those teams during that span coming when Ohio State fell at Michigan.
The last time there was no team turnover in the top eight for that long was the 2008 season, in the 11th week through the 15th, when some order of Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Penn State, Southern Cal, Texas, Texas Tech and Utah held those spots.
Among the top eight teams this season, there are only four losses. Three of those losses have come to other teams in the top eight: Oregon lost to Washington, Ohio State lost to Michigan and Alabama lost to Texas.
The loss for Texas was to No. 12 Oklahoma. Extend it out to the top 12 to include No. 11 Ole Miss, and the only loss to a currently unranked team among that group is Oklahoma’s loss to Kansas.
IN & OUT
The ACC’s North Carolina State (9-3) and Southern Methodist University (10-2) of the American Athletic Conference made their AP Top 25 season debuts this week, raising to 44 the total number of teams to be ranked for at least a week this season.
Falling out for the first time this season was the SEC’s Tennessee, which finished its regular season 8-4 with a blowout victory over two-win Vanderbilt after barely hanging on at No. 25 last week. The Volunteers preceded the regular-season finale with back-to-back losses at Missouri and to Georgia.
Kansas State also dropped out again after losing a high-scoring game in the snow to Iowa State and falling to 8-4.
CONFERENCE CALL
Five teams from Group of Five conferences in the AP Top 25 is the most since the final 2021 poll.
SEC: Five (Nos. 1, 8, 9, 11, 13).
Pac-12: Four (Nos. 3, 5, 14, T21).
Big Ten: Four (Nos. 2, 6, 10, 18).
ACC: Three (Nos. 4, 15, T21).
Big 12: Three (Nos. 7, 12, 19).
AAC: Two (Nos. 17, 25).
Conference USA: One (No. 20).
Sun Belt: One (No. 24).
Mid-American: One (No. 23).
Independent: One (No. 16).
AP TOP 25 SCHEDULE
Friday, Dec. 1
No. 3 Washington vs. No. 5 Oregon, Pac-12 championship game at Las Vegas, 8 p.m.
No. 20 Liberty vs. New Mexico State, C-USA Championship game, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 2
No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 8 Alabama, SEC championship game at Atlanta, 4 p.m.
No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 18 Iowa Big Ten championship game at Indianapolis, 8 p.m.
No. 4 Florida State vs. No. 15 Louisville, ACC championship game at Charlotte, N.C., 8 p.m.
No. 7 Texas vs. No. 19 Oklahoma State, Big 12 championship game at in Arlington, Texas, noon
No. 25 SMU at No. 17 Tulane, AAC championship game, 4 p.m.
No. 17 Tulane vs. No. 25 SMU, AAC championship game, 4 p.m.
No. 23 Toledo vs. Miami (Ohio), MAC championship game at Detroit, noon