Georgia stays on top of the USA TODAY Coaches Poll
USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg breaks down the latest college football coaches poll.
USA TODAY
We knew at least one of the highest ranked college football teams was going to lose in Week 10 due to the head-to-head showdown in Athens, Georgia. As it turns out, two other squad in the top six went down to defeat as well, resulting in some major shifts in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.
Georgia solidified its grip on the No. 1 position in the wake of its dominant victory against then-No. 3 Tennessee. The Bulldogs are the near unanimous top choice this week, receiving all but two first-place votes from the 63 voting panelists.
Ohio State remains No. 2, but the Buckeyes weren’t picked first on any ballots following their lackluster win at Northwestern. The other two first-place nods instead went to No. 3 Michigan, which started slowly against Rutgers but went on to win comfortably to move up a position in the poll.
TCU, the fourth and final remaining unbeaten team in the Bowl Subdivision, vaults to fourth in the rankings as well. Tennessee rounds out the top five, slipping a couple of places but staying ahead of No. 6 Oregon, whose only loss of the season also came at the hands of Georgia.
Alabama tumbles five spots to No. 11, while Clemson drops seven positions to No. 12. This marks only the second week in the playoff era and the first since the poll of Sept. 27, 2015, that neither the Crimson Tide nor the Tigers are ranked in the top 10. Prior to this week, the 2015 poll is the only time since 2010 that Alabama has not appeared in the top 10.
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LSU, the team that handed Alabama its second loss of the campaign on a dramatic walk-off two-point conversion, vaults nine places to No. 8 this week. Notre Dame, responsible for Clemson’s first setback of the year, returns to the poll at No. 25.
In addition to Notre Dame, No. 18 Texas rejoins the poll on the eve of next week’s home date with TCU. Washington is also back in at No. 23 after winning Friday night’s close contest against Oregon State.
Oklahoma State, just two weeks removed from a top-10 ranking, is out following a second consecutive pounding by a team from the Sunflower State. Syracuse and Wake Forest also drop out, reducing the ACC’s representation by two.
