Unbeaten Michigan State moves up AP Top 25 college football poll; Michigan drops
A top-10 victory on Saturday has vaulted Michigan State into the top five.
Michigan State (8-0, 5-0) is No. 5 in this week's Associated Press Top 25 released Sunday, moving up three spots. Michigan State moved up thanks to a 37-33 victory over previously unbeaten Michigan that was fueled by five touchdowns from running back Kenneth Walker III, whose performance caught the eye of oddsmakers and awards committees alike.
The last time Michigan State broke into the top five was 2015 when the Spartans made the College Football Playoff.
Michigan (7-1, 4-1), meanwhile, dropped three spots to No. 9.
Georgia is a unanimous No. 1 for the fourth straight week in the AP Top 25. The rest of the top four was unchanged from last week, with Cincinnati at No. 2, Oklahoma at No. 3 and Alabama at No. 4.
The first CFP selection committee rankings of the season will be released Tuesday night.
In the AP poll, Ohio State slipped a spot to No. 6 despite holding off Penn State and Oregon was No. 7.
No. 8 Notre Dame, Michigan and Wake Forest rounded out the top 10.
Poll points
The Demon Deacons have their best ranking in program history, topping the No. 11 they reached in 1947. Wake Forest had been the only team in a Power Five conference that had never been ranked in the top 10.
The Demon Deacons reached another first on Saturday, improving to 8-0 with a victory against Duke.
In
► No. 20 Houston is ranked for the first time under coach Dana Holgorsen after handing SMU its first loss of the season. The last time the Cougars were in the Top 25 was 2018.
Houston is the 45th different team to appear in the Top 25 this season.
► No. 24 Louisiana-Lafayette is back in the Top 25 after being in the preseason poll and falling out after losing its opening game.
► No. 25 Fresno State also returned to the rankings after handing San Diego State its first defeat in a crucial Mountain West game.
Out
► Pittsburgh dropped from No. 17 to out after losing at home to Miami.
► Iowa State is out again after losing at West Virginia. The Cyclones jumped back into the rankings last week, but it turned out to be a brief stay.
► San Diego State fell out after a four-week run.
Associated Press Top 25
1. Georgia (63 first-place votes), 8-0, 1575 points (Last week: 1)
2. Cincinnati, 8-0, 1455 (2)
3. Alabama, 7-1, 1413 (3)
4. Oklahoma, 9-0, 1382 (4)
5. Michigan State, 8-0, 1340 (8)
6. Ohio State, 7-1, 1296 (5)
7. Oregon, 7-1, 1233 (7)
8. Notre Dame, 7-1, 1067 (11)
9. Michigan, 7-1, 1048 (6)
10. Wake Forest, 8-0, 1025 (13)
11. Oklahoma State, 7-1, 915 (15)
12. Auburn, 6-2, 853 (18)
13. Texas A&M, 6-2, 847 (14)
14. Baylor, 7-1, 833 (16)
15. Mississippi, 6-2, 678 (10)
16. UTSA, 8-0, 460 (23)
17. BYU, 7-2, 450 (25)
18. Kentucky, 6-2, 409 (12)
19. Iowa, 6-2, 342 (9)
20. Houston, 7-1, 338 (NR)
21. Coastal Carolina, 7-1, 237 (24)
22. Penn State, 5-3, 182 (20)
23. SMU, 7-1, 176 (19)
24. Louisiana-Lafayette, 7-1, 161 (NR)
25. Fresno State, 7-2, 151 (NR)
Others receiving votes: Pittsburgh 117, NC State 104, Wisconsin 91, Mississippi State 79, Arkansas 72, Minnesota 51, San Diego State 50, Appalachian State 23, Utah 11, Iowa St. 9, Nevada 2.