AP Top 25: Alabama jumps to No. 1 after Clemson close call

Posted September 29, 2019 7:00 am

By RALPH D. RUSSO

Alabama is No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll for the first time this season, replacing preseason No. 1 Clemson after the Tigers had a close call.

Alabama received 29 of 61 first-place votes Sunday from the media panel as the Tigers' one-point victory at North Carolina gave the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank the first shake-up at the top this season. Clemson slipped to No. 2 and received 18 first-place votes.

The last time a No. 1 team won and dropped was Ohio State on Nov. 7, 2015, after the Buckeyes beat Minnesota 28-14 at home. It has happened 74 times previously since the poll started in 1936.

No. 3 Georgia received four first-place votes. Ohio State moved up to No. 4 and received seven first-place votes. LSU was No. 5 and Oklahoma sixth. No. 7 Auburn received three first-place votes.

At the other end of the rankings, No. 24 SMU is ranked for the first time since the program received the so-called death penalty for NCAA rules violations in 1987 and did not compete for two seasons.

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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://podcastone.com/AP-Top-25-College-Football-Podcast

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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/APTop25CollegeFootballPoll and https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25