Nov 25, 2017; Columbia, SC, USA; Clemson Tigers celebrate their win over South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium. Photo Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
The upheaval caused by losses by the top two teams in the nation helped Clemson elevate to No. 1 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll, released Sunday.
The Tigers received 27 first-place votes to narrowly outdistance Oklahoma (24) and Wisconsin (10) for the top spot. Clemson received 1,478 votes, No. 2 Oklahoma got 1,461 and No. 3 Wisconsin received 1,405.
Auburn, which defeated previous No. 1 Alabama, jumped up two spots to No. 4. The Crimson Tide (11-1) fell to No. 5.
Clemson (11-1) is atop the poll for the first time since finishing last season as national champions.
The Tigers face No. 7 Miami (10-1) in Saturday’s ACC title game.
Oklahoma (11-1) jumped up one spot after beating West Virginia. The Sooners face No. 10 TCU (10-2) in Saturday’s Big 12 title game.
Wisconsin moved up two spots after beating Minnesota to complete an undefeated regular season. The Badgers (12-0) square off with No. 8 Ohio State (10-2) in Saturday’s Big Ten title contest.
Auburn (10-2) plays No. 6 Georgia (11-1) in Saturday’s SEC title game.
The nation’s lone other undefeated squad is Central Florida. The Golden Knights (12-0) face No. 16 Memphis (10-1) in Saturday’s American Athletic Conference title game.
Penn State (10-2) is ranked ninth to make it three Big Ten teams in the Top 10. The SEC also has three.
Pac-12 teams USC (11th), Washington (13th) and Stanford (14th) and independent Notre Dame (15th) round out the top 15. Stanford moved up six spots by beating Notre Dame while the Fighting Irish dropped six spots.
LSU is ranked 17th, followed by Oklahoma State, Michigan State and Northwestern.
Washington State fell from 14th to 21st after being routed by Washington in the Apple Cup. Virginia Tech is 22nd, followed by South Florida and Mississippi State.
Fresno State (9-3) cracks the poll at No. 25. It is the Bulldogs’ first appearance since 2013.
Boise State (9-3) fell out of the rankings after being No. 23 last week.
–Texas A&M fired Kevin Sumlin after six seasons as its football coach, the school announced Sunday.
The move comes one day after the Aggies ended their regular season with a 7-5 mark following a 45-21 setback to LSU.
Texas A&M is 51-26 overall and 25-23 versus SEC foes under the watch of the 53-year-old Sumlin, with his overall winning percentage of .662 residing only being R.C. Slocum (123-47-2, .721) in school history.
“Kevin’s tenure included some remarkable achievements and he leaves our program as one of the winningest football coaches in our storied history,” Texas A&M athletic director Scott Woodward said in a statement. “Kevin made us a better all-around football program and led our program with dignity and character. He’s a first-class person.
Sumlin’s fate may have been sealed by his team’s play at home against SEC foes, as Texas A&M won just eight of its last 22 such games and lost seven straight to SEC West adversaries.
–The University of Tennessee is finalizing a deal that would make former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Rutgers coach Greg Schiano the Volunteers’ new head coach, multiple media outlets reported Sunday.
Schiano became the focus of the Volunteers’ search after Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen reportedly reached agreement to become the new head coach at Florida.
Schiano is currently Ohio State’s defensive coordinator, be he has a relationship with Tennessee athletic director John Currie.
He went 68-67 over 11 seasons at Rutgers after taking over one of the worst programs in the country.
–Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen has reportedly reached agreement to become the new coach at Florida, multiple outlets reported Sunday.
Mullen was formerly an assistant coach at Florida during Urban Meyer’s stint at the school. Mullen was the offensive coordinator for the Gators’ 2006 and 2008 national championship teams.
Florida swung and missed at top target Chip Kelly and then reportedly turned its attention to Mullen and Central Florida coach Scott Frost. Kelly took the UCLA job last week and Frost reportedly turned down Florida’s overtures on Sunday morning.
Mullen replaces Jim McElwain, who was fired in midseason. McElwain went 22-12 in 2 1/2 seasons.
The Gators went 4-7 this season for just their second losing season since 1979.
–Arizona State fired head coach Todd Graham after six seasons on Sunday, a day after the Sun Devils beat rival Arizona to wrap up the regular season with a 7-5 record.
The 52-year-old Graham went 46-31 during his time in Tempe. He won 10 games in both 2013 and 2014, and was 2-2 in bowl games.
The Sun Devils defeated Arizona 42-30 in the annual Territorial Cup game on Saturday afternoon, but the victory did not save Graham’s job. Arizona State finished 6-3 in the Pac-12 for second place in the South division behind USC.
Graham led the Sun Devils to the 2013 Pac-12 South title and posted the program’s first back-to-back 10-win seasons in more than three decades. But the Sun Devils were 5-7 in 2016 and 6-7 in 2015.
