HEADLINE

Alabama reclaims top spot in AP Top 25

Field Level Media

October 02, 2022 at 6:49 pm.

Alabama was able to shake off some adversity and emerge with a 49-26 win against previously ranked Arkansas, giving the Crimson Tide enough of a boost to reclaim the top spot of the Associated Press Top 25 poll Sunday.

The Crimson Tide (5-0) received 25 first-place votes and 1,523 points, two points more than the Bulldogs (5-0). Georgia received 28 first-place votes.

The Crimson Tide were the preseason No. 1 team. They held that spot until Georgia supplanted them in Week 3.

The question is how long Alabama can hold onto that spot? Although the Crimson Tide ultimately won on Saturday, they also saw starting quarterback Bryce Young sustain an injury in the contest.

No. 2 Georgia dropped after a second straight subpar performance nearly resulted in a loss on the road against Missouri. The Bulldogs were fortunate to escape Columbia with a 26-22 win.

No. 3 Ohio State (5-0) continues to play like one of the best teams in the country. The Buckeyes have only been pushed once so far this season (a 21-10 win over Notre Dame on Sept. 3) and are fresh off a 49-10 victory over Rutgers Saturday.

The next three slots are also unchanged, occupied by Michigan (5-0), Clemson (5-0) and USC (5-0) after all three won Saturday. The rest of the Top 10 is rounded out by Oklahoma State (4-0), Tennessee (4-0), Ole Miss (5-0) and Penn State (5-0)

No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 13 Kentucky (4-1) essentially swapped places after the Rebels’ 22-19 win over the Wildcats in Oxford, Miss.

Among a notable seven teams to drop out of the poll, Oklahoma (3-2) might have done so in the most dramatic fashion following a 55-24 loss to new No. 17 TCU (4-0).

Baylor, Texas A&M, Minnesota, Florida State, Pittsburgh and Arkansas all dropped out of the poll as well.

Joining the Horned Frogs as new members of the poll this week are UCLA (5-0) at No. 18, surprising Kansas (5-0) at No. 19, Syracuse (5-0) at No. 22, Mississippi State (4-1) at No. 23, Cincinnati (4-1) at No. 24 and LSU (4-1) at No. 25.