AP top 25 poll: Texas up, Alabama down in Week 3 college football rankings

We saw an epic upset after Texas knocked off Alabama — how has it affected the latest AP top 25 college football rankings?
AP top 25 poll: Texas up, Alabama down in Week 3 college football rankings
AP top 25 poll: Texas up, Alabama down in Week 3 college football rankings /

It just means more — for the ACC, which is a surprise 4-1 against SEC opposition this season, but it was a future SEC matchup that got all the attention as Texas went into Alabama and came out with a 10-point upset win, the Longhorns' first against a top-3 team since 2008, one of many notable games that had a direct impact on what this week's AP top 25 college football rankings look like.

Where we left off: Week 1 rankings

Some early season losses have already brought about major changes in the rankings. Who's moving up this week? And who's moving down? With the dust settled on this weekend's action, let's take a look at the updated poll, according to AP voters.

AP top 25 rankings

First-place votes in parentheses

  1. Georgia (55)
  2. Michigan (2)
  3. Florida State (3)
  4. Texas (2)
  5. USC
  6. Ohio State
  7. Penn State
  8. Washington
  9. Notre Dame
  10. Alabama
  11. Tennessee
  12. Utah
  13. Oregon
  14. LSU
  15. Kansas State
  16. Oregon State
  17. Ole Miss
  18. Colorado
  19. Oklahoma
  20. North Carolina
  21. Duke
  22. Miami
  23. Washington State
  24. UCLA
  25. Iowa

Just a bit outside

These schools didn't make the official AP top 25 rankings but received votes

Clemson 86, Arkansas 33, TCU 19, Kansas 19, Tulane 17, Wisconsin 10, Kentucky 5, Mississippi State 5, Minnesota 3, Cincinnati 3, Fresno State 2, Wyoming 1, Oklahoma State 1, Maryland 1, James Madison 1.

Related: How the AP top 25 is made | CFP rankings schedule

AP top 25 biggest movers

Colorado (Up 4). An impressive win at home against Nebraska has the Buffaloes moving up the rankings again this week.

North Carolina (Down 3). A close OT win over App State has voters trending the Tar Heels down despite a 300 yard rushing effort.

Alabama (Down 7). Just inside the top 10 for the Tide, coming off a somewhat surprising 10-point loss at home to Texas.

Texas (Up 7). A big jump for the Longhorns after that statement win over Alabama, a positive overture to the team joining the SEC next year.

College football top 25 losers

No. 3 Alabama. Nick Saban's first home loss by double digits since 2003, and the Tide's first since 2004 after taking an L to Texas with some issues protecting the quarterback and keeping him from throwing costly interceptions.

No. 19 Wisconsin. The Badgers fell behind early and lost three fumbles but were able to score 16 straight and get back in it at Washington State, but Wisky fumbled near midfield when it was a 2-point game and Luke Fickell's team is 1-1.

No. 23 Texas A&M. A narrow favorite going into Miami, the Aggies instead allowed 48 points to the Hurricanes and A&M has lost 9 of the last 12 to Power Five teams.

No. 24 Tulane. No Michael Pratt on the field for the Green Wave, which cut a little into the offense, but it was a close game throughout until an ill-fated fumble return TD by the Rebels put it out of reach.


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James Parks
JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.