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AP Top 25: Cincinnati moves up to No. 5, Clemson and Texas A&M fall from rankings

Cincinnati has moved into the top five in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll.

The Bearcats went on the road and beat Notre Dame on Saturday and moved up two spots from No. 7 in last week’s rankings as they attempt to become the first Group of Five team to reach the College Football Playoff.

Cincinnati, now 4-0 entering conference play, is behind four other undefeated teams in the rankings: No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Iowa and No. 4 Penn State.

Alabama, which had a dominant victory over Ole Miss on Saturday, received 53 of the 62 first-place votes. Georgia, which shut out Arkansas, received the other nine. Iowa blew out Maryland on Friday night while Penn State shut out Indiana. The Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions will square off in Iowa City next weekend.

Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder (9) runs in for a touchdown against Notre Dame's JD Bertrand (27) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, in South Bend, Ind. Cincinnati won 24-13. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder (9) runs in for a touchdown against Notre Dame's JD Bertrand (27) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, in South Bend, Ind. Cincinnati won 24-13. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Rounding out the top 10 are No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 7 Ohio State, No. 8 Oregon, No. 9 Michigan and No. 10 BYU. Oregon beat Ohio State in Columbus earlier this season but fell from No. 3 after losing to Stanford in overtime. Michigan, meanwhile, jumped up five spots after beating Wisconsin in Madison.

Other big jumps in the poll included No. 11 Michigan State (up from No. 17), No. 12 Oklahoma State (up from No. 19) and No. 16 Kentucky. Kentucky was unranked last week but made its 2021 debut in the rankings following an upset of No. 10 Florida. The Gators subsequently fell down to No. 20 with the loss.

UF wasn’t the only team to fall in the poll after suffering its first loss of the year. Arkansas fell from No. 8 to No. 13, Notre Dame went from No. 9 to No. 14 and Ole Miss dropped from No. 12 to No. 17.

Also of note: Texas A&M and Clemson are now both unranked. Clemson opened the season ranked No. 3. The Aggies were No. 6. This is the first time Clemson is unranked since 2014.

Here is the full Top 25:

  1. Alabama

  2. Georgia

  3. Iowa

  4. Penn State

  5. Cincinnati

  6. Oklahoma

  7. Ohio State

  8. Oregon

  9. Michigan

  10. BYU

  11. Michigan State

  12. Oklahoma State

  13. Arkansas

  14. Notre Dame

  15. Coastal Carolina

  16. Kentucky

  17. Ole Miss

  18. Auburn

  19. Wake Forest

  20. Florida

  21. Texas

  22. Arizona State

  23. N.C. State

  24. SMU

  25. San Diego State