Illinois, Florida State crack top 10 of AP poll; USF at No. 18

Ohio State, Penn State and LSU remained the top three teams in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll Sunday, while Oregon is back in the top five and South Florida ranked for the first time in seven years.

There was some movement inside the top 10, but the biggest changes came from Nos. 11 to 25.

Ohio State, whose 70-0 win over Grambling was among a bevy of weekend blowouts, received 57 of the 65 first-place votes from the media panel. Penn State got five first-place votes, and LSU got two.

SchoolRec.LW1. Ohio State (57)2-012. Penn State (5)2-023. LSU (2)2-034. Oregon (1)2-065. Miami2-056. Georgia2-047. Texas1-158. Notre Dame0-199. Illinois2-01110. Florida State2-01411. South Carolina1-01012. Clemson1-1813. Oklahoma2-01814. Iowa State3-01615. Tennessee2-02216. Texas A&M2-01917. Mississippi2-02018. South Florida2-0NR19. Alabama1-12120. Utah2-02521. Texas Tech2-02422. Indiana2-02323. Michigan1-11524. Auburn2-0NR25. Missouri2-0NR

No. 4 Oregon, which thrashed Oklahoma State, received the other first place-vote and flip-flopped with Georgia. The Bulldogs’ uninspired win over FCS foe Austin Peay caused them to slip to No. 6 behind Miami.

Texas, Notre Dame, Illinois and Florida State round out the top 10, with the latter two teams in the top 10 for the first time this season.

Illinois has its first top-10 ranking since it was No. 7 in December 2001. Florida State, meanwhile, climbed four spots to its highest ranking since it was No. 10 in the 2024 preseason poll.

Clemson, which trailed Troy 16-0 midway through the second quarter before winning 27-16, slipped from No. 8 to No. 12.

Oklahoma earned a five-rung promotion to No. 13, its highest ranking in two years, after its win over Michigan. The Wolverines dropped to No. 23. Tennessee jumped seven spots to No. 15, and No. 16 Texas A&M and No. 17 Ole Miss each moved up three.

The biggest upward mover was No. 18 South Florida, which was eight spots out of the Top 25 last week. The Bulls pulled the upset of the day with their 18-16 win over then-No. 13 Florida. That followed their 34-7 home win over then-No. 25 Boise State.

The Bulls’ ascent under third-year coach Alex Golesh is more of a revival than breakthrough. They have their first ranking since 2018 under Charlie Strong. Jim Leavitt had the 2008 team as high as No. 10, and his 2007 team spent three straight weeks in the top 10 and was No. 2 after a 6-0 start.

No. 24 Auburn and No. 25 Missouri cracked the rankings along with USF.

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Auburn followed a two-touchdown win at Baylor with an easy victory over Ball State and are in the Top 25 for the first time under third-year coach Hugh Freeze.

Until Sunday, No. 19 Alabama and Auburn had not appeared in the Top 25 at the same time since November 2021.

Missouri, which appeared in all but two polls last season, is back in after a win over Border War rival Kansas.

Arizona State, which were ranked 12th, Florida (13th) and SMU (17th) all tumbled out of the Top 25.

The Sun Devils erased a 17-point deficit and led in the final minute before losing at Mississippi State. Florida’s loss put heat back on coach Billy Napier. SMU also blew a lead in the last minute and lost to Baylor in two overtimes.

The 16-team Southeastern Conference is the first league to have 11 teams in the Top 25.

CONFERENCE CALL

SEC: 11 teams (Nos. 3, 6, 7, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 24, 25).

Big Ten: 6 (Nos. 1, 2, 4, 9, 22, 23).

ACC: 3 (Nos. 5, 10, 12).

Big 12: 3 (Nos. 14, 20, 21).

American: 1 (No. 18).

Independent: 1 (No. 8).

RANKED VS. RANKED

No. 18 South Florida at No. 5 Miami: Bulls will try to become the fifth team, and first since Miami in 1987, to open a season with three wins over ranked opponents.

No. 6 Georgia at No. 15 Tennessee: First big test for Volunteers QB Joey Aguilar. Bulldogs go for ninth straight win in the series.

No. 16 Texas A&M at No. 8 Notre Dame: Irish out to avoid second 0-2 start in four years. Jeremiyah Love scored late tie-breaking touchdown for Notre Dame in last year’s season-opening meeting in College Station.