Written by RALPH D. RUSSO, AP College Football Reporter

On Sunday, Oklahoma fell to the tenth position, while the top five teams maintained their rankings. Additionally, both Kansas and Kansas State joined The Associated Press college football poll.

For the 20th consecutive week, Georgia remains in the top spot and has received 48 out of 63 first-place votes. They have pulled further ahead of second-place Michigan after defeating Florida on Saturday.

The Wolverines, who were on break Saturday following a week of media attention for an NCAA inquiry, were given nine top rankings. Ohio State at No. 3 and Florida State at No. 4 both received three top rankings each.

Washington maintained its position at number five, just ahead of fellow Pac-12 team Oregon. The Ducks climbed two spots to number six following a strong victory against Utah, who fell five spots to number 18.

Texas remained at the seventh spot, with Alabama climbing to eighth and Penn State moving up to ninth.

Oklahoma’s first loss of the season was to Kansas, marking the first time they have been defeated by the team since 1997. As a result, they dropped in the rankings, falling behind their Big 12 rival Texas, who they had previously beat in an exciting game three weeks prior.

Kansas returned to the rankings at position 22 following a significant win in the team’s history, while Kansas State also reappeared at position 25 in anticipation of a major game against Texas next Saturday.

POLL POINTS

The two competing states, known as the Sunflower State, have a lengthy past of poor performance in football.

Kansas State experienced a significant transformation in the 1990s under renowned coach Bill Snyder, going from one of the least successful programs in the country to a competitive team. They have continued to have varying levels of success since then, with three Big 12 titles to their name, including one from last season.

In the past, Kansas has experienced several periods of success, but their most recent conference championship was in the Big Eight back in 1968. However, from 2010 to 2020, Kansas was considered the benchmark for poor performance among Power Five teams, only winning a total of 21 games.

Kansas’ 5-0 start to last season put the Jayhawks and Wildcats in the AP Top 25 together for two weeks, the first time since 2007 that had happened.

Aside from that, a total of 17 AP polls from 1995 to 1996 included both Kansas and Kansas State. This was the only instance of such occurrence.

Both the Jayhawks and Wildcats have a record of 6-2 as they enter the last month of the season. This gives them a good opportunity to be ranked at the end of the season, which has only happened once before in the 87-year existence of the AP poll.

In the final Top 25 rankings in 1995, Kansas State held the seventh spot while Kansas ranked ninth.

OUT

Both North Carolina and Duke, who are rivals in the Atlantic Coast Conference, were removed from the rankings.

The North Carolina basketball team has lost two consecutive games, with their most recent defeat coming against Georgia Tech. As a result, they are not currently ranked in the top teams of the season.

After defeating Clemson in Week 1, Duke held a ranking but suffered two consecutive losses, bringing their season record to 5-3. This past Saturday, Duke was unable to score against Louisville.

CONFERENCE CALL

SEC — 6 (Nos. 1, 8, 11, 13, 14, 19).

Pac-12 — 6 (Nos. 5, 6, 16, 18, 20, 24).

Big 12 — 4 (Nos. 7, 10, 22, 25).

Big Ten — 3 (Nos. 2, 3, 9).

ACC — 2 (Nos. 4, 15).

Mountain West — 1 (No. 17).

American — 1 (No. 21).

Sun Belt — 1 (No. 23).

Independent — 1 (No. 12).

RANKED vs. RANKED

Number 14 Missouri will face off against number 1 Georgia.

The fifth-ranked Washington team will face off against the 24th-ranked Southern California team.

The seventh-ranked Texas team will face off against the twenty-fifth-ranked Kansas State team.

LSU, ranked 13th, will be facing off against Alabama, ranked 8th.

Source: wralsportsfan.com