AP Top 25: USC moves into AP’s top 5 for 1st time in five years
Southern California moved into the top five of The Associated Press college football poll Sunday for the first time in five years.
Georgia received 62 of the 63 first-place votes in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank as the top four teams held their places after playing varying degrees of close games Saturday.
No. 2 Ohio State received the other first-place vote. Michigan was No. 3 again, followed by TCU.
The fifth-ranked Trojans edged up two spots after a thrilling victory against rival UCLA. The last time USC was ranked in the top five was September of
2017, when it started at No. 4 but spent most of the season ranked in the teens before finishing 12th.
LSU stayed at No. 6. Clemson moved up two spots to No. 7. Alabama held at eighth and Tennessee dropped four spots to No. 9 after getting upset in a blowout at South Carolina.
In their 63-38 victory, the Gamecocks scored more points against a top-five team as an unranked team than any in the history of the AP poll.
Oregon rounded out the top 10 after the Ducks beat Utah in the Pac-12’s other Saturday marquee game.
LATE SATURDAY TOP 25
South Carolina 63, No. 5 Tennessee 38: Spencer Rattler threw for 438 yards and six touchdowns as the host Gamecocks beat the Volunteers, all but eliminating the Volunteers from the playoffs.
No. 6 LSU 41, UAB 10: Noah Cain scored on three short runs, Jayden Daniels had touchdowns rushing and passing, and the host Tigers methodically pulled away from the Blazers.
No. 7 Southern Cal 48, UCLA 45: Caleb Williams passed for a career-high 470 yards, Austin Jones rushed for a season-high 120 yards and the Trojans beat the Bruins to reach the Pac-12 Championship game.
No. 12 Oregon 20, No. 10 Utah 17: Bo Nix threw for 287 yards and one touchdown despite being hobbled by a leg injury, Oregon intercepted three passes and the host Ducks knocked off the Utes.
Georgia Tech 21, No. 13 North Carolina 17: Zach Gibson threw for 174 yards and the Yellow Jackets scored 21 straight points for a win against the host Tar Heels.