Georgia overtook Alabama for the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 on Sunday after the Crimson Tide struggled in a 20-19 win at Texas on Saturday. The Bulldogs beat Samford 33-0 the week after beginning their season with a 49-3 drubbing of Oregon in Atlanta. Georgia's ascension to the top spot caps a rapid early-season rise for the reigning national champions, which were ranked No. 3 in the AP's preseason poll.
The Longhorns, meanwhile, make their first appearance in the AP Top 25 this year despite the Week 2 loss to the Crimson Tide. Largely without the services of starting quarterback Quinn Ewers, Texas used a strong defensive effort nearly pull the home upset.
Elsewhere, No. 9 Kentucky and No. 10 Arkansas each rose after conference victories on Saturday, meaning the SEC makes up four spots in this week's top 10. The Wildcats used a strong second-half effort to pull away from Florida in The Swamp. Tennessee also rose nine spots to No. 15 after winning at Pittsburgh.
Another big winner in this week's AP poll is USC, which improved to 2-0 under first-year coach Lincoln with a 41-28 win at Stanford. The Trojans rose to No. 7, up three spots, and have already risen seven spots from their preseason ranking of No. 14. USC's rise came at the expense of the likes of No. 17 Baylor, No. 24 Texas A&M and unranked Notre Dame, which all plummeted from top 10 rankings because of Week 2 losses.
Here's a look at the full top 25 (first-place votes in parenthesis):
AP Top 25 ranking
1. Georgia (53)
2. Alabama (9)
3. Ohio State (1)
4. Michigan
5. Clemson
6. Oklahoma
7. USC
8. Oklahoma State
9. Kentucky
10. Arkansas
11. Michigan State
12. BYU
13. Miami
14. Utah
15. Tennessee
16. NC State
17. Baylor
18. Florida
19. Wake Forest
20. Ole Miss
21. Texas
22. Penn State
23. Pittsburgh
24. Texas A&M
25. Oregon
Others receiving votes: Marshall (85), Cincinnati (80), Appalachian State (80), Kansas State (77), North Carolina (71), Mississippi State (43), Florida State (42), Oregon State (42), Minnesota (37), Washington State (30), Notre Dame (23), Air Force (19), Texas Tech (17), Wisconsin (7), Auburn (4), Iowa State (4), Purdue (1)
