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A flurry of upsets caused a shakeup in the latest Associated Press poll as Alabama solidified its control of the top spot and Penn State moved up to No. 2. The Crimson Tide received all 61 first-place votes for the first time this season while the Nittany Lions reached their highest ranking since also being ranked second on Oct. 31, 1999.
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Four of last week's Top 10 teams lost to cause the upheaval. Second-ranked Clemson, fifth-ranked Washington, No. 8 Washington State and No. 10 Auburn all dropped their contests with only Clemson (No. 7) remaining in the Top 10.
Washington slipped to No. 12 after a damaging loss to Arizona State, Washington State fell to 15th after being routed by California and Auburn plummeted to No. 21 due to its loss to LSU.
Penn State moved up one spot due to Clemson's loss to Syracuse. Georgia also moved up one place to No. 3, while TCU (No. 4) and Wisconsin (No. 5) each moved up two places.
Ohio State moved up three spots to sixth. Miami (eighth) and Oklahoma (ninth) also moved up three places while No. 10 Oklahoma State jumped up from 14th.
It wasn't just Top 10 teams that suffered untimely defeats. Three other Top 25 squads also went down -- San Diego State (19th), Texas Tech (24th) and Navy (25th) and each slipped out of the rankings.
USC stands at No. 11 as it enters a road contest at No. 13 Notre Dame. Saturday's contest will mark the first occasion since 2009 that the teams will both be ranked when meeting.
Virginia Tech sits at No. 14 while ACC mate North Carolina State is tied for No. 16 with South Florida.
Michigan State (No. 18), Michigan (19th) and Central Florida (20th) round out the Top 20.
Three newcomers follow No. 22 Stanford to round out the poll. West Virginia is No. 23 after defeating Texas Tech, LSU is 24th after a win over Auburn and Memphis enters the poll after beating Navy. Memphis is ranked for the first time since 2015.
The Big Ten leads with five schools in the rankings.
