Miami Regains Top Spot : College football: Alabama is ranked No. 2; Washington drops to No. 6 in the AP poll.

Miami, which has lost the No. 1 ranking twice this season, regained the top spot again in Sunday’s Associated Press college football poll.

The Hurricanes had the weekend off but moved up a notch after then-No. 1 Washington lost to Arizona, 16-3, Saturday.

Washington dropped to No. 6.

Miami (8-0) received 61 first-place votes and 1,549 points from a nationwide panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. The other first-place vote went to Alabama (9-0), which rose one spot to No. 2 with 1,463 points after beating Louisiana State, 31-11.

In the USA Today-CNN coaches’ poll, Miami got 59 first-place votes and 1,499 points; Alabama got one first-place vote and 1,413 points and Washington was No. 7.

USC, ranked 11th last week, fell to No. 18 in the AP poll and No. 20 in the USA Today-CNN poll after losing to Stanford, 23-9.

If Miami and Alabama remain undefeated and 1-2 in the rankings, they will meet in the Sugar Bowl for the national title. Miami is trying to become the first team to win consecutive championships since Alabama in 1978-79.

Miami lost its No. 1 ranking for the first time after struggling to beat Arizona, 8-7, in late September. But Arizona helped the Hurricanes on Saturday by ending Washington’s 22-game winning streak.

Michigan (8-0-1) climbed one place to No. 3 after beating Northwestern, 40-7, and Texas A&M; (9-0) moved up to No. 4 with a 40-18 victory over Louisville.