AP Top 25: Louisiana-Lafayette leads 10 new teams in rankings

Louisiana-Lafayette and Appalachian State were among 10 new teams ranked Sunday in the first regular-season Associated Press college football poll, which was stripped of the teams not yet scheduled to play a fall season.

There was no change at the very top: Preseason No. 1 Clemson received 60 of 61 first-place votes this week.

All Division I teams were eligible to be voted on for the preseason Top 25, but now that the season has started, the panel of 61 voters has been permitted to consider just the teams playing in the fall.

That meant preseason No. 2 Ohio State, No. 7 Penn State and No. 9 Oregon, along with six other Big Ten and Pac-12 teams, dropped out of the rankings. The Big Ten, Pac-12, Mid-American Conference and Mountain West have delayed their seasons, but the Big Ten is taking some steps toward a possible mid-October start.

With those teams gone, Alabama moved up to No. 2. Oklahoma is No. 3, followed by No. 4 Georgia and No. 5 Florida. Defending champion LSU, with one first-place vote, is No. 6.

Among the new teams in the rankings were Sun Belt powerhouses Louisiana-Lafayette at No. 19 and Appalachian State at No. 24. The Ragin’ Cajuns pulled off maybe the biggest upset of the weekend, winning at Iowa State 31-14 on Saturday. The Cyclones had been ranked No. 23, and are the one team currently scheduled to play to fall out of the rankings after being in the preseason Top 25.

Louisiana-Lafayette was last ranked in 1943.