AP Top 25: Alabama unanimous No. 1; Northwestern jumps to best ranking in 24 years

Alabama is now a unanimous No. 1 in the Associated Press college football poll, and Northwestern moved up to No. 11 on Sunday for its best ranking in 24 years.

For the second straight week, the top eight teams in the poll held their spots. The Crimson Tide received all 62 first-place votes after beating Kentucky 63-3, making Alabama the first unanimous No. 1 this season and the first team to do it in the regular season since 2018.

Notre Dame was No. 2, followed by Ohio State, Clemson and Texas A&M. Florida was No. 6, and No. 7 Cincinnati and No. 8 BYU also held their spots.

The rest of the top 10 was No. 9 Oregon and Miami.

Northwestern moved up eight spots after beating Wisconsin 17-7 to improve to 5-0. The Badgers slipped eight spots to 18th.

The Wildcats were last ranked this highly in 1996. The year after their surprising run to the Rose Bowl, coach Gary Barnett’s team reached a high of No. 10.

No. 12 Indiana dropped three spots after putting a scare into Ohio State in the Big Ten’s other top-25 matchup Saturday. The Buckeyes beat the Hoosiers 42-35 after leading 35-7.

Sports

College football: No. 3 Ohio State tops No. 9 Indiana; JT Daniels lifts No. 13 Georgia

Master Teague ran for 169 yards as No. 3 Ohio State beat No. 9 Indiana. Ex-USC quarterback JT Daniels threw four touchdown passes in No. 13 Georgia’s win.

Nov. 21, 2020

1. Alabama
2. Notre Dame
3. Ohio State
4. Clemson
5. Texas A&M
6. Florida
7. Cincinnati
8. Brigham Young
9. Oregon
10. Miami (FL.)
11. Northwestern
12. Indiana
13. Georgia
14. Oklahoma
15. Iowa State
16. Coastal Carolina
17. Marshall
18. Wisconsin
19. USC
20. Texas
21. Oklahoma State
22. Auburn
23. Louisiana-Lafayette
24. Tulsa
25. North Carolina

Others receiving votes:

North Carolina 101, Southern Methodist 20, Utah 17, Washington 15, Arizona State 9, Boise State 6, San Jose State 5, Appalachian State 5, Nevada 3, Iowa 2, Buffalo 1, UCF 1.