AP top 25 football: Cincinnati up to No. 2; Purdue snaps poll drought

Cincinnati moved up to No. 2 behind Georgia in the Associated Press college football poll Sunday, the first time a team from outside the traditional power conferences has been ranked that high since 2010.

The Bulldogs remained a unanimous No. 1 with 63 first-place votes in the AP Top 25, and the Bearcats inched up a spot, taking advantage of Iowa’s loss to Purdue on Saturday.

The Hawkeyes dropped nine places to No. 11 and the Boilermakers moved into the rankings at No. 25, snapping the longest current AP poll drought for a Power Five school. The Boilermakers were last ranked in 2007.

Oklahoma is No. 3, followed by Alabama and Ohio State.

Unbeaten Cincinnati from the American Athletic Conference reached a new best ranking in program history and is the first team to reach No. 2 from outside a Power Five or BCS conference since TCU finished second in 2010, when it went undefeated as a member of the Mountain West.

Boise State, then a member of the Western Athletic Conference, spent three weeks at No. 2 in 2010.

Oklahoma State moved up to No. 8 after beating Texas and is in the top 10 for the first time since early in the 2020 season.

UCLA Sports

Commentary: After beating Washington, UCLA is capable of beating Oregon in Pac-12 game of the year

After UCLA edged Washington and Oregon held off California, the Bruins are set to host the Ducks in what should be the Pac-12 game of the year.

Oct. 17, 2021

1. Georgia
2. Cincinnati
3. Oklahoma
4. Alabama
5. Ohio State
6. Michigan
7. Penn State
8. Oklahoma State
9. Michigan State
10. Oregon
11. Iowa
12. Mississippi
13. Notre Dame
14. Coastal Carolina
15. Kentucky
16. Wake Forest
17. Texas A&M
18. North Carolina State
19. Auburn
20. Baylor
21. Southern Methodist
22. San Diego State
23. Pittsburgh
24. Texas San Antonio
25. Purdue

Others receiving votes:

Clemson 64, Utah 43, Arkansas 29, Brigham Young 21, Air Force 19, Iowa State 14, Louisiana-Lafayette 13, Arizona State 7, Florida 7, Texas 5, UCLA 4, Houston 2, LSU 2, Virginia 1.