The 2021 college football season rolled on this weekend, and the Associated Press is giving us a look at how the competition stacks up. This weekend, the Week 6 AP Top 25 poll was officially released. After plenty of top 10 upsets, there were a number of shakeups in this week’s rankings.
Once again, the Alabama Crimson Tide hold their top spot with 53 of a possible 62 first-place votes, while the Georgia Bulldogs sit at No. 2 with the remaining nine.
If the season were to end today, the Iowa Hawkeyes and Penn State Nittany Lions would round out the College Football Playoff as the top four teams in the country, while the Cincinnati Bearcats jumped to No. 5.
Ohio State, Michigan, and BYU entered the top 10.
Clemson, meanwhile, has dropped out of the Top 25 after snapping its streak of 97 straight weeks in the top 10 a week ago.
Where does your favorite team stand entering the upcoming season in the eyes of the Associated Press voters?
The Week 6 AP Top 25 poll can be seen below.
POLL ALERT: Iowa up to No. 3, Cincinnati to No. 5, BYU to No. 10 in AP Top 25; Kentucky, Texas, SMU, SDSU in; Clemson out.
Full poll presented by @askRegions >> https://t.co/Dr5y8rQDWT pic.twitter.com/gdxQuxKRy9
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) October 3, 2021
- Alabama (53)
- Georgia (9)
- Iowa
- Penn State
- Cincinnati
- Oklahoma
- Ohio State
- Oregon
- Michigan
- BYU
- Michigan State
- Oklahoma State
- Arkansas
- Notre Dame
- Coastal Carolina
- Kentucky
- Ole Miss
- Auburn
- Wake Forest
- Florida
- Texas
- Arizona State
- North Carolina State
- SMU
- San Diego State
Others receiving votes: Clemson 96, Texas A&M 41, Oregon State 27, Baylor 24, Mississippi State 18, Virginia Tech 13, Stanford 11, UTSA 10, Pittsburgh 6, Fresno State 5, Texas Tech 4, Western Michigan 3, Appalachian State 2, Kansas State 2, Boston College 1, UCLA 1
The Associated Press rankings carry more weight than polls like the Coaches Poll and FWAA Poll, as they are part of the deciding factor on which teams reach the College Football Playoff. The Coaches Poll, which is not part of the College Football Playoff selection committee’s formula to determine the four teams that will compete for the College Football Playoff National Championship, is voted on by 65 FBS head coaches.
Longtime college football writers who vote in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll include Ben Jones, Bill Landis, Brett McMurphy, Brian Howell, Rece Davis, Rob Long, Robert Gagliardi, Steve Layman, Steve Virgen, Tom Murphy, and Tony Parks.
The Associated Press began its college football poll on Oct. 19, 1936, and it is now the longest-running poll of those that award national titles at the end of the season. The preseason poll was started in 1950. A panel of 62 sports writers and broadcasters from around the country votes on the poll weekly.