Shutterstock
The 2023 college football season is officially in full swing, and following a wild and eventful Week 8 the Associated Press is giving us a look at how the competition stacks up as we near the end of the second month of the season.
On Sunday, October 15, the Week 9 AP Top 25 poll was officially announced.
The back-to-back national champion Georgia Bulldogs continue to have the AP Top 25 poll in a stranglehold, earning the No. 1 spot for the 19th straight week and picking up 38 first-place votes. The 19 straight weeks atop the bowl is the third-best streak of all time.
The remainder of the top five is also unchanged, with the Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes, Florida State Seminoles, and Washington Huskies holding onto their spots.
Re-entering the top 10 is the Alabama Crimson Tide after a strong performance to beat No. 21 Tennessee, while the North Carolina Tar Heels plummet after a stunning loss to Virginia. The USC Trojans also dropped in the poll, all but ending their national title hopes.
Where does your favorite team stand entering the upcoming weekend in the eyes of the Associated Press voters?
The latest AP Top 25 poll can be seen below.
AP Top 25 Poll – Week 9
POLL ALERT: Georgia No. 1 for 19th straight week, 3rd-best streak ever; Bama re-enters top 10; UNC slips after UVA upset.
Full poll: https://t.co/7dTTUiSC1j pic.twitter.com/0cyD8Hx7aY
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) October 22, 2023
- Georgia (38)
- Michigan (19)
- Ohio State (3)
- Florida State (3)
- Washington
- Oklahoma
- Texas
- Oregon
- Alabama
- Penn State
- Oregon State
- Ole Miss
- Utah
- Notre Dame
- LSU
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Louisville
- Air Force
- Duke
- Tennessee
- Tulane
- UCLA
- USC
- James Madison
Others Receiving Votes: Florida 34, Liberty 17, Kansas St. 16, Miami 12, Fresno St. 8, Oklahoma St. 5, Toledo 3, Kentucky 2, Rutgers 2, UNLV 1, Wisconsin 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.
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 63 sports writers and broadcasters from around the country votes on the poll weekly.
