College Football

AP Top 25: Oregon remains No. 1; Ohio State, Miami, Clemson take plunge

Updated Dec. 1, 2024 2:35 p.m. ET

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Ohio State, Miami (Fla.) and Clemson plunged in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll Sunday following their losses during a wild weekend; eight of the top 10 teams moved up one spot and Oregon was No. 1 for the seventh straight week.

The shakeup creates two top-five matchups in conference championship games coming up on Saturday, a day before the College Football Playoff bracket is announced. Oregon, the nation's only unbeaten team, will face No. 3 Penn State in the Big Ten game in Indianapolis. No. 2 Texas will play No. 5 Georgia in the SEC title game in Atlanta, a rematch of their top-five meeting in October won by the Bulldogs.

No. 4 Notre Dame, 11-1 and a winner of 10 straight, won't play again until the CFP.

Ohio State, which lost for the fourth straight time to Michigan and was knocked out of the Big Ten title game, dropped five spots to No. 7, behind Tennessee.

SMU is No. 8 and followed by Indiana and Boise State. The Broncos are in the top 10 for the first time since 2011 and the highest-ranked Group of 5 team, two spots ahead of No. 12 Arizona State, the highest-ranked Big 12 team.

If the Broncos win the Mountain West title and are one of the top four-seeded conference champions in the final CFP rankings, they would receive a bye to the quarterfinals.

Miami's loss at Syracuse cost the Hurricanes a spot in the ACC title game — and possibly the CFP — and dropped them six spots to No. 14. Clemson, which plays SMU in the ACC game, lost to South Carolina and fell six places to No. 18. South Carolina has won six straight — four against ranked opponents — and earned a promotion to No. 13. 

Ole Miss remained No. 15 and was followed by Iowa State and BYU.

Michigan Wolverines vs. No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes Highlights | FOX CFB

Ohio State's 13-10 loss to Michigan marked the fifth time this season a top-five team lost to an unranked opponent, the most since it happened five times in 2017.

Miami's 42-38 loss to Syracuse was the 12th by a top-10 team against an unranked opponent, the most since there were 12 such losses in 2021.

It's been 10 years since South Carolina was ranked higher than in-state rival Clemson. In 2014, the Gamecocks were No. 13 following a 3-1 start and finished 7-6 and unranked in Steve Spurrier's last full season as coach.

Notre Dame has its highest ranking since it was No. 4 on Dec. 22, 2020.

No. 23 Syracuse enters the Top 25 for the first time since Oct. 30, 2022, after winning nine games for the first time since 2018 under first-year coach Fran Brown. The win over Miami was its first over a top-10 opponent since 2017.

No. 25 Memphis, which was last ranked in October 2020, knocked off Tulane as a double-digit road underdog and has 10 wins for the second straight year. Tulane, which plays at No. 24 Army in the American Athletic Conference title game, went from No. 18 to out of the rankings.

Texas A&M, No. 20 last week, was bounced after losing at home to Texas and dropping its last three SEC games.

SEC: 7 (Nos. 2, 5, 6, 11, 13, 15, 22).

Big Ten: 5 (Nos. 1, 3, 7, 8, 21).

ACC: 4 (Nos. 8, 14, 18, 23).

Big 12: 4 (Nos. 12, 16, 17, 20).

AAC: 2 (Nos. 24, 25).

Mountain West: 2 (Nos. 10, 19).

Independent: 1 (No. 4).

Here's the full top 25:

1. Oregon
2. Texas 
3. Penn State 
4. Notre Dame 
5. Georgia
6. Tennessee
7. Ohio State
8. SMU
9. Indiana
10. Boise State
11. Alabama
12. Arizona State
13. South Carolina
14. Miami (Fla.) 
15. Ole Miss 
16. Iowa State
17. BYU
18. Clemson
19. UNLV
20. Colorado
21. Illinois
22. Missouri
23. Syracuse
24. Army 
25. Memphis

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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Oregon Ducks

Ohio State Buckeyes

Texas Longhorns

Penn State Nittany Lions

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Georgia Bulldogs

Tennessee Volunteers

Miami (FL) Hurricanes

SMU Mustangs

Indiana Hoosiers

Boise State Broncos

Clemson Tigers

Alabama Crimson Tide

Arizona State Sun Devils

Ole Miss Rebels

South Carolina Gamecocks

Iowa State Cyclones

BYU Cougars

UNLV Rebels

Illinois Fighting Illini

Colorado Buffaloes

Missouri Tigers

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Syracuse Orange

Memphis Tigers