TOMORROW’S TOP 25 TODAY: Alabama moved into first place after a thrilling win over Georgia in an instant classic

The new AP Top 25 poll will have another debate over who’s No. 1 as voters turn in their ballots after the resounding Week 5 slate.. And while we expect several teams — three or more — to receive first-place votes, Saturday night’s win in Tuscaloosa has Alabama poised to be The third No. 1 team in the country for the 2024 season.

If you thought Georgia’s 13 first-place votes from last week’s ballot were likely gone, those voters who viewed the Bulldogs as the best team in the country — ahead of Texas and Ohio State — will think highly of the way Alabama fared. . Wire to wire against the Bulldogs in one of the biggest games of the year so far. From there, all it takes is about a dozen of the 44 voters who put Texas first last week to replace that with Alabama given the strength of the win compared to the Longhorns’ best win — earlier this year on the road over Michigan.

The No. 1 debate would be even more unique if it didn’t already become one of the primary storylines in the AP Top 25 poll this season. When Texas first leapfrogged Georgia for first place on the heels of its win in Ann Arbor, the Longhorns did so by receiving nearly a dozen more first-place votes (35 to 23). Alabama’s rise to first place, as we expect, may lead to a tighter split in the vote. Unfortunately for Texas, sometimes, they don’t fall in the rankings as much as they jump, and it’s hard to imagine a stronger rankings booster than the Crimson Tide did to Georgia on Saturday night.

Elsewhere in the seedings, we’ll see the fallout from multiple ranked games on the Week 5 schedule as well as a major shakeup in the wake of Ole Miss’s stunning loss to Kentucky and much more.

Here’s how to view the top 25 new AP care for Week 5:

1. Alabama (last week – 4): It wasn’t supposed to be as easy as it looked in the first half, but the Crimson Tide finished the job in exciting fashion. The drama of the moment only helps cement the move to first place.

2. Texas (1): Arch Manning totaled three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing) and the Longhorns poured it in late after a sloppy start to record their first-ever SEC win against Mississippi State. It’s not that Texas will be punished for its 35-13 win — though it was closer than contrarians expected — so much as it lacked the intensity of Alabama’s win in the debate for first place.

3. Ohio State (3): Will the Buckeyes get more than five first-place votes after beating Michigan State by 31 points? Ohio State has received exactly five first-place votes in each of the past four weeks, and while there’s credit for the resilience of those voters, it’s curious why the Buckeyes haven’t attracted more first-place attention while handling their business during the election period. The first month of the season.

4. Tennessee (5): The Volunteers were off for Week 5 and will return to work next week in Arkansas.

5. Oregon (8): The Ducks were tested on the road against UCLA and responded well, jumping out to an early lead and defending it the rest of the way to improve to 4-0 overall on the year.

6. Pennsylvania (9): There are many things Penn State has to work on moving forward, but the Nittany Lions passed their first Big Ten Conference test with a 21-7 win over Illinois.

7. Miami (7): Controversy surrounds the end of the Hurricanes’ 38-34 win over Virginia Tech, but how much does that show up on the ballots? It looks like Miami will have to lose some voter support for a game that was much closer than expected, but that’s unlikely to be enough for any kind of significant change among those unbeaten teams in the back half of the top 10.

8. Georgia (2): It’s going to be really tough to knock Georgia out of the top 10 after the Bulldogs’ epic second-half comeback effort held a late lead in the final minutes of a close loss in Tuscaloosa.

9. Missouri (11): The Tigers are off in Week 5 and will return to action next week at Texas A&M.

10. Michigan (12): The No. 1-loss team in the country a week ago won’t move much after its 27-24 win over Minnesota. The Wolverines won’t be the biggest one-loss team in the country anymore, but they shouldn’t see much of an adjustment in the reshuffle.

11. University of Southern California (13): The Trojans had trouble early against Wisconsin but showed tremendous resilience in outscoring the Badgers 28-0 after halftime in a 17-point win.

12. LSU (14): No big changes for LSU after taking care of business against South Alabama.

13. Ole Miss (6): When a team is undefeated, it is judged by its appearance in wins. But once voters start pitting one-loss teams against each other, they have to show a certain quality of winning to win the playoff spots for top spots on the ballot. Now 4-1 after a home loss to Kentucky, the Rebels’ best win is at Wake Forest, which lost at home to Louisiana on Saturday. There will be opportunities to get back into the top 10 and show form closer to those strong wins at the start of the season, but that’s not a top 10 profile at the moment.

14. Notre Dame (16): The Fighting Irish took advantage of Louisville’s early turnovers and led their defense to another home win against an ACC opponent, holding off a late Cardinals offense in a 31-24 win.

15. Clemson (17): Kade Klubnik continues to shine against all opponents since the season-opening loss to Georgia. This time it was five total touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) in a 40-14 win over Stanford.

16. Iowa State (18): It took a while for the Cyclones to find the end zone against Houston, but the defense never allowed the outcome to be in doubt in what was ultimately a 20-0 win for Iowa State to improve to 4-0.

17. Oklahoma (21): The Sooners’ first-ever SEC win came in dramatic fashion, rallying late from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to stun Auburn 27-21 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. It won’t result in a huge jump in the rankings, but a win could go a long way in helping Oklahoma’s season-long prospects after making a quarterback change this week.

18. Illinois (19): It’s possible BYU could jump Illinois given the Cougars’ unbeaten status, but it’s hard to punish the Fighting Illini too much given their 4-1 start and how competitive the team is in a tough road environment at Penn State.

19. BU (22): Keilani Sitake now has BYU at 5-0 for the third time in five seasons after a 34-28 win over Baylor to improve to 2-0 in Big 12 play. The Cougars needed a late defensive stand to hold on after nearly throwing away a 31-14 halftime lead, but an interception by safety Crew Wakeley with 59 seconds left sealed the victory.

20. Kansas State (23): Kansas State’s strong rebound from last week’s road loss to BYU brings some optimism about the team moving forward. Quarterback Avery Johnson totaled five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) in a 42-20 win over Oklahoma State, which got the Wildcats back on track and sent the Cowboys reeling up the rankings.

21. Utah (10): The Utes fell to Arizona late Saturday night and are now guaranteed to stumble at 4-1. The continued absence of Cam Rising and the unknown of his standing makes ranking Utah impossible. In the first half against Baylor, they looked like one of the best teams in the country but since then they have been limited offensively. Some voters may drop Utah from the ballot entirely, but not enough to see a drop from the top 10 to unranked positions.

22. Texas A&M (24): It seems like every Texas A&M-Arkansas game is going to bring drama these days, and the Aggies’ 21-17 win on Saturday was no different. The win doesn’t do enough to make a big jump, but it adds value to a profile that was previously cemented only by a win in Florida.

23. Boise State (25): The Broncos currently play against Washington State, which was 26th last week and just two points behind Boise State.

24. Indiana (GT): The Hoosiers are 5-0 for the first time since 1967 and now have two conference wins after pulling away late against Maryland. There are tough games deeper on the schedule, but if Indiana continues to perform at its current level, we could be looking at a team that continues to rise in the rankings over the next two weeks.

25. UNLV (n.t.): After a week of storylines that suggested behind-the-scenes drama, the Rebels absolutely crushed Fresno State in their Mountain West opener. The 59-14 final highlights a team that has become so good after Al-Hajj Malik Williams moved to the new quarterback position. After becoming one of the best teams outside the top 25, the additional attention could see them move up the rankings.

He is expected to leave: No. 15 Louisville, No. 20 Oklahoma State