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Despite another resounding victory by Texas with backup QB Arch Manning at the helm, the Alabama Crimson Tide eke-out a 4-point advantage in the Super 16 Poll with a point tally of 832-828.
Alabama received a first-place vote from 28 of the 54 panelists while 22 gave the nod to Texas. Three other voters put Ohio State at number 1, and Tennessee collected one first-place vote.
Voters in the poll consist of FWAA writers and members of the College Football Hall of Fame who were selected to create a geographically balanced perspective. CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove has been on the voting panel since the September 24, 2017 poll.
Alabama's ascent to the top spot comes after just four games under Kalen DeBoer who was hired to fill the shoes of Nick Saban.
In 17 seasons, Saban won 6 national championships at the school to tie Bear Bryant who also won 6 from 1961 to 1979. Saban came to the school with one national championship already etched in his belt while at LSU.
Since retiring at the end of last season, Saban has joined the ESPN GameDay panel. On Saturday morning, his wife of 52+ years, Terry, joined him on the set as guest picker. Mr. Saban went 6-3 while Miss Terry was 7-2.
This is also Alabama's appearance at No. 1 since October 2, 2022, and it comes after a scintillating 41-34 win over Georgia and former Saban disciple Kirby Smart who is 44-0 since 2021 against teams not named Alabama, but 1-3 vs. the Tide. In fact, he is just 1-7 vs the Tide since getting the job in Athens, but that one was huge as it came in the National Championship game on January 10, 2022.
This is the 62nd appearance at No. 1 for Alabama, which is more than any team in the history of the poll that dates to 2014.
An SEC team has been ranked No. 1 in this poll 61 of the last 62 weeks dating back to September 29, 2019.
Texas dropped one slot to No. 2 while Georgia fell three spots to No. 5.
Ole Miss tumbled to No. 12 after a 20-17 loss that was the first at home to Kentucky since 1978, though the Rebels are just 4-5 in Lexington during that span.
Clemson advanced three spots to No. 13 after handily defeating Stanford at home, 40-14. It's the highest ranking for the Tigers since a No. 8 appearance in the 2023 preseason poll.
Louisville and Utah fell out of the poll completely after suffering losses in Week 5. The Cards fell 31-24 at Notre Dame, while the Utes lost 23-10 at home to Arizona.
Notre Dame re-enters the poll at No. 15 after being expelled in reaction to the 16-14 loss at home to Northern Illinois in week 2.
Iowa State moves into the poll at No. 16 for the first appearance since a No. 14 ranking on September 19, 2021.
The SEC leads all conferences with seven teams, followed by the Big Ten with five, ACC with two and the Big 12 and FBS Independents with one each.
He was one of the 22 voters who kept Texas at No. 1, while he moved up Alabama from 8 to 2. He dropped Ole Miss from 2 to 10, Georgia from 4 to 6, Utah from 7 to 16, and Louisville from 15 to out. He had Iowa State in his ranking last week at No. 16, and moved the Cyclones up to 14 this week.
Here is his entire Top 16 ballot:
(1) Texas, (2) Alabama, (3) Ohio State, (4) Oregon, (5) Tennessee, (6) Georgia, (7) Penn State, (8) Miami, FL. (9) Missouri, (10) Ole Miss, (11) Michigan, (12) USC, (13) Oklahoma, (14) Iowa State, (15) Notre Dame, (16) Utah.
| Rank | Team | Pts. | 1st | LW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Alabama (4-0) | 832 | 28 | 4 |
| 2. | Texas (5-0) | 828 | 22 | 1 |
| 3. | Ohio State (4-0) | 755 | 3 | 3 |
| 4. | Tennessee (4-0) | 673 | 1 | 5 |
| 5. | Georgia (3-1) | 634 | 2 | |
| 6. | Oregon (4-0) | 557 | 8 | |
| 7. | Penn State (4-0) | 539 | 9 | |
| 8. | Miami-FL (5-0) | 533 | 7 | |
| 9. | Missouri (4-0) | 381 | 11 | |
| 10. | Michigan (4-1) | 300 | 12 | |
| 11. | USC (3-1) | 255 | 13 | |
| 12. | Ole Miss (4-1) | 180 | 6 | |
| 13. | Clemson (3-1) | 172 | 16 | |
| 14. | LSU (4-1) | 154 | 15 | |
| 15. | Notre Dame (4-1) | 147 | N/A | |
| 16. | Iowa State (4-0) | 104 | N/A |
BYU (87), Utah (43), Oklahoma (41), Kansas State (40), Indiana (29), Rutgers (9), Louisville (7), Illinois (7), Texas A&M (5), Boise State (5), Duke (5), Kentucky (5), Pittsburgh (4), South Carolina (4), Boston College (3), Arizona (3), UNLV (3).
No. 1 Alabama at Vanderbilt
No. 2 Texas is idle
Iowa at No. 3 Ohio State
No. 4 Tennessee at Arkansas
Auburn at No. 5 Georgia
Michigan State at No. 6 Oregon (Friday)
UCLA at No. 7 Penn State
No. 8 Miami (FL) at California
No. 9 Missouri at Texas A&M
No. 10 Michigan at Washington
No. 11 USC at Minnesota
No. 12 Ole Miss at South Carolina
No. 13 Clemson at Florida State
No. 14 LSU is idle
No. 15 Notre Dame is idle
Baylor at No. 16 Iowa State
ABOUT THE FWAA-NFF SUPER 16 POLL: The poll was established at the conclusion of the 2013 season by two long-time partners, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and the National Football Foundation (NFF). Voters rank the top 16 teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, and the results will be released every Sunday of the 2023 season. The individual votes of all members will also be made public. The first regular season poll will be released on Tuesday, September 3 (to account for Labor Day games), and the final poll will be released Sunday, December 8. The poll utilizes a computer program designed by Sports Systems to compile the rankings and the Cody Kellner Points Index to publish the individual votes.
ABOUT THE FWAA: Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of journalists, broadcasters, publicists, photographers and key executives in all areas of college football. The FWAA works to govern media access and gameday operations while presenting awards and honors, including an annual All-America team.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL FOUNDATION & COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME: Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.