AP college football poll, Week 12: CU Buffs climbs to No. 18, Oregon remains No. 1

Oregon was the No. 1 team in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll for the fourth straight week on Sunday as Penn State and Indiana climbed into the top five, Georgia and Miami dropped out of the top 10 and losses by four other ranked teams shuffled the rankings with a month left in the regular season.

No team this season has held the top spot for more consecutive weeks than Oregon, which pulled away from Maryland over the weekend to improve to 10-0 and is a unanimous No. 1 for the second straight week.

Ohio State moved up one spot to No. 2 and Texas got a two-rung bump to No. 3. Penn State was No. 4, one point ahead of No. 5 Indiana, with Tennessee just three points behind at No. 6.

Penn State, No. 6 last week, returned to the top five after its comfortable win over Washington. The Hoosiers, who beat Michigan 20-15 for their school-record 10th win and first victory by fewer than 14 points, moved up from No. 8 and have their highest ranking since they were No. 4 in the final poll of the 1967 season.

Following Tennessee in the top 10 were BYU, Notre Dame, Alabama and Mississippi. The SEC has four teams in the top 10 and nine overall in the AP Top 25 while the Big Ten has four teams in the top five for the first time in history.

Georgia and Miami plummeted. The Bulldogs lost 28-10 at Mississippi and went from No. 2 to No. 11, marking the first time they’ve been out of the top 10 since late in the 2020 season. The Hurricanes’ 28-23 loss at Georgia Tech sent them from No. 4 to No. 12.

How those losses impact their bids for a College Football Playoff spot will be known on Tuesday night when the selection committee releases its second rankings. Georgia is the fifth-highest ranked Southeastern Conference team in the AP poll, and Miami remains the highest-ranked Atlantic Coast Conference team.

Poll points

Mississippi earned the biggest promotion, from No. 16 to No. 10. The Rebels turned in a dominant defensive performance against Carson Beck and the Bulldogs a week after Jaxson Dart set school passing records in a blowout of Arkansas.

LSU had its playoff hopes snuffed with its 42-13 home loss to Alabama. The Tigers dropped from No. 14 to No. 21.

No. 18 Colorado controls its own destiny in the playoff chase. The Buffaloes are alone in second place in the Big 12, one game behind unbeaten BYU, and the conference’s second-highest ranked team in the AP poll. They don’t meet in the regular season. If both run the table, they would play in the conference championship game.

Boise State slipped one spot to No. 13 and remains the highest-ranked Group of Five team following its 28-21 victory over three-win Nevada.

In-and-out

No. 23 South Carolina, which has beaten ranked Texas A&M and Vanderbilt teams in consecutive weeks, is in the Top 25 for the first time since the end of the 2022 season.

No. 24 Missouri beat Oklahoma on a late fumble return for a touchdown and is back after a one-week absence.

No. 25 Tulane, winner of seven straight, made its Top 25 debut under first-year coach Jon Sumrall.

Iowa State, Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt dropped out.

The Cyclones’ second straight loss came against a Kansas team that entered with two wins. Pitt, beaten soundly by SMU a week earlier, lost at home to Virginia. Vanderbilt has lost two of its last three.

Conference call

SEC — 9 (Nos. 3, 6, 9, 10, 11, 15, 21, 23, 24).

ACC — 4 (Nos. 12, 14, 17, 22).

Big Ten — 4 (Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5).

Big 12 — 3 (Nos. 7, 18, 20).

AAC — 2 (Nos. 16, 25).

Mountain West — 1 (No. 13).

Pac-12 — 1 (No. 19).

Independent — 1 (No. 8).

Ranked vs. ranked

— No. 6 Tennessee at No. 11 Georgia: Volunteers QB Nico Iamaleava is expected to be back after not playing the second half against Mississippi State. Vols haven’t scored more than 21 points during their seven-game losing streak against the Bulldogs.

— No. 24 Missouri at No. 23 South Carolina: Tigers have won five straight in the series. Gamecocks have a chance to beat a third straight ranked opponent.