The Associated Press released its weekly AP Top 25 Poll at 2 p.m. Despite a convincing, if not explosive, 28-3 win over Illinois, Ohio State failed to make up ground on a Clemson team that struggled to beat Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. Clemson's lead actually expanded by seven points over the No. 2 Buckeyes.
With it, Clemson is momentarily the consensus No. 1 team in the country as it sits atop the AP, Coaches, and College Football Playoff rankings.
The central takeaways from the AP Top 25 resemble the Coaches Poll released earlier this morning. The Big Ten leads all conferences with six teams in the AP Top 25 and is tied with the Big 12 for most teams in the top ten (three).
The Pac-12 is second with five teams in the AP Top 25. Three of those five teams—USC, Oregon, and Washington State—are new appearances in the poll from last week. They're ranked No. 22, No. 23, and No. 24 respectively.
The full poll follows.
| RANK | TEAM | POINTS | 1ST VOTES | CHANGE | CONFERENCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CLEMSON | 1496 | 34 | ACC | |
| 2 | OHIO STATE | 1460 | 23 | BIG TEN | |
| 3 | ALABAMA | 1424 | 3 | SEC | |
| 4 | OKLAHOMA STATE | 1301 | +1 | BIG 12 | |
| 5 | NOTRE DAME | 1286 | +1 | INDEPENDENT | |
| 6 | IOWA | 1216 | +2 | BIG TEN | |
| 7 | OKLAHOMA | 1182 | +5 | BIG 12 | |
| 8 | FLORIDA | 1055 | +3 | SEC | |
| 9 | MICHIGAN STATE | 1008 | +5 | BIG TEN | |
| 10 | BAYLOR | 946 | -6 | BIG 12 | |
| 11 | TEXAS CHRISTIAN | 857 | +2 | BIG 12 | |
| 12 | NORTH CAROLINA | 791 | +5 | ACC | |
| 13 | HOUSTON | 790 | +3 | AMERICAN | |
| 14 | MICHIGAN | 738 | +1 | BIG TEN | |
| 15 | STANFORD | 668 | -8 | PAC-12 | |
| 16 | FLORIDA STATE | 559 | +3 | ACC | |
| 17 | LSU | 549 | -8 | SEC | |
| 18 | UTAH | 514 | -8 | PAC-12 | |
| 19 | NAVY | 465 | +3 | AMERICAN | |
| 20 | NORTHWESTERN | 397 | +4 | BIG TEN | |
| 21 | WISCONSIN | 338 | +2 | BIG TEN | |
| 22 | SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA | 201 | +4 (NR) | PAC-12 | |
| 23 | OREGON | 170 | -- (NR) | PAC-12 | |
| 24 | WASHINGTON STATE | 167 | +8 (NR) | PAC-12 | |
| 25 | MISSISSIPPI | 44 | +3 | SEC |
