New York, NY – Oklahoma remained the top team in the Associated Press college football poll after the first week of the regular season, while LSU's convincing victory over Oregon vaulted the Tigers into the second spot.
The Sooners, coming off a thorough 47-14 pasting of Tulsa on Saturday, received 32 first-place votes -- four fewer than the preseason poll -- and a total of 1,448 points from a nationwide media panel.
LSU had been ranked fourth in the preseason, but its 40-27 victory over Oregon on a neutral field with a backup quarterback swayed many voters in the poll. The Tigers garnered 17 first-place votes, 16 more than the preseason, and a total of 1,415 points.
Alabama had no trouble in a 48-7 rout of Kent State on Saturday, but the Crimson Tide still slipped one spot into third after picking up nine top tallies -- eight fewer than the preseason.
Boise State moved up one spot into fourth after its 35-21 win over Georgia in Atlanta. The Broncos again notched two first-place votes.
Florida State, Stanford, Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Oklahoma State and Nebraska comprise the rest of this week's top 10. Wisconsin moved up three spots from 11th after a dominant 51-17 win over UNLV last Thursday.
The second 10 consists of Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Oregon, Arkansas, Ohio State, Mississippi State, Michigan State, Florida, West Virginia and Baylor. Oregon tumbled 10 spots from third after the loss to LSU.
Baylor is one of four new teams this week. The Bears pulled out a 50-48 win over TCU last Friday after first letting a 24-point lead in the fourth quarter slip away. The stirring rally apparently convinced enough media members to keep TCU in the poll, as the Horned Frogs dropped from 14th to 25th.
Missouri, South Florida, Penn State and Texas joined TCU as the last five teams ranked this week. South Florida, Penn State and Texas are newcomers, while Auburn, Notre Dame, Georgia and Southern California dropped out.
Auburn, minus Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton on offense and Nick Fairley on defense, hardly resembled the team that won the national championship last year. The Tigers were ranked 23rd and needed a late rally to beat Utah State at home.
Notre Dame was ranked 16th in the preseason, but South Florida went into South Bend and weathered a pair of storm delays to escape with a 23-20 win over the Fighting Irish. Georgia was ranked 19th before the loss to Boise State, while USC was 25th and fell out of the poll after a lackluster 19-17 win over Minnesota.
Penn State and Texas moved into this week's poll after strong victories over inferior competition. The Nittany Lions rolled to a 41-7 win over Indiana State, while the Longhorns thumped Rice, 34-9.
There is just one matchup of ranked teams this week, as Alabama heads to Happy Valley to take on Penn State.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.