Alabama is No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll for the first time this season, replacing preseason No. 1 Clemson after the Tigers had a close call.
Alabama received 29 of 61 first-place votes Sunday from the media panel as the Tigers' one-point victory at North Carolina gave the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank the first shake-up at the top this season. Clemson slipped to No. 2 and received 18 first-place votes.
The last time a No. 1 team won and dropped was Ohio State on Nov. 7, 2015, after the Buckeyes beat Minnesota 28-14 at home. The No. 1 team has won and dropped in the rankings 90 times since the AP poll started in 1936, including four times when there was a tie for No. 1.
No. 3 Georgia received four first-place votes. Ohio State moved up to No. 4 and received seven first-place votes. LSU was No. 5 and Oklahoma sixth. No. 7 Auburn received three first-place votes.
The last time five or more teams received first-place votes during the regular season was Nov. 1, 2015: No. 1 Ohio State (39); No. 2. Baylor (six); No. 3. Clemson (six); No. 4. LSU (five); No. 5. TCU (four); and No. 7. Alabama (one).
At the other end of the rankings, No. 24 SMU is ranked for the first time since the program received the so-called death penalty for NCAA rules violations in 1987 and did not compete for two seasons.
POLL POINTS
Alabama has now been ranked No. 1 at some point in each of the last 12 seasons, extending its own record. The second-longest streak belongs to Miami, which had a string of seven consecutive seasons with an appearance at No. 1 from 1986-92.
This is the 119th time Alabama has been No. 1, most of any school in poll history, and the 88th time it has been top-ranked under coach Nick Saban since he took over in 2007. Only Ohio State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Southern California have more total appearances at No. 1 than Alabama has under Saban.
PONY UP
SMU's appearance in the rankings is historic, considering where that program has been. After returning from the death penalty in 1989, the Mustangs managed one winning season (6-5 in 1997) over the next 20 years.
The program had an uptick under June Jones from 2009-12, going to four straight bowl games and topping out at eight victories. There has been only one winning season since. Under second-year coach Sonny Dykes, the Mustangs are playing their best ball since the Pony Express days of Eric Dickerson and Craig James in the early 1980s.
"Given our history, SMU's history, being a very successful program for a long time like it was in the '70s and '80s, and then obviously having the death penalty, it's just been a long climb back," Dykes told the AP on Sunday. "I think it probably means more to our fanbase and the SMU people than it does to others because it has been a long climb back. I think it gives our program some credibility."