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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After not playing on Saturday the University of Alabama football team slid down a spot in both major polls, from third to fourth.
Both the Associated Press Poll and the Amway Coaches Poll both moved Auburn ahead Alabama after the Tigers held on to defeat Ole Miss on Saturday night, 35-31.
Mississippi State remained the consensus at No. 1 after holding on to defeat Arkansas, 17-10, and Florida State was No. 2 following its 42-31 win at Louisville.
Alabama was No. 6 in last week’s rankings by the playoff committee, which will be updated on Tuesday. With the Rebels dropping it could move up to No. 5, although No. 7 TCU edged No. 20 West Virginia, 31-30.
Regardless, Alabama still has games remaining against MSU and Auburn, and continues to control its own destiny regarding the playoff. With Ole Miss losing, though, it now also does regarding Southeastern Conference’s Western Division and trying to secure a spot in the SEC Championship Game.
Saturday, Alabama visits LSU (8 p.m. ET, CBS), which moved up to 14th in the AP poll, and 15th the coaches’ poll.
As for the computer rankings that were used in the BCS rankings:
- Jeff Sagarin: 1. Auburn; 2. Alabama; 3. Ole Miss; 4. Oklahoma; 5. Mississippi State
- Anderson & Hester: 1. Mississippi State; 2. Auburn; 3. Florida State; 4. Oregon; 5. Ole Miss (Alabama sixth).
- Richard Billingsley: 1. Florida State; 2. Mississippi State; 3. Auburn; 4. Oregon; 5. Alabama.
- Colley Matrix: 1. Mississippi State; 2. Auburn; 3. Florida State; 4. Ole Miss; 5. Alabama.
- Kenneth Massey: 1. Auburn; 2. Alabama; 3. Mississippi State; 4. Florida State; 5. Ole Miss
- Dr. Peter Wolfe: 1. Mississippi State; 2. Auburn; 3. Florida State; 4. LSU; 5. Ole Miss (Alabama sixth)
Associated Press Poll
Rank, Team, Record, Points
1 Mississippi State (45) 8-0 1484
2 Florida State (15) 8-0 1452
3 Auburn 7-1 1345
4 Alabama 7-1 1281
5 Oregon 8-1 1275
6 TCU 7-1 1148
7 Michigan State 7-1 1120
8 Notre Dame 7-1 1096
9 Kansas State 7-1 1049
10 Baylor 7-1 961
11 Arizona State 7-1 831
12 Ole Miss 7-2 828
13 Ohio State 7-1 780
14 LSU 7-2 717
15 Nebraska 8-1 680
16 Oklahoma 6-2 574
17 Georgia 6-2 465
18 UCLA 7-2 464
19 Clemson 6-2 341
20 Utah 6-2 327
21 Arizona 6-2 325
22 Duke 7-1 288
23 Marshall 8-0 238
24 West Virginia 6-3 159
25 Wisconsin 6-2 83
Others receiving votes: Colorado State 67, USC 48, Missouri 42, Georgia Tech 15, Louisville 7, Stanford 4, North Dakota State 4, Florida 1, Texas A&M 1
Amway Coaches Poll
1 Mississippi State (40) 8-0 1526
2 Florida State (22) 8-0 1501
3 Auburn 7-1 1355
4 Alabama 7-1 1349
5 Oregon 8-1 1289
6 Michigan State 7-1 1241
7 TCU 7-1 1150
8 Notre Dame 7-1 1121
9 Kansas State 7-1 1087
10 Baylor 7-1 957
11 Ohio State 7-1 901
12 Arizona State 7-1 854
13 Ole Miss 7-2 793
14 Nebraska 8-1 766
15 LSU 7-2 636
16 Oklahoma 6-2 601
17 Georgia 6-2 508
18 UCLA 7-2 438
19 Clemson 6-2 394
20 Duke 7-1 320
21 Arizona 6-2 307
22 Utah 6-2 253
22 Marshall 8-0 253
24 Wisconsin 6-2 146
25 West Virginia 6-3 130
Dropped from rankings: East Carolina 19
Others receiving votes: Missouri 82, Colorado State 81, Georgia Tech 32, USC 31, Minnesota 19, Iowa 12, Louisville 7, Boise State 5, East Carolina 2, Cincinnati 2, Miami (FL) 1
Christopher Walsh has covered Alabama football since 2004 and is the author of 19 books. In his free time, he writes about college football.