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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama tied a record on Sunday when despite not playing, and not receiving the most first-place votes, it moved up to No. 1 in the Amway Coaches Poll.
Alabama received 15 first-place votes and 1,477 points to move ahead of reigning champion Florida State (1,468) into the top spot. Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide remained third in the Associated Press Poll, where very little separated the first four teams: Florida State (1,416 points), Oregon (1,405), Alabama (1,387) and Oklahoma (1,357).
The Seminoles remain undefeated, but none of their wins have been particularly impressive: 37-31 vs. Oklahoma State, 37-12 Citadel, 23-17 OT No. 22 Clemson, and 56-41 at North Carolina State.
It’s the first time the Crimson Tide is atop one of the polls this season. Alabama has now been No. 1 at some point during the past seven years, dating back to 2008. It tied Miami (1986-92) for the longest streak of consecrative years at No. 1 in poll history, dating back to 1936.
During that ongoing stretch, the Crimson Tide is 26-9 (.742) against ranked opponents, having won 13 of the last 15, and 16-5 (.761) against teams in the top 10.
Alabama (4-0) visits Ole Miss, No. 11 in both polls, on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS). It’ll be the first of five upcoming games against teams in the top 15: No. 6 Texas A&M, at No. 15 LSU, No. 1 Mississippi State and No. 5 Auburn.
Had Arkansas held on to defeat Texas A&M on Saturday every team in the SEC West almost certainly would have been ranked this week, and set up for Alabama a three-week stretch against top 25 teams. During the only two other times it had a run like that under Coach Nick Saban, 2010 and 2012, it lost the third game.
Associated Press Poll
- Florida State (27), 4-0, 1,416
- Oregon (13), 4-0, 1,405
- Alabama (13), 4-0, 1,387
- Oklahoma (7), 4-0, 1,1357
- Auburn, 4-0, 1,272
- Texas A&M, 5-0, 1,206
- Baylor, 4-0, 1,149
- UCLA, 4-0, 975
- Notre Dame, 4-0, 972
- Michigan State, 3-1, 944
- Ole Miss, 4-0, 906
- Mississippi State, 3-1, 848
- Georgia, 3-1, 788
- Stanford, 3-1, 643
- LSU, 4-1, 636
- Southern California, 3-1, 502
- Wisconsin, 3-1, 502
- Brigham Young, 4-0, 450
- Nebraska, 50, 445
- Ohio State, 3-1, 298
- Oklahoma State, 3-1, 246
- East Carolina, 3-1, 237
- Kansas State, 3-1, 216
- Missouri, 4-1, 145
- TCU, 3-0, 109
Dropped out: No. 13 South Carolina, No. 15 Arizona State.
Others receiving votes: Arizona State (3-1) 97; South Carolina (3-2) 61; Clemson (2-2) 52; Arizona (4-0) 43; Marshall (4-0) 40; Georgia Tech (4-0) 37; West Virginia (2-2) 24; Arkansas (3-2) 18; Maryland (4-1) 5; Louisville (4-1) 4; North Dakota State (4-0) 3; Washington (4-1) 2; North Carolina State (4-1) 1; Virginia (3-2) 1
Amway Coaches Poll
- Alabama (15), 4-0, 1,477
- Florida State (26), 4-0, 1,468
- Oklahoma (14) 4-0, 1,442
- Oregon (7), 4-0, 1,1407
- Auburn (0), 4-0, 1,312
- Baylor, 4-0, 1,191
- Texas A&M, 5-0, 1,172
- Notre Dame, 4-0, 1,072
- UCLA, 4-0, 1,007
- Michigan State, 3-1, 975
- Ole Miss, 3-1, 907
- Georgia, 3-1, 824
- Stanford, 3-1, 735
- Mississippi State, 4-0, 708
- LSU, 4-1, 587
- Wisconsin, 3-1, 571
- Nebraska, 5-0, 559
- Ohio State, 3-1, 474
- BYU, 4-0, 473
- Southern California, 3-1, 392
- East Carolina, 3-1, 255
- Kansas State, 3-1, 253
- Oklahoma State, 3-1, 216
- Arizona State, 3-1, 148
- TCU, 3-0, 86
Dropped out: 15. South Carolina, No. 23 Duke
Others receiving votes: Missouri 83; South Carolina 82; Clemson 81; Arizona 59; Marshall 49; GeorgiaTech 39; Washington 10; Louisville 8; Duke 7; North Carolina 7; Arkansas 5; Iowa 3; Minnesota 3; Cincinnati 1; Texas 1; West Virginia 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.
