AP Top 25 poll: Georgia jumps Ohio State, Florida makes huge splash in college football rankings

The Bulldogs moved up a spot after crushing Oregon by 46 points in a Week 1 showdown

By David Cobb

& Shehan Jeyarajah

Sep 6, 2022 at 2:28 pm ET • 1 min read

USATSI

Reigning national champion Georgia was rewarded for an impressive Week 1 performance by getting a promotion to No. 2 in the AP Top 25 poll released on Tuesday. The Bulldogs, who were No. 3 in the preseason rankings, crushed Oregon 49-3 and swapped spots with Ohio State as the Buckeyes dropped a spot after beating Notre Dame 21-10.

The Fighting Irish dropped only three spots to No. 8 after putting up an impressive fight against the Buckeyes in coach Marcus Freeman's debut. The Ducks, meanwhile, plummeted out of the poll after their dud performance against the Bulldogs under first-year coach Dan Lanning, who spent the previous four seasons on UGA's staff. Alabama remained at No. 1 following its 55-0 drubbing of Utah State.

Florida was one of the big winners in the new poll. After beginning the season unranked and receiving only 14 votes in the preseason poll, the Gators surged to the No. 12 slot following their thrilling 29-26 win over No. 7 Utah in coach Billy Napier's debut. Their rise sets up a top-25 matchup on Saturday with No. 20 Kentucky. Florida's climb marks the biggest jump for an unranked team since the first regular-season poll of the 2016 season when Texas landed at No. 11 and Wisconsin at No. 10 after Week 1 victories.

The Utes dropped to No. 13 as a result of their loss, leaving No. 10 USC as the Pac-12's highest-ranked team after the Trojans beat Rice 66-14 in Lincoln Riley's coaching debut in Los Angeles.

Here's a look at the full top 25 (first-place votes in parenthesis):