The Associated Press Top 25

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sept. 21, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:

Rk., Team Record Pts. Prv

1. Texas (56) 6-0 1544 1

2. Oregon (6) 6-0 1493 3

3. Penn State 6-0 1380 4

4. Ohio State 5-1 1357 2

5. Georgia 5-1 1300 5

6. Miami 6-0 1232 6

7. Alabama 5-1 1127 7

8. LSU 5-1 994 13

9. Iowa State 6-0 982 11

10. Clemson 5-1 980 10

11. Tennessee 5-1 959 8

12. Notre Dame 5-1 914 11

13. BYU 6-0 889 14

14. Texas A&M 5-1 744 15

15. Boise State 5-1 597 17

16. Indiana 6-0 580 18

17. Kansas State 5-1 567 18

18. Mississippi 5-2 511 9

19. Missouri 5-1 409 21

20. Pittsburgh 6-0 397 22

21. SMU 5-1 260 25

22. Illinois 5-1 249 23

23. Army 6-0 137 NR

24. Michigan 4-2 133 24

25. Navy 5-0 84 NR

Others receiving votes: Vanderbilt 68, Nebraska 62, Arizona State 39, Oklahoma 36, Washington State 32, Iowa 29, Texas Tech 18, Syracuse 13, Arkansas 13, Utah 7, Louisville 6, Southern Cal 5, Liberty 2, UNLV 1.

THE NEWS-GAZETTE'S TOP 25

Rankings from The News-Gazette's college football and Illini beat writer Bob Asmussen, with his previous rankings listed:

Rk., TEAM PREV.

1. Texas 2

2. Oregon 3

3. Ohio State 1

4. Penn State 4

5. Miami 5

6. Alabama 6

7. Georgia 7

8. Iowa State 8

9. Notre Dame 9

10. LSU 10

11. Clemson 11

12. Texas A&M 14

13. Tennessee 13

14. Missouri 15

15. Boise State 17

16. Illinois 16

17. BYU 18

18. Kansas State 20

19. Indiana 21

20. Pittsburgh 23

21. SMU 24

22. Vanderbilt 25

23. Michigan NR

24. Mississippi 12

25. Army NR

WHO'S UP

Oregon. Dan Lanning's team put itself in control of the Big Ten with a gutsy home win Saturday night against Ohio State. The Buckeyes had a chance to win late, but the clock ran out. Give them 10 more seconds and Ohio State would have scored the huge victory. The Ducks don't play Penn State this season, so their toughest games remaining are at home against Illinois on Oct. 26 and at Michigan on Nov. 2. Then, the Big Ten title game, likely a rematch against Ohio State or a first-timer with Penn State. Dillon Gabriel has been everything Oregon hoped he would be when he transferred in. It is difficult to imagine the Ducks not earning one of the four College Football Playoff byes.

WHO'S DOWN

Utah. The Utes, considered a strong playoff contender going into the season, lost Friday night at Arizona State. That followed an earlier loss to Arizona at home. Utah also was tested at Oklahoma State, where Kyle Whittingham's team won by three. Injuries have been a problem for the Utes. Quarterback Cam Rising, who came back for another season, is dealing with a hand injury that made it difficult for him to throw accurately in the 27-19 road loss to Arizona State. The fans and media figured it out, so you can bet opposing defenses will tee off on him and the Utes' ground game. Utah might need to win out to have a shot at the Big 12 title and has challenging games remaining against BYU and Iowa State. Both teams come to Salt Lake City.

WHO I'M WATCHING

No. 5 Georgia at No. 1 Texas (6:30 p.m., Saturday, ABC). It's the first real monster game for the Longhorns as members of the SEC. The Oklahoma game doesn't count because the Sooners were clearly overmatched and, like Texas, are new to the league. Coach Steve Sarkisian has his team rolling both offensively and defensively. It scored an impressive win earlier against Michigan, though that outcome might be more the product of the Wolverines' weaknesses. Georgia coach Kirby Smart has plenty of talent on hand, but the parts don't seem to be working quite as well as usual.