AP Top 25: Oregon Ducks Jump Ahead of LSU, Notre Dame Enters Top Ten

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The top-five teams in college football look a little different this week after the Oregon Ducks looked impressive and the LSU Tigers squeaked by with a win.

The Alabama Crimson Tide remained at No. 1 after dismantling Florida Atlantic 40-7. Alabama improved to 4-0 and received 59 first place votes and will next take on SEC rival Ole Miss on Sept. 29 at home. The team has won nine of the last 17 games by 30 or more points, including last week's 52-0 win against Arkansas.

"I was much more pleased with the way we competed in the game," coach Nick Saban said to the Associated Press. "Just the way we approached the game, the way we competed in the game, and we got to play a lot of players. I think those things are going to benefit us down the road, and even though they drove the ball, we actually probably played a little bit better this week than last week. You know, they didn't score last week. They could've scored, but they didn't."

Oregon moved up one spot to No. 2 after beating Arizona 49-0 on Saturday night. Arizona was ranked at No. 22 and had a 3-0 record entering the game. The Ducks have outscored opponents 211-73 this season, but have yet to play on the road.

"I'll say we didn't expect this," Oregon safety Brian Jackson said about Arizona. "But I'm not surprised it happened."

The Ducks will play their first road game this week against Pac-12 foe Washington State.

LSU received the other first place vote and dropped to third in the poll after barely getting past unranked Auburn 12-10 on Saturday. The Tigers improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the SEC.

"We were tested and we answered the call," LSU head coach Les Miles said to the Associated Press.

Florida State stayed at No. 4 after beating Clemson 49-37 and Georgia remained at No. 5 following a 48-3 win against Vanderbilt. Florida State has its highest ranking since 2005.

The Seminoles also have yet to play a road game, but will be tested outside of their home stadium when they face North Carolina State on Saturday.  EJ Manuel had a great game for the Seminoles, passing for 380 yards and two touchdowns.

With South Carolina resting at No. 6, the South Eastern Conference has four of the top six teams in the nation. Hardly a surprise considering they have won the last six BCS national titles.

Kansas State rose eight spots to No. 7 after beating Oklahoma 24-19, while the Sooners fell to No. 16 after the loss.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish, off to their best start in a decade, moved up one sport to No. 10 after beating Michigan 13-6. The Wolverines fell out of the Top-25 with the loss and the Irish improved to 4-0 for the first time since 2002. The Irish are in the top ten for the first time since 2006.

The USC Trojans remained at No. 13 after beating California 27-9. The team fell from No. 2 last week after being upset by Stanford.

Rutgers and Baylor made their first appearances of the season after getting wins on Saturday, while UCLA fell out of the rankings after losing 27-20 to Oregon State. Following the win, the Beavers moved into the Top 25 at No. 18.

Some prominent matchups for next week include No. 14 Ohio State hosting No. 20 Michigan State and No. 9 West Virginia plays No. 25 Baylor in Morgantown, W. Va.

The full AP Top 25 rankings are:

1 Alabama (59) 4-0
2 Oregon 4-0 
3 LSU (1) 4-0 
4 Florida State 4-0
5 Georgia 4-0
6 South Carolina 4-0
7 Kansas State 4-0
8 Stanford 3-0
9 West Virginia 3-0
10 Notre Dame 4-0 
11 Florida 4-0 
12 Texas 3-0 
13 USC 3-1 
14 Ohio State 4-0 
15 TCU 3-0 
16 Oklahoma 2-1
17 Clemson 3-1
18 Oregon State 2-0 
19 Louisville 4-0
20 Michigan State 3-1
21 Mississippi State 4-0
22 Nebraska 3-1 
23 Rutgers 4-0
24 Boise State 2-1 
25 Baylor 3-0 

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