Tennessee cracked the top 10 of the AP Top 25 poll on Sunday for just the second time since 2006, rising to No. 8 after defeating Florida 38-33 in a Week 4 SEC on CBS showdown. The victory improved the Volunteers to 4-0 entering a bye week before they travel to face LSU on Oct. 8. With Tennessee's rise, the SEC East now has three teams in the top 10 with Georgia retaining the No. 1 spot and Kentucky rising one spot to No. 7.
The Bulldogs maintained a firm grip on the top spot with 55 of 63 first-place votes while No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Ohio State each received four first-place votes. It wasn't all good news for the SEC, though, as Arkansas dropped 10 spots to No. 20 following its heartbreaking 23-21 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday. The Aggies rose six spots to No. 17 after the win.
Among the notable snubs from the poll was Kansas, which finished first among the "others receiving votes" but was left out even after improving to 4-0 with a 35-27 win over a previously unbeaten Duke squad. The Jayhawks also own road wins over Houston and West Virginia. Their Sunflower State companion, Kansas State, did make the AP poll. The Wildcats were slotted at No. 25 after a 41-34 win at Oklahoma on Saturday.
Let's check out the full top 25 from the AP voters (first-place votes in parenthesis):
AP Top 25 poll
- Georgia (55)
- Alabama (4)
- Ohio State (4)
- Michigan
- Clemson
- USC
- Kentucky
- Tennessee
- Oklahoma State
- NC State
- Penn State
- Utah
- Oregon
- Ole Miss
- Washington
- Baylor
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma
- BYU
- Arkansas
- Minnesota
- Wake Forest
- Florida State
- Pittsburgh
- Kansas State
Also receiving votes: Kansas (125); Cincinnati (60); Florida (56); Washington State (31); Syracuse (22); Oregon State (16); Texas Tech (11); North Carolina (9); LSU (7); UCLA (3); Tulane (3); TCU (1)
