Once again, Alabama and LSU are Nos. 1 and 2 on The Associated Press college football polls, their seemingly rightful place. This where they were much of last season and it is likely the two SEC schools will remain their much of the season – or until they meet on Novel 3 in Baton Rouge.
The Crimson Tide is No. 1 for the third straight week, and it was almost unanimous. Alabama received 58 of 60 first-place votes. LSU got the other two.
The rivals were ranked first and second for eight weeks last season before eventually meeting in the BCS title game. The difference last year was LSU was first and Alabama second — until the Tide won the national championship game.
LSU ascended the second position after USC, last week’s No.2, was upset at Stanford, 21-14. The Trojans slipped 11 spots to 13th while Stanford bounded from 21st to ninth.
USC was preseason No. 1 in a close vote and slipped to No. 2 after Alabama throttled Michigan to start the season. Alabama destroyed Arkansas 52-0 on Saturday.
“We have really been fighting against allowing ourselves to accept average,” Tide coach Nick Saban said.
No. 4 Florida State heads into maybe its biggest regular-season game of the year with its best ranking since Oct. 9, 2005.
The Seminoles, coming off a 52-0 victory against Wake Forest, host No. 10 Clemson at Doak Campell Stadium on Saturday in a game that should go a long way to determining who wins the Atlantic Division of the ACC.
No. 9 Stanford shot up 12 spots after beating USC for the fourth straight season.
The Cardinal are proving there is life and prosperity after Andrew Luck, the quarterback taken No. 1 in the NFL Draft by Indianapolis. The assumption was when the two-time Heisman Trophy runner-up moved on to the NFL, Stanford would slip back into the Pac-12 pack.
“I have been saying it for years, even before I became head coach: This game isn’t about who you play, it is about how you play,” coach David Shaw said.
