Alabama is still No.1, but not quite as many voters think so as last week.
Coming off their showdown win at Texas A&M, the Crimson Tide struggled a bit in their return home to put away Colorado State 31-6. Alabama easily retained the top ranking in the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll with 59 of 62 first-place votes. But that's two fewer firsts than last week. No.2 Oregon, which had the weekend off, inherited those No.1 nods.
USA TODAY COACHES POLL: The top 25
It was a largely upset-free weekend throughout college football, with no top-25 teams losing to unranked opponents. As a result, there was minimal shifting in the poll, with the top five remaining unchanged. No.3 Ohio State easily dispatched FCS member Florida A&M. No.4 Clemson had a more challenging assignment but pulled away from Atlantic Coast Conference rival N.C. State on the road Thursday night. No.5 Stanford built a 29-0 first-half lead and held on to win it's Pac-12 opener 42-28 against Arizona State, knocking the Sun Devils out of the poll.
Stock up: LSU.
The top 13 teams stayed put except for one minor switch. The Bayou Bengals edged into the No.6 slot after passing its first SEC test against Auburn. Another awaits next week at No. 10 Georgia.
Stock down: Michigan.
For the second week in a row, the Wolverines dropped in the rankings after eking out a win against a heavy underdog. This time they needed a fourth-quarter rally to get past winless Connecticut 24-21, but their three-position slip to No.17 is the biggest drop within the poll. Michigan is now back where it was prior to its win vs. Notre Dame.
WOLVERINES: Survive scare once again
Stock up: Miami.
The Wolverines' loss was the Hurricanes' gain. In a week with little opportunity for upward mobility, Miami managed a two-spot gain to No.15, also jumping over No.16 Northwestern.
Stock down: Louisville.
There wasn't much more the Cardinals could have done in their 72-0 dismantling of Florida International. But LSU's additional support cost Louisville, now No.7, a spot anyway.
Stock up: Fresno State.
In one of the better games of the weekend, the Bulldogs pulled out a Friday night thriller 41-40 against Mountain West rival Boise State. They climbed two places to No.23.
Stock down: Notre Dame.
Maybe the Fighting Irish took collateral Damage from Michigan's slide, or maybe they're another victim of the SEC's perceived superiority with Ole Miss slipping ahead of them to No.21. But either way Notre Dame gave up a position to check in at No.22 despite beating another ranked team, a 17-13 triumph over then-No.24 Michigan State.
FIGHTING IRISH: Edge Michigan State on controversial call
New kids on the block: No.24 Wisconsin, No.25 Texas Tech
College dropouts: Arizona State, Michigan State
USA TODAY COACHES POLL: WEEK 4
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