Clemson is back at No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll behind top-ranked Alabama, moving up to where it started, after a convincing victory and Ohio State's first loss of the season.
The Crimson Tide are a unanimous No. 1, with all 61 first-place votes Sunday, for the first time this season. The Tigers trailed only Alabama in the preseason rankings, but a couple of close wins in September, combined with seemingly impressive performances by other highly ranked teams, dragged Clemson to as low as No. 4.
Coming off a lopsided win against North Carolina State, Clemson rose a spot this week. Notre Dame is No. 3 and LSU is No. 4, setting the stage for a top-five matchup between the Tigers and Crimson Tide on Nov. 3 in Baton Rouge, La. Both have an open date this week.
Michigan is No. 5 and Ohio State dropped to No. 11 after being upset by Purdue.
Meanwhile, No. 25 Appalachian State is ranked for the first time in school history. The Mountaineers (5-1) have not lost since opening the season with an overtime defeat at Penn State.
"It's awesome to be recognized," Appalachian State coach Scott Satterfield said Sunday. "We've had a lot of positive things happen to our program the last three to four years. The first time we go bowl eligible, which was awesome. Then we go win our first bowl game. That was really cool. And then to go win our first Sun Belt championship two years ago. That was awesome. So there's been a lot of first for us over the last three years. This is another first."
App State transitioned to the FBS, the highest level of Division I football, in 2014 after years as an FCS power. It pulled off one of the most stunning upsets in college football history against Michigan in 2007.
Late Saturday
North Dakota 41, Sacramento State 15: James Johannesson ran for career highs of 213 yards and two touchdowns, Brady Oliveira tied a career high with 171 yards rushing and had three TD runs for the Fighting Hawks (5-2). Oliveira dragged two defenders into the end zone to punctuate a 26-yard run, making it 27-15 with seven minutes left in the third quarter. Johannesson scored from the 4 less than three minutes later and added a 90-yard scamper to cap the scoring.
