By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer

Alabama has risen one place to No. 3 in the latest AP Top 25 College Football poll after its 56-7 season opening victory over Middle Tennessee State.

Auburn and Troy each received three votes in the latest poll.

Georgia remained No. 1 and Michigan held steady at No. 2. After Alabama at No. 3, Florida State climbed four places to No. 4 after beating LSU. Florida State is in the top five for the first time since the start of the 2017 season.

Ohio State rounded out the top five in the AP’s first regular-season poll of the season.

No. 21 Duke and No. 22 Colorado moved into the poll after scoring the biggest upsets of the opening weekend.

LSU dropped nine spots to No. 15. Clemson, which was upset at Duke, fell 16 places to No. 25. TCU, which lost to Colorado, dropped all the way out of the rankings after being No. 17 in the preseason.

Colorado’s victory as a three-touchdown underdog at TCU in coach Deion’s Sanders debut was the story of the weekend, and now the Buffaloes are ranked for the first time since a brief stay in the 2020 season. The Buffs were also ranked for two weeks in 2018, but have only finished a season in the Top 25 once (2016) in the last 20 seasons.

“I don’t care about no ranking,” Sanders said. “I care about how we practice tomorrow. That’s what I’m caring about right now. Ranking don’t have a record, does it? Ranking don’t have a record.”

Sanders, the former NFL star and Florida State All-American, took over a team that went 1-11 last season and did an unprecedented roster makeover, with nearly 90 new players, 58 of them transfers. The new-look Buffs came away with a 45-42 victory on the road against the program that played in the national title game last season.

Duke capped the long Labor Day weekend of college football by knocking off Clemson 28-7 on Monday night in Durham, North Carolina. It was the Blue Devils’ first victory against a team ranked in the top 10 since 1989 against a Clemson team ranked seventh.

In Year 2 under coach Mike Elko, perennial basketball powerhouse Duke is ranked for the first time in the AP college football poll since a one-week stint in 2018.

Upcoming games featuring ranked teams facing each other are No. 11 Texas at No. 3 Alabama. The game in Tuscaloosa will be the first regular-season meeting between Texas and Alabama with both ranked. Also, No. 20 Ole Miss will play at No. 24 Tulane. The 64th meeting in the series will be the first since 1956 where both teams are ranked.

AP TOP 25 COLLEGE FOOTBALL POLL (First-place votes in parentheses):

1. Georgia (58)
2. Michigan (2)
3. Alabama
4. Florida State (3)
5. Ohio State
6. USC
7. Penn State
8. Washington
9. Tennessee
10. Notre Dame
11. Texas
12. Utah
13. Oregon
14. LSU
15. Kansas State
16. Oregon State
17. North Carolina
18. Oklahoma
19. Wisconsin
20. Ole Miss
21. Duke
22. Colorado
23. Texas A&M
24. Tulane
25. Clemson

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