Ohio State moved up one spot to No. 2, receiving 20 first-place votes and 1,507 points.
No. 3 is a season low for Alabama, which was No. 1 preseason but fell to No. 2 after Week 2. The Tide received 11 votes for first place.
Clemson, which beat Boston College, 31-3, overtook Michigan and moved up to No. 4 and the Wolverines fell one spot to No. 5.
Tennessee moved to No. 6, which is the highest ranking for currently undefeated Volunteers since No. 5 at the start of the 2005 season. Tennessee stumbled to a 5-6 and unranked finish that year.
Southern California fell one spot to No. 7, and Oklahoma State, Mississippi, and Penn State retained their spots to round out the top 10.
There have been two notable Top 25 season starts: No. 24 Illinois is ranked for the first time since 2011 and James Madison is in the AP Top 25 for the first time in its program history. The Dukes are playing their first season as a member of the Sun Belt Conference.
James Madison has been a powerhouse in the football championship subdivision for years, winning a national title in 2016 and losing to North Dakota State in the NCAA championship game in 2017 and 2019. The Dukes have no had no problems progressing so far, going 5-0 and averaging 44 points per game.
Since Division 1 football split into subdivisions in 1978, JMU are the first team to be ranked in a season when they were in transition.
The Illini, under second-year coach Bret Bielema, improved to 5-1 beating Iowa and landed in the poll for the first time since Oct. 16, 2011 – 178 polls.
Next on the list of oldest droughts for Power Five schools are Rutgers (2012), Oregon State (2013 preseason) and Vanderbilt (2013 finals), Georgia Tech (2015) and Arizona (2017).
Rutgers (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten) fired offensive coordinator Sean Gleeson on Sunday, two days after the team’s third straight Big Ten loss.
Rutgers lost to Nebraska (3-3, 2-1), 14-13, Friday night, for 85 total yards and no points in the second half.
The Rutgers offense has struggled this season. The team ranks No. 108 in total offense (334 yards per game), No. 104 in scoring offense (22.8 PPG), and No. 118 in team pass efficiency.
Tight ends coach Nunzio Campanile will serve as the interim offensive coordinator.
Gleeson was the first Rutgers assistant to be paid over $1 million. He will receive the rest of his salary on his contract, which is due to expire after 2023. He will receive $1,025,000 this year and $1,050,000 in 2023.