Prepare for all of sports television's talking heads to explode.
Alabama has unseated Florida State as the No. 1 team in The Associated Press college football poll for the first time this season. FSU (12-0) remains undefeated but its perfect record wasn't enough to keep them atop the rankings.
The Crimson Tide (11-1) received 25 of a possible 59 first-place votes from media voters which equaled 1,426 points. The Seminoles? 29 first-place votes for 1,423 points. Talk about a nail-biter.
Alabama is the No. 1 team in the nation for the 72nd time, the first since its loss in last season's Iron Bowl. A strong 55-44 victory over Auburn this weekend helped propel it to the top spot, keeping the streak of seven straight seasons with at least one No. 1 ranking alive. Dominance, thy name is Nick Saban.
FSU, meanwhile, became the first team to loss the No. 1 ranking twice in one season since Penn State in 1997. Not exactly the type of thing you want to be remembered for. You have to go back to 1993 to find the last time a No. 1 team had a loss on its record while the No. 2 team's record remained unblemished. As fate would have it, that No. 1 team was FSU, which went on to win the National Title.
Oregon (No. 3), TCU (No. 4) and Baylor (No. 5) round out the top five. Mississippi State fell six spots after losing to Ole Miss this weekend, likely dealing a death blow to the Bulldogs' playoff hopes. TCU's jump into the top four likely puts the Horned Frogs into the playoff.
"It isn't a sure thing that a one-loss TCU team would get into the playoff, but the Horned Frogs would certainly be in the discussion," wrote ESPN's Draft expert Todd McShay.
