It took five weeks for Kalen DeBoer to push Alabama back into the No. 1 spot.
The Crimson Tide are No. 1 in Sporting News Top 25 rankings after the 41-34 victory against Georgia on Saturday. That means three different SEC teams have been No. 1 heading into Week 3.
Texas took over the No. 1 spot from Georgia in Week 4, and the Longhorns could still be ranked in the top spot in the AP Poll. The Longhorns beat Mississippi State 35-13 in Arch Manning’s second start. Texas has outscored its opponents 225-35.
Alabama, however, has the combination of a non-conference victory at Wisconsin and the first top-five victory of the season against the Bulldogs. How will DeBoer handle life at No. 1? We are about to find out.
Georgia dropped to No. 7, but the Bulldogs will be in position to make the climb back into the top five when they face Texas on Oct. 19. Ohio State stays put at No. 3, but has now been leap-frogged by all three SEC teams. That should serve as plenty of motivation to roll through the Big Ten schedule. No. 4 Tennessee and No. 5 Miami round out the top five heading into October.
Here is a closer look at The Sporting News top 25 rankings:
Sporting News Top 25 rankings for Week 6
Here is a closer look at our latest top 25 ranking heading into Week 6:
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD | PREVIOUS | WEEK RESULT |
| 1 | Alabama | 4-0 | 4 | Beat Georgia 41-34 |
| 2 | Texas | 5-0 | 1 | Beat Mississippi State 35-13 |
| 3 | Ohio State | 4-0 | 3 | Beat Michigan State 38-7 |
| 4 | Tennessee | 4-0 | 8 | Bye |
| 5 | Miami, Fla. | 5-0 | 7 | Beat Virginia Tech 38-34 |
| 6 | Oregon | 4-0 | 5 | Beat UCLA 34-13 |
| 7 | Georgia | 3-1 | 2 | Lost to Alabama 41-34 |
| 8 | Penn State | 4-0 | 9 | Beat Illinois 21-7 |
| 9 | Missouri | 4-0 | 11 | Bye |
| 10 | Clemson | 3-1 | 13 | Beat Stanford 40-14 |
| 11 | Ole Miss | 4-1 | 6 | Lost to Kentucky 20-17 |
| 12 | Michigan | 4-1 | 14 | Beat Minnesota 27-24 |
| 13 | USC | 3-1 | 15 | Beat Wisconsin 38-21 |
| 14 | LSU | 4-1 | 16 | Beat South Alabama 42-10 |
| 15 | Notre Dame | 4-1 | 17 | Beat Louisville 31-24 |
| 16 | BYU | 5-0 | 21 | Beat Baylor 34-28 |
| 17 | Iowa State | 4-0 | 22 | Beat Houston 20-0 |
| 18 | Oklahoma | 4-1 | 20 | Beat Auburn 27-21 |
| 19 | Kansas State | 4-1 | 24 | Beat Oklahoma State 42-20 |
| 20 | Louisville | 4-1 | 12 | Lost to Notre Dame 31-24 |
| 21 | Utah | 4-1 | 10 | Lost to Arizona 23-10 |
| 22 | Texas A&M | 4-1 | NR | Beat Arkansas 21-17 |
| 23 | Indiana | 5-0 | NR | Beat Maryland 42-28 |
| 24 | UNLV | 4-0 | 25 | Beat Fresno State 59-14 |
| 25 | Illinois | 4-1 | 18 | Lost to Penn State 21-7 |
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