Auburn football is ranked as a top-15 team in the nation for the first time this season with the newest release of the AP Poll on Sunday.
Two back-to-back wins over ranked opponents have pushed the Tigers up six spots to No. 12 in the latest poll, their highest ranking of the year.
The Tigers entered Saturday’s SEC West showdown as the No. 18 team after having a few extra days off with the teams' bye week.
After jumping out to a lead over the Rebels and never looking back, Auburn shot up the polls, setting up a top-15 matchup in College Station on Saturday.
The Aggies are just one spot behind the Tigers at No. 13. Both teams have a 6-2 overall record while Auburn has the slight edge in SEC standings with a 3-1 record compared to A&M’s 3-2.
A few other shake-ups from the weekend:
Michigan State is in the Top 5, dropping Michigan to No. 9 as the Spartans remain the only unbeaten team in the state of Michigan. Kenneth Walker's Heisman campaign is gaining a lot of steam after a five-touchdown performance in one of the more historical games in this 114-year-old rivalry.
Wake Forest jumps into the top 10 after a beat down of Duke to stay at an undefeated 8-0 record. Wake’s highest-ever ranking and first Top 10 ranking in program history.
Iowa proved to not be a Top 10 team in the nation. The Hawkeyes dropped 10 spots after being dominated by Wisconsin on the road.
Houston is ranked for the first time this year at No. 20 after edging past unbeaten SMU at home. Alabama-native Marcus Jones returned a kickoff for a touchdown to put the Cougars up with 17 seconds left in the ball game.
Penn State continued to slip down the polls after being at No. 4 just a few weeks ago. After dropping the match against No. 5 Ohio State on Saturday, it's now at No. 22.
Kentucky has now lost back-to-back games after starting the season 6-0. The Wildcats dropped from No. 12 to No. 18 after losing to an unranked Mississippi State.
Pittsburg’s once-promising season took a turn for the worse when it dropped from No. 17 to unranked after falling to an unranked Miami team at home.
SMU wasn’t the only unbeaten to fall this weekend. San Diego State’s four-week streak in the Top 25 was ended when Fresno State took the reigns and raced to a 20-0 lead in the second quarter. The Aztecs drew the game to 30-20 but couldn’t overcome the deficit, dropping its first game of the season. Fresno State just made the cut at No. 25.
Iowa State’s up and down season went south again when it fell to West Virginia and dropped out of the Top 25.
Full AP Poll:
1. Georgia
2. Cincinnati
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
5. Michigan State
6. Ohio State
7. Oregon
8. Notre Dame
9. Michigan
10. Wake Forest
11. Oklahoma State
12. Auburn
13. Texas A&M
14. Baylor
15. Ole Miss
16. UTSA
17. BYU
18. Kentucky
19. Iowa
20. Houston
21. Coastal Carolina
22. Penn State
23. SMU
24. Louisiana
25. Fresno State
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Larry is a senior studying journalism with a minor in sociology. He is from Enterprise, Alabama and is in his third year with The Auburn Plainsman.
Twitter: @ReportingLarry
