An eventful Week 8 that concluded with a top-five upset left its inevitable mark on the Amway Coaches Poll, but Alabama is still the head of the field by a wide margin. The Crimson Tide received all but two first-place votes cast this week after another convincing victory, this time at longtime SEC rival Tennessee. Clemson, which was also quite impressive in dispatching formerly unbeaten North Carolina State, is back in the No. 2 spot claiming the remaining top votes. Notre Dame, still among the undefeated after an open date, climbs to a season-best No. 3. LSU, which took care of Mississippi State, is No. 4 with a huge showdown with Alabama looming in two weeks. Stock up: Michigan. The Wolverines, 21-7 winners at Michigan State, vault to No. 5. They leapfrog No. 6 Georgia, which stays put after a bye week heading into Saturday’s all-important clash with No. 11 Florida. Stock down: Ohio State. The Buckeyes tumble from the No. 2 spot to No. 9 after their 49-20 loss at Purdue. TOP 25: Amway Coaches Poll Stock up: Washington State. The Cougars make the biggest move of the week, climbing eight places to No. 15 after a big home victory against ... Stock down: Oregon. The Ducks, whose second-half comeback attempt came up short in Pullman, drop 10 positions to No. 21 Stock up: Iowa. The Hawkeyes gain four slots to No. 18 after blanking Maryland. Stock down: North Carolina State. The Wolfpack take a seven-place demotion to No. 22 after the tough outing at Clemson. New kids on the block: No. 24 Utah, No. 25 Miami (Fla.). College dropouts: Cincinnati, Colorado. MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL •Winners and losers from Week 8 •12 takeaways from Week 8 •The bowl picture: Who's out, who's in, who's close •Playoff projection: Ohio State is out, LSU is in<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>While Week 8 of the college football season didn't have the same number of upsets as last week, Ohio State's 49-20 loss to Purdue has shuffled the top 10. The Buckeyes fell nine spots, landing at No. 11, behind teams like UCF, Florida and Oklahoma. And, as luck would have it, Ohio State's loss was Michigan's gain. The Wolverines moved up to No. 5 from No. 6 last week after ending their 17-game road losing streak against ranked teams by beating Michigan State 21-7. The biggest climber in the poll this week was Washington State. The Cougars jumped 11 spots to No. 14 after beating Oregon 34-20. The Ducks dropped seven spots to No. 19 with the loss. Check out the full AP Top 25 poll below: Others Receiving Votes: Texas Tech 54, Utah St. 50, San Diego St. 48, Fresno St. 35, Miami 34, Virginia 25, Houston 19, Purdue 17, Michigan St. 8, Cincinnati 7, Auburn 5, Mississippi St. 2, Boston College 2, UAB 1<doc-sep>Clemson is back at No. 2 in The Associated Press college football poll behind top-ranked Alabama, moving up to where it started, after a convincing victory and Ohio State's first loss of the season. The Crimson Tide are a unanimous No. 1, with all 61 first-place votes, for the first time this season. Ohio State tumbled nine spots to No. 11 after being upset by Purdue. AP Top 25 - Week 9 1. Alabama (8-0) 2. Clemson (7-0) 3. Notre Dame (7-0) 4. LSU (7-1) 5. Michigan (7-1) 6. Texas (6-1) 7. Georgia (6-1) 8. Oklahoma (6-1) 9. Florida (6-1) 10. UCF (7-0) 11. Ohio State (7-1) 12. Kentucky (6-1) 13. West Virginia (5-1) 14. Washington State (6-1) 15. Washington (6-2) 16. Texas A&M (5-2) 17. Penn State (5-2) 18. Iowa (6-1) 19. Oregon (5-2) 20. Wisconsin (5-2) 21. South Florida (7-0) 22. NC State (5-1) 23. Utah (5-2) 24. Stanford (5-2) 25. Appalachian State (5-1) More details Coming off a lopsided win against NC State, Clemson rose one spot to replace the Buckeyes. Clemson trailed only Alabama in the preseason rankings, but a couple of close wins in September -- combined with seemingly impressive performances by other highly ranked teams -- dragged Clemson to as low as No. 4. Notre Dame is No. 3 and LSU is No. 4, setting the stage for a top-five matchup between the Tigers and Crimson Tide in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Nov. 3. Both have an open date this week. Michigan rounds out the top five after beating Michigan State. No. 25 Appalachian State is ranked in the AP poll for the first time in school history. The Mountaineers (5-1) have not lost since opening the season with an overtime defeat at Penn State. App State transitioned to the FBS, the highest level of Division I football, in 2014 after years as an FCS power. Under former coach Jerry Moore, the Mountaineers were a regular playoff participant. The program peaked in the mid-2000s, winning three straight FCS (Division I-AA) championships from 2005 to 2007. And, most memorably, App State pulled off one of the most stunning upsets in college football history against Michigan in 2007. Moore retired after the 2012 season and was replaced by former App State quarterback and assistant coach Scott Satterfield. The move up in class and into the Sun Belt has been practically seamless. The Mountaineers are 46-23 under Satterfield, with two Sun Belt titles. The only other Sun Belt team to ever be ranked was Troy on Nov. 13, 2016. This season's team was expected to contend for another conference championship. A case could be made that it is exceeding even those high expectations after replacing four-year starting quarterback Taylor Lamb and much of its defensive front seven. Since falling to Penn State, the Mountaineers have outscored their opponents 231-49. Elsewhere in the poll, No. 14 Washington State was the only big mover to rise in the rankings this week, jumping 11 spots after beating Oregon, which fell seven spots to No. 19. No. 22 NC State fell six spots after losing for the first time this season. No. 23 Utah is ranked for the first time this season, making it five straight years the Utes started the season unranked but moved into the rankings at some point. From 2014-16, Utah started the season outside the Top 25 but finished it ranked. Utah has won three straight, scoring at least 40 points in each game. No. 24 Stanford is back in the rankings after falling out two weeks ago, while Michigan State and Mississippi State fell out of the rankings again after losing for the third time this season. And Cincinnati's first loss of the season, in overtime to Temple, cost the Bearcats their first ranking since 2012.<doc-sep>
Ohio State is out of the top four of the USA TODAY Sports college football re-rank and another Big Ten Conference team is in: Michigan steps up to No. 4 after beating rival Michigan State while the Buckeyes tumble to No. 9 after an embarrassing loss at Purdue. It’s not the only shakeup in this week’s rankings. Washington State takes the front seat in the Pac-12 Conference by moving up 16 spots to No. 13 after a strong win at home against Oregon. Another team from the Pac-12, Utah, comes in at No. 25 after taking care of Southern California. This is also a good week for teams from the Group of Five ranks. Central Florida sits at No. 5 after extending its winning streak. No. 16 Fresno State continues to cruise, even if it’s getting harder to overlook the Bulldogs’ loss in September to Minnesota. Appalachian State of the Sun Belt Conference clocks in at No. 24 and Utah State, now 6-1, comes in just outside the top 25 at No. 26. AMWAY TOP 25 POLL:Ohio State sinks after loss, while others surge ahead WINNERS AND LOSERS:Highs and lows from college football's Week 8 BOWL PICTURE:Who is already eligible? Who is close? Who is out? But the big story is Michigan, which now occupies the top ranking of any team in the Big Ten and looks extremely capable of running the table from here and reaching the College Football Playoff. The Wolverines are joined in the top four by No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame. Remember that Michigan’s lone loss came at the Irish in the season opener for both teams. New to the top 25: No. 13 Washington State, No. 25 Utah Out of the top 25: No. 35 Mississippi State, No. 39 Michigan State