College football: UGA ticks higher in Associated Press poll ... even with the bye week

ATLANTA–Georgia had a good football weekend on campus, even though it didn't play at Sanford Stadium.

What made it so grand? The Bulldogs rose one spot in The Associated Press poll on Sunday, claiming the No. 7 national ranking ahead of Oklahoma, Florida and undefeated UCF.

What made this possible? In the wake of Ohio State's crushing defeat to Purdue, the Buckeyes plunged nine spots to No. 11 in the AP poll.

As such, every team in the top 10, excluding top-ranked Alabama, moved at least one spot higher from last week's AP poll.

CLEMONS: UGA sticks at 6 in the USA TODAY/Amway Coaches Poll

The SEC boasts five teams in the top 12 (Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky); and as luck would have it, this group will have three head-to-head encounters over the next 13 days.

UGA (6-1, 4-1 in SEC) still harbors realistic hopes of capturing the SEC East title, conference championship and earning a spot in the four-team College Football Playoff.

To reach the three objectives, it's a simple case of keep winning for the Bulldogs ... and the elite-level rankings will take care of itself.

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25

1. Alabama

2. Clemson

3. Notre Dame

4. LSU

5. Michigan

6. Texas

7. UGA

8. Oklahoma

9. Florida

10. UCF

11. Ohio State

12. Kentucky

13. West Virginia

14. Washington State

15. Washington

16. Texas A&M

17. Penn State

18. Iowa

19. Oregon

20. Wisconsin

21. South Florida

22. North Carolina State

23. Utah

24. Stanford

25. Miami