College football got underway on Thursday as week one of the season saw plenty of blowouts, upsets, and close calls. The first in-season USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll was released on Sunday. The LSU Tigers fell after their loss the opener to the UCLA Bruins on the road. After knocking off the No. 13 team in the country, the Bruins find themselves ranked. While UCLA climbed 26 spots to get into the rankings, LSU finds itself on the outside looking in.
The Alabama Crimson Tide held onto the top spot after they throttled the Miami Hurricanes in the opening game of their schedule. It sure didn’t appear that there is any dropoff after losing offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian to Texas to go with Mac Jones, Najee Harris, and DeVonta Smith to the NFL draft. Georgia looked like the second-best team in the country after physically dominating Clemson.
A look at the full coaches poll after week one’s games.
Full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:
| Rank | Team | Points | Change |
| 1 | Alabama | 1,624 | – |
| 2 | Georgia | 1,537 | +3 |
| 3 | Ohio State | 1,491 | +1 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 1,397 | -1 |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 1,334 | +1 |
| 6 | Clemson | 1,239 | -4 |
| 7 | Notre Dame | 1.197 | – |
| 8 | Cincinnati | 1.113 | +2 |
| 9 | Florida | 1,058 | +2 |
| 10 | Iowa State | 1,057 | -2 |
| 11 | Oregon | 920 | +1 |
| 12 | Iowa | 914 | +6 |
| 13 | Penn State | 872 | +7 |
| 14 | USC | 828 | – |
| 15 | Texas | 653 | +4 |
| 16 | UCLA | 538 | +26 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | 359 | -2 |
| 18 | Utah | 294 | +8 |
| 19 | Coastal Carolina | 289 | +5 |
| 20 | Ole Miss | 285 | +5 |
| 21 | Virginia Tech | 274 | +19 |
| 22 | North Carolina | 252 | -13 |
| 23 | Oklahoma State | 243 | -1 |
| 24 | Miami (Fl) | 186 | -8 |
| 25 | Arizona State | 181 | +3 |
Dropped from the rankings:
No. 13 LSU, No. 17 Indiana, No. 21 Washington, No. 23 ULL
Others receiving votes:
Auburn 123; Michigan 99; Louisiana State 95; NC State 81; Liberty 78; Brigham Young 65; Indiana 58; Texas Christian 49; Central Florida 48; Florida State 34; Michigan State 33; Kentucky 28; Pittsburgh 20; UL Lafayette 19; Kansas State 19; Boston College 19; Appalachian State 15; Southern Methodist 14; Rutgers 11; Arkansas 11; Maryland 9; Tennessee 7; Nevada 7; Fresno State 7; Army 7; Tulane 6; Virginia 5; San Jose State 5; Missouri 5; Ball State 5; Marshall 3; UAB 2; Air Force 2; Charlotte 1.
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