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College football's rivalry week is officially underway as the Oregon Ducks moved to No. 5 in The Associated Press' Top 25 rankings.
Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M remained the top three teams for a sixth straight week, and Georgia was No. 4 for the second week in a row.
Oregon jumped over idle Mississippi to No. 5, its highest ranking since it was No. 3 in the October 5 poll. The Ducks strengthened their College Football Playoff resume with a 15-point victory over then-No. 16 Southern California, extending their winning streak to five games.
Mississippi was followed by Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Alabama, the latter of whom is clinging to playoff hopes entering Saturday's Iron Bowl against Auburn.
Another 9-2 team, Miami, hopes to keep its CFP hopes alive on Saturday against No. 24 Pittsburgh (8-3, 6-1).
Ohio State is No. 1 for a 13th straight week going into its game at No. 15 Michigan. The Buckeyes received 58 first-place votes and were 53 points ahead of Indiana, which was listed first on seven voters' ballots. Texas A&M got the remaining first-place vote.
Head coach Sherrone Moore of the Michigan Wolverines leads his team off the field after warm-up before the game against the Maryland Terrapins. Michigan won to improve to 9-2
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer watches as his Crimson Tide beats Eastern Illinois
Pittsburgh, which has three losses, was one spot behind the two-loss Yellow Jackets. No. 25 SMU re-entered the poll for the first time since September 2.
No. 20 James Madison of the Sun Belt Conference remained the highest-ranked Group of Five team in the AP poll. The Dukes, up one spot from a week ago, came from behind to beat Washington State 24-20.
Meanwhile, No. 21 North Texas of the American Conference was one spot ahead of Tulane. The Green Wave were the only Group of Five team in the CFP selection committee's rankings last week, at No. 24.
The vastly more consequential College Football Playoff rankings are due out on Tuesday.
Other teams thought to be on the bubble are Vanderbilt, Utah and even Michigan if the 9-2 Wolverines can do the unthinkable and upset the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday in Ann Arbor.
