Associated PressNEW YORK ó Next up at No. 1, Alabama. And what a week to be No. 1 for Alabama coach Nick Saban.
The Crimson Tide became the fifth team this season to sit atop the AP Top 25, moving up a spot Sunday after previously top-ranked Texas was toppled by Texas Tech.
No. 4 Florida moved up one place after its 49-10 rout of Georgia and Texas dropped four spots to No. 5.
Alabama’s first game as a No. 1 team since October, 27, 1980, will be Saturday at LSU, a date that was one of the most anticipated in the SEC even before this season.
Tide coach Nick Saban will be coaching in Baton Rouge, La., for the first time since he left the Tigers for the NFL after the 2004 season. Saban led LSU to a BCS national title in 2003.
Seven ranked teams lost last weekend, most from the lower half of the rankings, so the back end of the Top 25 got a shake-up, too.
In the ACC, North Carolina is No. 17 and Maryland 23rd. No. 24 Florida State dropped eight spots after losing at Georgia Tech.
BCSNEW YORK ó No scoreboard watching necessary for Texas Tech.
Less than 24 hours after the Red Raiders gave the national championship race a makeover by defeating then-No. 1 Texas, they received more good news when the BCS standings were released Sunday.
Texas Tech was in second place, behind Alabama and just ahead of third-place Penn State.
If the undefeated Red Raiders of the Big 12 and undefeated Crimson Tide win out, they will likely meet in the BCS national championship game in Miami on Jan. 8.
The unbeaten Nittany Lions still need help in the form of an Alabama or Texas Tech loss to reach the title game.