Alabama moves past Oklahoma as No. 1 team

It only took one week for the Scripps Legends Poll to name a new No. 1 team.

Alabama (4-0, 1-0 in SEC) now sits atop the rankings after dismantling Arkansas 38-14 in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

“This Alabama football team, to me, is basically identical to the one they won the national championship with in 2009,” legendary Auburn coach Pat Dye said of his former archrival. “You know, they’re not asking [quarterback A.J.] McCarron to win games. They’re just asking him to manage them. And defensively, I don’t know how you can get any stronger than they are.”

Oklahoma (3-0, 1-0 in Big 12) fell one spot to No. 2 in the Scripps Legends Poll despite receiving seven first-place votes — one less than top-ranked Alabama.

No. 3 LSU got the other four first-place votes. Les Miles and the LSU defense continued to roll in a 47-21 victory at West Virginia, dropping the Mountaineers four spots in the rankings to No. 20.

No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 5 Boise State remained unchanged in the top 5.

Stanford remained sixth in the rankings and Oklahoma State stayed at No. 7 after a 30-29 comeback victory at Texas A&M.

Nebraska moved up a spot to No. 8, setting up a top 10 showdown next weekend in Madison against fourth-ranked Wisconsin.

No. 9 Virginia Tech moved into the top 10 followed by No. 10 South Carolina. The Hokies face a tough test as well next weekend when 14th-ranked Clemson invades Blacksburg Saturday night. Clemson jumped seven spots after a 35-30 win over Florida State, which fell 15 spots to No. 25.

“Clemson has a receiver, Sammy Watkins, that to me is in the same category with (NFL receivers) Julio Jones and A.J. Green — and he’s a true freshman,” Dye said. “Auburn couldn’t cover him and couldn’t tackle him, and neither could FSU.”

New to this week’s Scripps Legends Poll top 25 were No. 22 Georgia Tech and No. 24 Arizona State.

Southern Cal and Miami (FL) dropped out.

(Image courtesy of Flickr, Collegefootballjock)

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