Alabama unanimous No. 1 as first BCS rankings loom

• Alabama a unanimous No. 1 for the first time this season
• Oregon is second on all but one of the 59 coaches ballots
• Texas, which opened the season at No. 15, drops out after its lopsided loss to Oklahoma

Three teams climbed into the top five last week. Only one stayed there. Such is the volatile nature of college football in October.

Once again the top two positions remained unchanged. Alabama is the unanimous No. 1 team in the new USA TODAY Sports coaches poll, receiving all 59 first-place votes after dispatching Southeastern Conference newcomer Missouri. Oregon, which had the weekend off, remained No. 2, claiming all but one of the second-place votes.

Up next is Kansas State.

The Wildcats got a tough win at then-No. 25 Iowa State to continue their climb on the day the first Bowl Championship Series standings of the season will be released. K-State is at its highest point in the coaches poll since 2000, edging Florida by 10 poll points for the No. 3 spot. The fourth-ranked Gators, on an upward trajectory themselves after outlasting Vanderbilt on the road, picked up the last second-place vote but got 22 third-place nods to the Wildcats' 25.

At No. 5 is Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish used a goal-line stand in overtime to outlast Stanford and improved to 6-0 and has its highest poll ranking since 2006.

The lineup of once-beaten squads rounds out the top 10. No. 6 LSU leads the pack following its home victory against then-No. 3 South Carolina. But the Gamecocks slid only to No. 8 and are still in a position to contend for the SEC title with a trip to Florida this Saturday. Checking in at No. 7 is Oklahoma, fresh off turning the Red River Rivalry into a rout of Texas that sent the Longhorns tumbling completely out of the poll from the No. 15 slot. No. 9 Southern California and No. 10 Florida State follow.

Texas Tech joins the rankings at No. 20 after its demolition of then-No. 4 West Virginia. The Mountaineers dropped to No. 15 and must contend with Kansas State at home this week. No. 24 Arizona State also moves in this week, but the Sun Devils have a Thursday night home date with Oregon that might make their stay a short one.

Returning to the poll is No. 25 Michigan, giving the Big Ten its lone representative in the coaches poll with Ohio State and Penn State ineligible.

The third dropout in addition to Texas and Iowa State was Louisiana Tech, whose rally against Texas A&M came up two points short. The Aggies moved up two places to No. 19 after holding on against the Bulldogs.

Ohio (7-0) is the lone unbeaten not in the coaches Top 25. The Bobcats received 54 points, 42 behind 25th-place Michigan.