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Coaches Poll: It's Notre Dame, then Alabama, Georgia, chaos

Eddie Timanus, USA TODAY Sports
Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o leaves the field after his final game at Notre Dame Stadium, a 38-0 win against Wake Forest that helped propel the Irish to the No. 1 ranking for the first time in 19 years.
  • Notre Dame is ranked No. 1 for the first time in almost exactly 19 years
  • Saturday was the six time since 1991 that No. 1 and No. 2 lost on the same day
  • Alabama was the biggest beneficiary of Oregon and Kansas State losses, moving up to No. 2

The only surprise in the world of college football, it would seem, is why we continue to be surprised every year. Experience should have taught us, after all, that nothing is ever certain in the land of the BCS until all the games are played.

The USA TODAY Coaches Poll reflects the inevitable shifts resulting from No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Kansas State going down to defeat at roughly the same time Saturday night, the first time since October 2008 that the top two teams in the coaches poll lost the same day.

The primary beneficiary was new No. 1 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are one of two remaining undefeated Bowl Subdivision teams. The other, Ohio State, is not eligible to play for the BCS championship because of NCAA sanctions.

Notre Dame was not threatened by the upset bug, blanking Wake Forest 38-0 to improve to 11-0 for the first time since 1989 and reach No. 1 for the first time since November 1993. The Fighting Irish are also expected to be No. 1 when the latest BCS standings are released Sunday evening.

The Fighting Irish were not the unanimous No. 1 choice, receiving 56 of 59 No. 1 votes with a second, a third and a fourth.

Notre Dame's last stint at No. 1 lasted one week, until a 41-39 loss to Boston College. To stay there longer this time, it has to beat archrival Southern California in Los Angeles. However, the Trojans might be without quarterback Matt Barkley, injured late in their loss to UCLA.

"We get a chance to play for the national championship provided we win this week," Irish coach Brian Kelly said Sunday afternoon.

Alabama, knocked from the No. 1 perch a week ago, finds itself right back in the national championship discussion.

The Crimson Tide claimed 37 of the remaining 58 second-place votes and vaulted back up to No. 2 ahead of No. 3 Georgia. The Bulldogs picked up 14 No. 2 votes. But the Bulldogs and Tide will have a chance to settle that matter on the field Dec. 1 in Atlanta in the Southeastern Conference title game.

If Alabama (hosting Auburn) and Georgia (hosting Georgia Tech) win this week, the winner of the SEC finale could very well wind up in the BCS title game.

Oregon's stay at No. 1 lasted one week. The Ducks' overtime loss to Stanford knocked them down to fourth in the poll, though they did retain two No. 2 votes.

Oregon now has to win Saturday at Oregon State, and hope Stanford loses at UCLA, to return to the Pac-12 title game and get another chance to state its BCS case.

Rounding out the top five is Florida State, also with a pair of second-place nods.

Kansas State, which lost in more decisive fashion at Baylor, dropped from No. 2 to No. 8 and probably won't be able to play itself back into BCS contention. No. 6 Florida, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Texas A&M give the SEC three more representatives in the top 10, with South Carolina not far out at No. 12. Stanford climbed two places to No. 11 after its upset of Oregon, and Clemson stayed put at No. 9 following its wild win against North Carolina State.

The two teams that will square off for the Mid-American Conference title in two weeks entered the rankings this week. Northern Illinois is No. 23 and Kent State is No. 25. No. 24 Mississippi State also re-entered the poll after a week's absence. Louisiana Tech, Southern California and Texas Tech fell out.

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