Oklahoma State dropped out of The Associated college football poll after a controversial loss, and Georgia and Clemson fell after close calls against lightly regarded opposition.
Alabama is still No. 1, receiving 56 out of 61 first-place votes Sunday. No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan all moved up one spot. The Seminoles got four first-place votes and Michigan received one.
Clemson fell from second to fifth after a four-point victory against Troy. No. 16 Georgia dropped seven spots after beating FCS Nicholls State by two.
Oklahoma State was ranked 22nd when it lost 30-27 to Central Michigan on a final play touchdown. The Cowboys were three-touchdown favorites against Central Michigan.
Bobby Petrino's No. 10 Louisville Cardinals is in the top 10 for the first time since October 2013. No. 23 Florida is back in the rankings after slipping out after the opening weekend. TCU is unranked for the first time since September 2014 after its 41-38 double-overtime loss at home to Arkansas.
The SEC has eight teams ranked in one regular-season poll for the eighth time. The record is 10, held by the SEC.
There are loaded games in Week Three. No. 1 Alabama is at No. 19 Mississippi. Rebels have two consecutive victories against the Crimson Tide. No. 2 Florida State is at No. 10 Louisville. Can the Seminoles slow Cardinals QB Lamar Jackson? No. 3 Ohio State plays at No. 14 Oklahoma. The Nos. 1 and 2 teams in the AP all-time rankings. No. 12 Michigan State is at No. 18 Notre Dame. Regular rivals who have not met since 2013.
Cowboys down; officials suspended
Last year, Oklahoma State played a bunch of games decided in the final minutes and managed to win most of them.
This year, the Cowboys were not so fortunate in their first close contest, and it dealt a blow to their playoff hopes.
Mason Rudolph was called for intentional grounding on the Cowboys' last offensive play Saturday, a penalty that should have been the final play of an Oklahoma State victory. Instead, Central Michigan was erroneously awarded an untimed down, and the Chippewas scored the game winner on a Hail Mary to steal a 30-27 victory .
Cowboys Coach Mike Gundy did not realize officials got the call wrong until reporters informed him at his postgame news conference.
On Sunday, Gundy took some responsibility for the way the Cowboys tried to kill the final 4 seconds by having Rudolph throw the ball away on a fourth down, instead of taking the snap, running backward and going down. The clock stops on a change of possession so unless all 4 seconds had ticked away Central Michigan would have gotten the ball back in its own territory.
Instead, with the penalty, the Chippewas got one play from midfield. Even though they should not have.
"I'm disappointed in myself that I called a play that could have been interpreted as intentional grounding," Gundy said in a statement. "That play has been in our playbook for 12 years now and intentional grounding and an untimed down after the last play of the game never even crossed my mind. Of course in hindsight, I wish I would have done it differently, but in the big picture, the game should have been over. While I'm disappointed in myself, I am also disappointed that we had 10 rules officials who didn't properly apply the rule. I give credit to Central Michigan for coming up with a great play and executing it as well as they did."
The Cowboys don't have time to mope. Pittsburgh (2-0), coming off a victory against Penn State, comes to Stillwater next.
"We have another game on Saturday, and letting the end of the Central Michigan game linger into this week would not help our team in any way," Gundy said. "I want this to be our final official comment on the end of the Central Michigan game, so we can close the book on it and move forward to Pittsburgh."
Repercussions came down Sunday. The Mid-American Conference suspended the on-field officiating crew from the game for two weeks, and the Big 12 has suspended the two-person instant replay crew that failed to tell the MAC officials about their mistake.
Clemson linebacker out
Clemson starting linebacker Ben Boulware will miss the Tigers' game Saturday because of a right ankle injury.
Tigers Coach Dabo Swinney said Sunday that the 6-foot, 235-pound senior wanted to play against FCS opponent South Carolina State. Swinney decided it was better to give him the extra time to heal.
Boulware went down in the second half of No. 5 Clemson's 30-24 victory over Troy. He limped off the field and was on crutches on the sidelines. After the game, though, Swinney said Boulware got his right ankle rolled up on and would be OK.
Swinney expected Boulware to play when Clemson opens Atlantic Coast Conference play at Georgia Tech on Sept. 22.
Boulware is only one of three returning starters from last year's defense.
Saban not pleased with Tide
Alabama Coach Nick Saban said he was "almost embarrassed" by his performance, and the Crimson Tide players were equally critical of themselves even after a four-touchdown victory.
The Tide (2-0) handled heavy underdog Western Kentucky 38-10 Saturday but found plenty to grumble about.
That included a fumble that set up the Hilltoppers' last-minute touchdown when the game was long ago decided.
"That's bad ball, and that's bad football," Saban said. "That's not the kind of football we want to play here, and that's not the kind of football team we want to have. I don't know that I've ever been this disappointed after winning a game, maybe ever."
After an opening 52-6 thrashing of USC, Saban found a way to keep his team humble even in another lopsided victory. He pointed out the plentiful flaws in the performance.
The Tide committed 12 penalties, for one thing. A couple of dropped passes could have been touchdowns. Western Kentucky receiver Taywan Taylor had a 59-yard catch on a flea flicker to set up a first-half field goal.
"There's a lot of lessons to be learned from this so hopefully we'll learn them before it's too late," linebacker Ryan Anderson said. He said Alabama teams during his career who just tried to win, instead of aiming to dominate, "didn't accomplish anything."
But he figures words alone won't fix any problems.
"Talking never solved anything," Anderson said. "Talking won't win us a game. We've got to go out there and do it. We've got to get better. We've got to work harder."
Sports on 09/12/2016