The gap between the Seminoles and the Crimson Tide narrowed after another close call by Florida State, which beat Boston College 20-17 on a field goal in the waning seconds.
Florida State received 37 first-place votes and 1,458 points, down six first-place votes and 18 points from last week. Alabama has 21 first-place votes 1,445 points. No. 3 Oregon received two first-place votes, one more than last week.
Mississippi State is fourth, followed by Baylor and TCU. Baylor and TCU swapped places. Ohio State remained No. 7.
No. 22 Minnesota, No. 23 Clemson, No. 24 Louisville and No. 25 Boise State moved into the rankings. Nebraska, Utah, Southern California and Duke dropped out.
The Gophers are ranked for the first time since 2008.
The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Nov. 22, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:
| Record | Pts | Pv | |
| 1. Florida St. (37) | 11-0 | 1,458 | 1 |
| 2. Alabama (21) | 10-1 | 1,445 | 2 |
| 3. Oregon (2) | 10-1 | 1,393 | 3 |
| 4. Mississippi St. | 10-1 | 1,301 | 4 |
| 5. Baylor | 9-1 | 1,234 | 6 |
| 6. TCU | 9-1 | 1,233 | 5 |
| 7. Ohio St. | 10-1 | 1,163 | 7 |
| 8. Georgia | 9-2 | 1,002 | 9 |
| 9. UCLA | 9-2 | 998 | 11 |
| 10. Michigan St. | 9-2 | 971 | 10 |
| 11. Kansas St. | 8-2 | 898 | 12 |
| 12. Arizona | 9-2 | 807 | 15 |
| 13. Arizona St. | 9-2 | 790 | 13 |
| 14. Wisconsin | 9-2 | 764 | 14 |
| 15. Auburn | 8-3 | 597 | 16 |
| 16. Georgia Tech | 9-2 | 581 | 17 |
| 17. Missouri | 9-2 | 525 | 19 |
| 18. Mississippi | 8-3 | 398 | 8 |
| 19. Marshall | 11-0 | 384 | 18 |
| 20. Oklahoma | 8-3 | 363 | 23 |
| 21. Colorado St. | 10-1 | 346 | 22 |
| 22. Minnesota | 8-3 | 232 | NR |
| 23. Clemson | 8-3 | 198 | NR |
| 24. Louisville | 8-3 | 191 | NR |
| 25. Boise St. | 9-2 | 96 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Arkansas 40, LSU 39, Nebraska 14, Utah 14, Duke 9, Southern Cal 8, Memphis 3, Texas A&M 2, West Virginia 2, UCF 1.
