Alabama moved up to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches poll released Sunday, the first time the Crimson Tide has been atop the national rankings during the regular season in 28 years.
The Crimson Tide (9-0) moved up to the top spot on the strength of a 35-0 win over Arkansas State on Saturday, coupled with top-ranked Texas' 39-33 loss to Texas Tech. Alabama picked up 40 first-place votes and 1,498 poll points, easily outdistancing No. 2 Penn State (1,437, 14) and No. 3 Texas Tech (1,409, 6).
Alabama is also ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press media poll, which does not figure into the BCS rankings. Alabama got 46 first-place votes and 1,600 poll points from the media, with Texas Tech (12/1,528) No. 2 and Penn State (6/1,525) falling to No. 3.
Alabama's No. 1 ranking is the first during the regular season since 1980, when it was two-time defending national champion. The Crimson Tide lost that No. 1 ranking with a 6-3 loss to Mississippi State on Nov. 1 of that year, and has been rated no higher than No. 2 at any time since (the 1992 team finished No. 1, but never achieved that ranking during the regular season).
The all-important BCS rankings will be released later today. The BCS combines two human polls (the coaches' and Harris Interactive) with various computer rankings to arrive at an overall index.
View the complete AP and USA Today rankings by clicking HERE.
