UCLA Falls To No. 16, Alabama Takes Top Spot In AP Football Poll

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Friday's loss to Stanford not only denied UCLA a chance at the Pac-12 championship, but it also led to voters in The Associated Press College Football Poll dropping the Bruins by seven positions and out of the Top 10.

UCLA (9-3) fell from No. 9 to No. 16 following the 31-10 loss to the Cardinal at the Rose Bowl. With a win, the Bruins would have played in this Friday's Pac-12 championship game, but that honor goes to No. 8 Arizona, which moved up four spots in the poll after defeating Arizona State on Friday. The Wildcats will take on No. 3 Oregon at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara on Friday night.

Meanwhile, Alabama is No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time this season, replacing undefeated Florida State in a vote that was about as close as it could get.

The Crimson Tide (11-1) received 25 of a possible 59 first-place votes from the media panel and 1,426 points. The Seminoles (12-0) have 29 first-place votes and 1,423 points.

The last time the No. 2 team had more first-place votes than the No. 1 team this late in the season was Nov. 25, 1968, when No. 1 Ohio State had 21½ first-places votes to USC's 24½.

Alabama is No. 1 for the 72nd time overall and first since it lost last year's Iron Bowl. The Tide beat Auburn 55-44 on Saturday.

It is also the seventh straight season the Crimson Tide has been No. 1 at some point, the longest such streak since Miami from 1986-92.

Following No. 2 Florida State and No. 3 Oregon is TCU (10-2), which jumped two spots from No. 6 after a 48-10 victory over Texas. Baylor remains at No. 5.

(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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