In college football, the Big Five has now become the Entrenched Five.
For consecutive Sundays, Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Michigan and UGA maintained the same elite ranking in the USA TODAY Sports/Amway Coaches Poll, with the Crimson Tide (back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1980) holding the top spot once again.
Regarding Georgia (9-1, 7-1 in SEC), the Bulldogs have completed the regular-portion of the SEC schedule (East division champs).
Consequently, the Dawgs can focus on UMass and Georgia Tech before attacking Alabama preparations for Dec. 1 (SEC title game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium).
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A few notables about the latest coaches poll:
**Alabama commandeered 64 of the 65 first-place votes, with Clemson being the only other recipient.
**Six SEC teams were included in the countdown, the most of any other Power 5 conference.
**There are two Group Of Five programs represented in the top 15--Central Florida (11th) and Utah State (13th).
**The top-five listing won't likely change next week, since only Notre Dame (vs. Syracuse) has a daunting matchup.
USA TODAY SPORTS/AMWAY COACHES TOP 25
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Notre Dame
4. Michigan
5. Georgia
6. Oklahoma
7. West Virginia
8. Ohio State
9. Washington State
10. LSUR
11. UCF
12. Syracuse
13. Utah State
14. Texas
15. Penn State
16. Florida
17. Washington
18. Iowa State
19. Utah
20. Cincinnati
21. Kentucky
22. Boston College
23. Mississippi State
24. Boise State
25. UAB
