AP Top 25 poll: Kansas back in the rankings for first time since 2009

Kansas is back.

Well, as back as can be.

The Jayhawks on Sunday were back in the Associated Press Top 25 college football rankings after picking up a victory over Iowa State to move to 5-0 on the season and 2-0 in the conference.

Kansas hadn’t been in the rankings since Oct. 18, 2009, when Mark Mangino was the head coach. The team finished with as many wins as they have currently (5-7). Kansas is on pace for the first winning season since 2008. Current head coach Lane Leipold is the fifth head coach since 2010.

Kansas’ drought was the longest for a current Power Five conference team. They were ranked 19th.

Elsewhere, Alabama took back the No. 1 ranking from Georgia, even after Bryce Young suffered an injury, and the Crimson Tide had a devil of a time holding off Arkansas. Georgia had a close win over Missouri, while No. 3 Ohio State had an easy win over Rutgers.

Alabama received 25 first-place votes and 1,523 points – just two more than Georgia, who received 28 first-place votes. It’s the first time a team had the most first-place votes but wasn’t ranked No. 1, since Alabama in November 2019.

Here’s how the rankings played out.

NO. 14 OLE MISS HOLDS OFF NO. 7 KENTUCKY IN WIN

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1). Alabama (5-0)

2). Georgia (5-0)

3). Ohio State (5-0)

4). Michigan (5-0)

5). Clemson (5-0)

6). USC (5-0)

7). Oklahoma State (4-0)

8). Tennessee (4-0)

9). Ole Miss (5-0)

10). Penn State (5-0)

11). Utah (4-1)

12). Oregon (4-1)

13). Kentucky (4-1)

14). N.C. State (4-1)

15). Wake Forest (4-1)

16). BYU (4-1)

17). TCU (4-0)

18). UCLA (5-0)

19). Kansas (5-0)

20). Kansas State (4-1)

21). Washington (4-1)

22). Syracuse (5-0)

23). Mississippi State (4-1)

24). Cincinnati (4-1)

25). LSU (4-1)

The Associated Press contributed to this report.