AP poll: 'Bama is No. 1, Y. 16th, U. 19th

NEW YORK — After a steady climb, Alabama has reached the top of the AP poll.

The Crimson Tide jumped Florida and landed at No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday.

The unbeaten Gators had been in the top spot since the preseason, but the Crimson Tide has been gaining ground for weeks by winning more convincingly than the Gators.

The final surge came after Alabama beat South Carolina 20-6 and Florida needed a field goal in the waning seconds to beat Arkansas 23-20 at home.

The Crimson Tide, which received 10 first-place votes last week, got 39 out of 59 from the media panel. Florida received the other 20 first-place votes.

Texas is No. 3, followed by Southern California, Cincinnati and Boise State at No. 6. The Broncos dropped a spot.

Unbeaten Iowa moved up four places after beating Wisconsin 20-10 on the road. Miami, LSU and TCU round out the top 10.

Alabama started the season ranked fifth, then immediately moved up a spot to fourth after beating Virginia Tech to start the season. After two weeks at No. 4, the Crimson Tide moved up another spot to No. 3.

After three weeks behind Florida and Texas, Alabama jumped the Longhorns last week and finished the climb to No. 1 on Sunday.

Alabama was No. 1 for five weeks in the second half of last season, including two weeks when SEC rival Florida was No. 2.

The Gators, the defending national champions, came into the season as an overwhelming No. 1, receiving the highest of percentage of first-place votes ever in the preseason poll.

But Tim Tebow and the Gators have sputtered offensively and had trouble putting away the better teams on their schedule. They had 10-point victories against Tennessee and LSU before beating Arkansas on a field goal with 9 seconds left.

Alabama's four SEC victories have been by an average of 19 points, with the closest margin being 14 against South Carolina.

Florida's four SEC wins have been by an average of 14 points, but that was padded by a 34-point victory against Kentucky.

Alabama also has a nonconference victory against No. 15 Virginia Tech. Florida has played only one ranked team, LSU.