[Archive 2008-11-03] University of Alabama football team clinches No. 1 spot in AP poll

Historical archive — originally published 2008-11-03. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

The University of Alabama's football team, the Crimson Tide, has reached the top spot in the Associated Press's weekly college football rankings. Forty-six of the sixty-five sportswriters from across the country agreed Alabama's 35–0 win over Arkansas State on Saturday was the best game in the country, giving Alabama the top spot in the rankings.

Once a storied football program under former coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who led the Crimson Tide to six national championship titles, the team had slipped from its former glory in recent years. With the AP Poll's most recent publication on Sunday morning, the Crimson Tide, only one of four Division I teams undefeated and the only one undefeated in the Southeastern Conference, has taken the top spot for the first time during the regular football season since 1980.

The game next Saturday is crucial to the Crimson Tide, as it will effectively decide who will play in the Southeastern Conference championship game. Louisiana State University (LSU), a powerhouse in past seasons, suffered two losses this season. Alabama hopes to clinch its first conference championship since 1999 and dethrone LSU, the current reigning national champion in college football.

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