Another round of upsets and chaos reigned over college football yet again on Saturday, forcing AP top 25 pollsters to reconsider what teams go where in the new rankings.
Two previously undefeated teams lost their first games of the 2026 season, both to unranked opponents, while two other one-loss hopefuls went down for the second time, also to teams outside the rankings, setting up a reassessment Sunday for voters.
The one thing we know? There shouldn’t be any changes at the No. 1 position after Miami at least did its job by dominating another ACC opponent.
Projecting the New AP Top 25 College Football Rankings
Dropping out: No. 16 USC
25. Oklahoma State (Last week: NR). The Cowboys effectively ranked 26th last week with 128 votes, but should regain enough to get back in the rankings after hanging 57 points on Colorado, combined with USC’s loss.
24. Iowa (15). AP voters could drop the Hawkeyes out entirely after a loss at Minnesota, but a lack of obvious replacements could save them in this week’s ballot.
23. Arizona (25). A dominant performance against Iowa State reaffirms the Wildcats’ standing in the Big 12 mix, setting up a huge matchup at Texas Tech next week.
22. Northwestern (24). Aidan Chiles accounted for 5 touchdowns and the Wildcats had 502 yards to smash Rutgers. Maybe the wins don’t jump off the page, but they have six of them against one loss.
21. SMU (23). Kendrick Raphael and Christian Rhodes both ran for 2 TDs to put away Cal and the Mustangs are heading into a winnable stretch now.
On the outside looking in
20. Missouri (22). Idle in Week 8, the Tigers are eager to get back in the win column against Arkansas next Saturday.
19. Boise State (21). They played Washington State a little close for comfort early on, but the Broncos further entrenched their position as the Group of Six playoff favorite with the win and James Madison’s loss.
18. Florida (20). Off on Saturday, the Gators are back in a critical matchup against Georgia on Halloween.
17. Tennessee (11). The win over Alabama still counts, but a last-second loss at unranked South Carolina will force a sizable drop.
16. LSU (18). Lane Kiffin finally won on the road in a dominant 38-17 decision at Auburn, but much tougher dates against Alabama, Texas, and Tennessee await to see if his team actually has postseason staying power.
The middle of the pack
15. Houston (14). A very close loss at Utah puts the Cougars that much further outside the playoff bubble combined with the 2-point defeat to Texas Tech earlier this year.
14. Ole Miss (7). The Rebels lost at Texas, but mounting a spirited comeback by scoring 21 unanswered points looks good, as do wins over ranked LSU and Missouri.
13. Wake Forest (17). The Demon Deacons were idle on Saturday, and will host Virginia next week in ACC play.
12. Texas Tech (8). A loss to unranked Cincinnati is not ideal for the Red Raiders, but their 2-point win over a Houston side that played Utah very close is better, and could cushion a more serious fall.
11. Alabama (13). Two fourth quarter touchdowns helped the Crimson Tide finally put Texas A&M away, moving to 6-2 and into an idle weekend.
Rounding out the top ten
10. Texas (19). Bouncing back from a two-game slide by beating the No. 7 Rebels could be enough to give the Longhorns the biggest positive move in this week’s poll, combined with wins against Ohio State and Tennessee.
9. Kentucky (12). The Wildcats are now in sole possession of first place in the SEC after knocking off Vanderbilt at 7-1 and going into a big road test against Tennessee.
8. Utah (10). Coming back from an early 10-0 deficit, the Utes powered through with a pair of fourth quarter TDs to take a commanding lead in the Big 12 standings, passing a crucial test against challenger Houston.
7. UCLA (9). The Bruins moved to 7-0 after taking out Michigan State, and should be 8-0 next week taking on Nevada.
6. BYU (2). You could argue the Cougars deserve a bigger fall after losing to unranked UCF. Some pollsters may want to avoid dropping them behind the Irish team they beat, but more will feel happy dishing out a punishment given the caliber of this loss.
The Best of the Best
5. Indiana (6). It was some ugly Big Ten football, but the Hoosiers came out on the right side of it, edging Michigan on the road in overtime in a 13-6 result.
4. Georgia (5). One of several teams that didn’t play in Week 8, the Bulldogs take on rival Florida next time out needing to avoid a second-straight loss after what happened against Auburn.
3. Notre Dame (4). Idle this week, the Irish return against Navy next Saturday. In the meantime, they should benefit from the Cougars’ loss.
2. Ohio State (3). Off this weekend, the Buckeyes have a gigantic question mark at quarterback with Julian Sayin out and going to USC next. For now, they’ll slide into the No. 2 ranking after the BYU loss.
1. Miami (1). The Hurricanes’ position atop the rankings is secured after beating up Pittsburgh, combined with BYU’s loss and other highly-ranked teams being off this week. Now the ACC title fave tangles with Bill Belichick on the road on Halloween.
Rankings Movers: AP Top 25 College Football Teams Going Up, Down
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