AP Top 25 poised for new No. 1 after Oklahoma upsets Texas

Georgia is poised to take over the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 after pulling out a 20-17 win against No. 6 Alabama. But the Bulldogs won’t be the only team on the move after a wild week of upsets.

Oklahoma stunned Texas in the Red River Rivalry, UCLA pulled off a road upset against Oregon, South Carolina routed Florida and Kentucky delivered another overtime thriller, this time against LSU.

Stick around for projections, voter Q&A and live updates when the latest rankings drop at 2 p.m. EDT.

Here’s what to know:

Bulldogs on the rise: Georgia is set to take over No. 1 for the first time since 2024 after a hard fought road win over Alabama.

Down goes Texas: The Longhorns fell to a struggling Oklahoma team in the Red River Rivalry on Saturday afternoon, leaving the No. 1 spot in the poll up for grabs.

Fumble fest in Oregon: The No. 13-ranked Ducks turned over the ball seven times in a 17-15 upset loss to UCLA. Oregon lost five fumbles and backup quarterback Dylan Raiola threw two interceptions before being benched for Brock Thomas.

How the votes are counted

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

For decades, voters called, emailed and faxed their votes to the AP and ballots were tabulated by hand.

Now voting happens online, and the count is automated first before AP checks for miscues.

The poll operates on a 1-to-25-point system, with the No. 1 team receiving 25 points down to the 25th team receiving 1 point. In between, the poll lists the teams with the most points from 24 down to 2. Teams that receive votes but not enough to make the top 25 are noted separately.

UCLA trumps Oregon

By MAURA CAREY

No. 21 UCLA remained undefeated with a 17-15 win over No. 13 Oregon in a messy, turnover-filled outing. The Ducks threw two interceptions and lost five fumbles, the last coming on their final drive with less than a minute left.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava had 162 yards and two interceptions before sitting out the second half with a lower leg injury. Ty Dieffenbach took over under center and threw for 43 yards and a touchdown as the Bruins look to move up in the rankings.

Oregon backup quarterback Dylan Raiola’s heroic performance against USC felt like a distant memory as he completed just 6-of-18 passes for 43 yards and two interceptions before being replaced by Brock Thomas.

Who decides the rankings?

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

AP Top 25 voters are writers and broadcasters who cover college football.

AP employees do not vote, but they do choose the voters, and they seek wide representation from all over the country. This season, there are 69 voters.

The focus begins with voter representation in states with a Bowl Subdivision school, and the total number of voters from each state increases with the number of FBS teams. There are also spots reserved for national voters.

The AP allows broad latitude for voters to determine their rankings. They are urged to base their votes on performance, not reputation or preseason speculation (except, of course, for the always provocative preseason poll); to avoid regional bias, for or against; to pay attention to head-to-head results; and to make significant changes if desired.

Upheaval on tap for Top 25

By DAVE ZELIO

Six teams in the AP Top 25 lost over the weekend, which always portends a shakeup in the rankings.

But it’s who lost that suggests today’s poll is going to get an overhaul: No. 1 Texas, No. 6 Alabama and No. 10 LSU all went down, pretty much guaranteeing a new team at the top of the rankings. No. 2 Georgia is a likely candidate.

Amid the intrigue is how far voters will drop Texas (which lost in overtime against its archrival) and Alabama (which lost by 3 points to Georgia after at least one controversial decision by the officiating crew).

There may be some new faces, too. Teams like Wake Forest, Northwestern and Kentucky all have 1 loss each and stirring victories on their resumes already.