Miami hasn’t been ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 since Dec. 8, 2002, and a 43-35 double-overtime win over Florida State on a Saturday when five of the top seven teams lost puts the Hurricanes first in line for college football‘s top spot.
No. 1 Georgia fell 27-24 to Auburn on kicker Alex McPherson’s 34-yard field goal, and No. 2 Notre Dame lost 28-24 at No. 8 BYU when quarterback Bear Bachmeier threw a go-ahead touchdown pass with 1:47 left.
That leaves No. 3 Miami as the highest-ranked team still unbeaten, with BYU making the loudest case to jump the field.
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Miami’s first No. 1 since 2002
The last time Miami held the top spot, coach Larry Coker’s Hurricanes were defending the 2001 national title. Miami won 21 straight games as the AP’s No. 1 team across 2001 and 2002, slipped to No. 2 behind Oklahoma on Nov. 3, 2002, and reclaimed the spot a week later. The run ended with a 31-24 double-overtime loss to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 3, 2003.
That 2002 team escaped Florida State 28-27, and this year’s version needed two overtimes to do the same. Miami coach Mario Cristobal saw the danger coming. “If anyone is assuming that they should win or they’re entitled to winning, they’re out of their minds,” he said this week.
Florida State coach Mike Norvell’s 3-4 Seminoles tied it 28-28 on quarterback Ashton Daniels’ 75-yard touchdown pass to Duce Robinson with 2:39 left. Still, Miami quarterback Darian Mensah finished 23 of 34 for 326 yards and three touchdowns, and wide receiver Malachi Toney caught 11 passes for 154 yards and two scores.
Toney also threw the 2-point conversion to receiver Cooper Barkate in the second overtime. Freshman running back Javian Mallory added 108 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and defensive back Bryce Fitzgerald intercepted Daniels on the final play. Miami won the efficiency battle with a 49% success rate to Florida State’s 35%.
Can BYU jump from No. 8?
BYU hasn’t been No. 1 since its 1984 national championship team finished atop the final poll. Saturday’s win came in the first top-10 matchup ever played at LaVell Edwards Stadium, the same day College GameDay set up in Provo.
Bachmeier ran for two touchdowns, caught a 15-yard score on a double pass from Kyler Kasper and hit tight end Walker Lyons from 6 yards out for the winner. He did it without running back LJ Martin, the 2025 Big 12 offensive player of the year, who missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. The sophomore is now 18-2 as a starter.
BYU coach Kalani Sitake welcomed the stage before kickoff. “What do we have to lose, man? This is the matchup we wanted from the very beginning,” he said.
The rest of the resume is thinner. The Cougars beat TCU 17-10 on the road and own wins over Arizona, Colorado State, Iowa State and Big Sky member Utah Tech.
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Why Miami deserves the top spot
Miami was ranked ahead of BYU entering Week 7 and was the only top-three team to win Saturday. Dropping a winning team behind one that started five spots lower would punish the Hurricanes for surviving a rivalry game.
Miami’s full body of work also holds up. The Hurricanes own a 41-13 road win at Clemson in which they sacked Tigers quarterback Tait Reynolds six times, plus lopsided wins over Stanford and Central Michigan. BYU’s win over a No. 2 team outweighs anything on Miami’s schedule, but it’s one game.
Ohio State has a claim after its 19-15 win at Indiana ended the Hoosiers’ 22-game win streak. However, the Buckeyes’ 24-23 loss to Texas keeps them behind the two unbeatens.
The order should be Miami at No. 1, BYU at No. 2 and Ohio State at No. 3. Miami hosts Pitt on Oct. 24 and visits Notre Dame on Nov. 7 in its toughest remaining game.
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