Only Miami held its spot: BYU falls six after UCF's double-overtime upset, Texas climbs eight, Wisconsin is ranked again
Miami is the only team to keep its place on the AP ballot released Oct. 25 — BYU drops six after losing at UCF in double overtime, Texas climbs eight, Wisconsin enters for the first time since 2023 — with the games behind each move and the 2027 draft stock they shifted.
Miami is the only team that kept its place in the AP Top 25 released Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. Idle Ohio State moved up to No. 2, BYU fell six places to No. 8 after losing at UCF, and Texas climbed eight to No. 11. 12
Three more top-10 teams lost on Saturday, Oct. 24. That makes 10 in the past three weeks, tying 2007 and 1959 for the most over a three-week span in poll history. 2
Miami, Utah and UCLA are the last unbeaten teams in the FBS. The sport last had this few left at this point in a season in 1977, according to Sportradar. 2
This issue covers the ballot and the games of Oct. 22–24 that it grades. ESPN files that weekend as Week 8, and the rankings below use that label. 3
Official AP Top 25: full ballot and movement
| Rank | School (first-place votes) | Record | Points | Previous | Movement and driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami (Fla.) (59) | 7-0 | 1,735 | 1 | Held No. 1 after beating Pitt 52-23. 45 |
| 2 | Ohio State (10) | 6-1 | 1,681 | 3 | Up one while idle, past BYU. 24 |
| 3 | Georgia | 6-1 | 1,511 | 5 | Up two while idle. 24 |
| 4 | Indiana | 7-1 | 1,459 | 6 | Up two after winning 13-6 at Michigan in overtime. 46 |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 6-1 | 1,458 | 4 | Down one while idle. 24 |
| 6 | Utah (1) | 7-0 | 1,413 | 10 | Up four after beating Houston 21-13. 47 |
| 7 | UCLA | 7-0 | 1,398 | 9 | Up two after beating Michigan State 28-10. 34 |
| 8 | BYU | 6-1 | 1,325 | 2 | Down six, the week's largest fall, after losing 39-31 at UCF in double overtime. 48 |
| 9 | Kentucky | 7-1 | 1,185 | 12 | Up three after beating Vanderbilt 34-17, its sixth straight win. 24 |
| 10 | Alabama | 6-2 | 1,063 | 13 | Up three after beating Texas A&M 31-20. 34 |
| 11 | Texas | 5-2 | 966 | 19 | Up eight, the week's largest climb, after beating Ole Miss 34-27. 49 |
| 12 | Ole Miss | 5-2 | 871 | 7 | Down five after the 34-27 loss at Texas. 49 |
| 13 | Texas Tech | 6-1 | 861 | 8 | Down five after losing 37-24 at Cincinnati. 410 |
| 14 | Wake Forest | 6-1 | 822 | 17 | Up three while idle. 34 |
| 15 | LSU | 6-2 | 813 | 18 | Up three after winning 38-17 at Auburn. 34 |
| 16 | Tennessee | 6-2 | 662 | 11 | Down five after losing 27-24 at South Carolina. 411 |
| 17 | Florida | 5-2 | 556 | 20 | Up three while idle. 34 |
| 18 | Houston | 6-2 | 491 | 14 | Down four after the 21-13 loss at Utah. 47 |
| 19 | SMU | 6-1 | 440 | 23 | Up four after beating California 59-20. 34 |
| 20 | Boise State | 6-1 | 422 | 21 | Up one after beating Washington State 31-10. 34 |
| 20 | Northwestern | 6-1 | 422 | 24 | Up four after beating Rutgers 42-14. 34 |
| 22 | Arizona | 6-1 | 400 | 25 | Up three after beating Iowa State 39-3. 34 |
| 23 | Missouri | 5-2 | 329 | 22 | Down one while idle. 34 |
| 24 | Oklahoma State | 5-2 | 180 | NR | Re-entered after beating Colorado 57-24. 24 |
| 25 | Wisconsin | 5-2 | 125 | NR | Entered after beating USC 24-7, its first ranking since 2023. 24 |
Also receiving votes: Iowa 76, New Mexico 41, Cincinnati 11, Oregon State 10, South Carolina 8, Minnesota 7, USC 7, UTSA 1, Virginia Tech 1. 4
Miami took 59 of the 70 first-place votes, 19 more than a week ago. Ohio State got 10 and Utah one. 2
Indiana's hold on No. 4 is one point, 1,459 to Notre Dame's 1,458. Utah is 45 points behind them at No. 6. 4
The Big 12 has six ranked teams, matching its record and its most since Sept. 23, 2012. It also has more ranked teams than the Big Ten, which has five, for the first time since 2023. 2
The full split is nine SEC teams, six Big 12, five Big Ten, three ACC, one Pac-12 (Boise State) and independent Notre Dame. 2
UCLA has climbed 19 places over the past five polls, and Kentucky 17 over the past three. 2
The Coaches Poll, also out Sunday, gave Miami 67 first-place votes, Ohio State six and UCLA one. The coaches rank Utah fifth and Notre Dame sixth, the reverse of the AP, and Kentucky eighth ahead of BYU ninth. 12
They place SMU 16th against the AP's 19th, and keep Iowa 24th and USC 25th, the two teams the AP dropped out. 12
The games behind the movement
UCF 39, BYU 31 (2OT): the No. 2 goes down for the third straight week
Keyone Jenkins threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Grayson Brousseau in the second overtime, then converted the two-pointer that made it 39-31. BYU drove to the UCF 4 before Bear Bachmeier's fourth-down pass to Walker Lyons fell incomplete. 8
Jenkins finished 25-of-41 for 293 yards with three passing touchdowns and one rushing score, in his fifth start since replacing the injured Alonza Barnett III. 8
Regulation took a stranger route. UCF was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the BYU 1 with under two minutes left, forced a three-and-out, and got the ball back with 42 seconds to play. 8
Jenkins then lost the ball on a play ruled a sack. Replay review turned it into an incomplete pass, and an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty on BYU moved UCF into field-goal range. 8
BYU blocked Will Stone's 47-yard attempt, and Stone's helmet came off in the scramble. The 10-second runoff that followed sent the game to overtime. 8
UCF is 4-3 and 2-2 in the Big 12. Saturday was the program's first win over a top-five team, and its first over any ranked team since 2023 against Oklahoma State. 8
Scott Frost on his quarterback: "Our backup is not a backup. He had an unbelievable game tonight." 8
Kalani Sitake: "UCF put us on our heels and put us in some uncomfortable positions." 8
A team ranked No. 1 or No. 2 has now lost to an unranked opponent in each of the past three weeks. 2
Texas 34, Ole Miss 27: a 21-point lead, then a scramble
Arch Manning threw one touchdown pass and ran for the first two of his season. The second was a 1-yard keeper around the end on a fake handoff that made it 31-24, set up by Raleek Brown's 47-yard run. 9
Texas led 24-3 at halftime and lost all of it. Trinidad Chambliss threw touchdown passes of 6 and 27 yards to Horatio Fields, the second a contested catch that tied the game at 24 early in the fourth quarter. 9
Ole Miss's first touchdown came when Kam Franklin recovered Manning's fumble in the end zone after a blindside hit by Blake Purchase. Franklin later sacked Manning head-on and sent him to the sideline for a medical check. 9
Texas finished with 14 penalties for 134 yards, both season highs. The Longhorns also survived an onside kick in the final two minutes when Jelani McDonald intercepted Chambliss in the end zone on the last play. 9
Raleek Brown ran for 157 yards. Kewan Lacy carried 16 times for 36 yards for Ole Miss before leaving with the shoulder injury that also cost him the Florida game last month. 9
Steve Sarkisian: "We had an opportunity to be closer to perfect, but we get sack, fumble, they get a touchdown, they get momentum." 9
Indiana 13, Michigan 6 (OT): the first win in Ann Arbor since 1967
Michigan forced overtime with a 26-yard field goal as time expired, after reaching Indiana's 3 and giving up a fourth sack of Tommy Carr. 6
On Indiana's first overtime snap, Josh Hoover hit Brock Schott for 21 yards and then ran 4 yards for the touchdown. Michigan reached the Indiana 13 and got nothing, Carr's fourth-down pass to Salesi Moa landing out of the end zone. 6
Hoover finished 8-of-18 for 81 yards with an interception, playing through an injury that had Curt Cignetti weighing Grant Wilson. 6
Cignetti: "It's been Josh's season and even though he's not 100%, we've got to finish it out with him and he responded." 6
Carr lost a fumble on a pitch in the first quarter and threw an interception off a deflection. Michigan started him and sat Bryce Underwood. 6
Kyle Whittingham: "If that's the No. 6 team in the country, then we're pretty good." 6
Indiana is 7-1 and 4-1 in the Big Ten. Michigan is 4-3 and 1-3. 6
Miami 52, Pittsburgh 23: 16 catches and little suspense
Malachi Toney caught a school-record 16 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns in Miami's first game as No. 1 since the 2002 season. The old record of 13 was set by Mike Harley against Duke in 2021 and matched by Toney last season. 5
Toney had 159 yards at halftime, as many as Pitt's entire offense. 5
Darian Mensah went 31-of-37 for 387 yards and four touchdowns. Miami scored on seven of its first eight possessions and converted 10 of its first 12 third downs. 5
Javian Mallory ran for two touchdowns. Mark Fletcher Jr.'s 33rd career rushing touchdown moved him to second on Miami's all-time list. 5
Miami is 7-0 and 5-0 in the ACC, and 43-6 all-time as the No. 1 team. Pitt is 5-3, has lost three straight, and is 0-14-1 against top-ranked teams. 5
Pat Narduzzi: "We ran into a buzz saw. … They're the No. 1 team in the country and it's no joke." 5
Cincinnati 37, Texas Tech 24: the unbeaten that never got going
JC French IV threw a career-high four touchdown passes and Cole Tabb ran for a career-best 173 yards. Cincinnati led 24-6 at halftime. 10
Tabb's 58-yard touchdown run with six minutes left finished it. Cincinnati ran for 252 yards at 6.1 a carry against a defense that had not allowed a rushing touchdown all season. 10
Texas Tech turned the ball over three times and was flagged 12 times for 75 yards, a season high. 10
Joey McGuire: "I'm as frustrated as I've ever been in my 32 years of coaching." 10
It was Cincinnati's first home win over a top-10 team since Nov. 18, 2006, when it beat No. 7 Rutgers 30-11. 10
Scott Satterfield: "We just beat the No. 8 team in the country. … This is one of the greatest wins I've been a part of." 10
South Carolina 27, Tennessee 24: a strip-sack and a 48-yard kick
LaNorris Sellers went 18-of-32 for 210 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 96 yards and two more scores. The second was a game-tying run with 1:17 left. 11
Dylan Stewart's strip-sack of George MacIntyre with 33 seconds left gave South Carolina the ball at the Tennessee 34. Malik Orsan kicked a 48-yard field goal as time expired. 11
South Carolina is 4-3 and 2-3 in the SEC, with two straight wins over ranked teams after beating then-No. 16 Florida. 11
The SEC fined South Carolina $500,000 on Sunday for the field storm that followed, payable to Tennessee. Commissioner Greg Sankey can reduce it to $100,000 if the school shows it made a full attempt to prevent the rush. 14
The rest of the ranked results
- No. 6 Utah 21, No. 18 Houston 13: Devon Dampier ran for 150 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 204 more with two interceptions. Utah has won 13 straight, the longest active streak in the FBS, and took sole possession of first in the Big 12. 7
- No. 7 LSU 38, Auburn 17: the 21-point margin is LSU's largest at Auburn in series history. 3
- No. 10 Alabama 31, Texas A&M 20: Alabama avoided its first three-game losing streak since 2007 and has won 90 straight at home against unranked opponents. 3
- No. 9 Kentucky 34, Vanderbilt 17: a sixth straight win and the first 7-1 start at Kentucky since 2018. 3
- No. 19 SMU 59, California 20: SMU's largest win over an FBS opponent since 2023. 3
- No. 20 Boise State 31, Washington State 10: six straight wins since a season-opening loss to Oregon. 3
- No. 20 Northwestern 42, Rutgers 14: Northwestern is 5-0 at home for the first time since 1996. 3
- No. 22 Arizona 39, Iowa State 3: Arizona's 6-1 start is its best since 2014. 3
- No. 24 Oklahoma State 57, Colorado 24: the Cowboys returned to the poll after a one-week absence. 2
- No. 25 Wisconsin 24, USC 7: Wisconsin's second ranked win of the season after beating then-No. 13 Penn State in Week 4. USC's seven points and its yardage were its fewest in Lincoln Riley's five seasons. 2
- Idle: Ohio State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Florida, Missouri. 3
- Out: Iowa, after a 13-10 loss at Minnesota and unranked for the first time this season, and USC, which had been ranked since Oct. 19, 2025. 2
Where the playoff bracket points now
Drawn from this poll, the 12-team bracket gives the top four seeds and first-round byes to Miami, Ohio State, Georgia and Indiana. 15
The first-round games are Kentucky at BYU, Boise State at Notre Dame, Alabama at UCLA and Texas at Utah. The winners meet Miami, Indiana, Ohio State and Georgia in that order. 15
Boise State holds the automatic place reserved for the highest-ranked champion from outside the four power conferences. That pushes out Ole Miss at No. 12, the highest-ranked team left behind, ahead of Texas Tech and Wake Forest. 15
2027 NFL Draft: what the week changed
Six documents stand behind this section, with six dates. ESPN's Kiper/Reid notes went up Oct. 25, after the games. Field Yates filed a top-10 mock draft on Oct. 21. 1617
Mel Kiper Jr.'s Big Board dates to Oct. 15, Jordan Reid's quarterback ranking to Oct. 9 and his top 50 to Oct. 1. 181920
The NFL Draft Bible's Hot 100 is monthly, and its newest edition remains September, published Sept. 18. Those placements are five weeks old. 21
| Prospect (position, school) | This week's evidence | Where the boards place him | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tobi Osunsanmi, Edge, Indiana | Two sacks at Michigan, a sack in seven straight games and nine this season, tied for second nationally 16 | Late Day 2 grade from Reid, with a path into early Day 2 16 | Rising |
| Amare Ferrell, S, Indiana | Eight tackles and his third interception in two games at Michigan; 11 career interceptions 16 | Day 2 grade from Kiper 16 | Rising |
| Rasheem Biles, LB, Texas | Four tackles, a tackle for loss, two pass breakups and an interception against Ole Miss 16 | Early Day 3 per Kiper 16 | Rising |
| Sammy Omosigho, LB, UCLA | Six tackles and two sacks against Michigan State 16 | Reid's No. 3 linebacker before the weekend, now the likely second off the board behind Georgia's Chris Cole, with an early Day 2 grade 16 | Rising |
| Sebastian Cheeks, Edge, Wisconsin | Two and a half sacks against USC 16 | Round 3 or 4 from Kiper, who wants more weight for run defense 16 | Rising |
| Jackson Harris, WR, LSU | Nine catches for 178 yards and two touchdowns at Auburn, including a 70-yard score 16 | Round 3 grade from Reid, with a path into the top 50 16 | Rising |
| Griffin Wilde, WR, Northwestern | Nine catches for 133 yards and a touchdown against Rutgers; 615 yards at 15.8 a catch this season 16 | Third or fourth round from Kiper 16 | Rising |
| Trey'Dez Green, TE, LSU | Five catches for 50 yards and a touchdown at Auburn in his return from a three-game leg injury 16 | Second tight end behind Oregon's Jamari Johnson; Reid puts his chance of being the first tight end drafted at 40% 16 | Holding |
| Dylan Stewart, Edge, South Carolina | A strip-sack with 33 seconds left that set up the winning kick at Tennessee, his third forced fumble in two weeks 16 | Highest ceiling of any defensive prospect in the class, per Reid 16 | Rising |
Green's case rests on size and hands. At 6-foot-7 and 237 pounds he can attack the middle of the field and run after the catch, and blocking consistency is the part of his game still short of a first tight end. 16
Reid's comparison for Stewart is Brian Burns, who measured 6-foot-5 and 249 pounds coming out of Florida State. Stewart is listed at 6-foot-5 and 250. 16
Stewart's questions are production and a suspension for throwing a punch at an Alabama player and arguing with coaches. Reid still calls him the highest ceiling in the defensive class. 16
Eli Finley of Louisiana Tech is the week's quieter mover. Ten catches for 128 yards and a touchdown against Old Dominion took him from the Round 5–6 mix in August to Round 4–5. 16
The boards disagree most on Arch Manning. The September Hot 100 had him second overall, Reid's top 50 has him 17th, and Kiper's Big Board has him 24th and sixth among quarterbacks. All three were set before Saturday's two rushing touchdowns. 182021
Yates built his mock draft on the inverse standings through Week 6. He opens with Jeremiah Smith to the Chargers and puts three quarterbacks in the first nine picks: Drew Mestemaker second to the Dolphins, CJ Carr seventh to the Jets and Trinidad Chambliss ninth to the Cardinals. 17
The rest of that top 10 is Leonard Moore third to the Titans, Colin Simmons fourth to the Buccaneers, Dylan Stewart fifth to the Commanders, Charlie Becker sixth to the Eagles, Trevor Goosby eighth to the Texans and Ashton Hampton tenth to the Jets. 17
Read the two halves of that against each other. A sack and a forced fumble are game facts from this weekend. A board placement carries the date it was published. 1618
What's next
Two ranked matchups sit on the Oct. 31 slate. 2
- No. 17 Florida vs. No. 3 Georgia in Atlanta, 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Georgia has won five straight in the series and eight of the past nine, and Florida is chasing a third win over a top-10 team. 2
- No. 22 Arizona at No. 13 Texas Tech, noon ET on ESPN. Arizona carries a five-game winning streak and has not won in Lubbock since 1935. 2
The top of the poll plays away from home. No. 1 Miami visits North Carolina at 7:30 on ABC, No. 2 Ohio State visits USC at 7:30 on NBC, and No. 6 Utah plays at Cincinnati at 3:45 on ESPN. 3
Cincinnati hosts Utah a week after beating Texas Tech. Wisconsin, newly ranked, plays at Iowa at noon on Fox. Texas hosts Mississippi State at 7:30 on ESPN, and SMU is at Syracuse at noon on ESPN2. 3
Kentucky, Alabama, Tennessee and Houston are off until Nov. 7. 3
References
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- 4NCAA College Football AP Top 25 Poll
sportsdata.usatoday.com
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- 212027 NFL Draft Hot 100 (September Edition)
allaccessfootball.com
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