Miami is No. 1 for the first time since 2002, BYU is No. 2 for the first time since '84, and nobody held a spot
Miami is No. 1 for the first time since 2002 and BYU No. 2 for the first time since 1984 after five of the top seven lost — the full AP ballot, the games behind every move, and the 2027 draft stock that shifted with them.
This issue covers the ballot released Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, and the games of Oct. 16–17 that it grades.
Miami is No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2002. BYU is No. 2, its highest ranking since the 1984 season that ended with a national championship. 12
Five of the top seven teams lost on Saturday, the first time that has happened in the poll's 90-year history. Not one of the 25 teams kept its slot from the previous ballot. 13
This is the season's eighth ballot. ESPN's schedule files the weekend it grades as Week 7, and the rankings below use that label. 4
Official AP Top 25: full ballot and movement
| Rank | School (first-place votes) | Record | Points | Previous | Movement and driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami (Fla.) (40) | 6-0 | 1,697 | 3 | Up two after beating Florida State 43-35 in double overtime. 25 |
| 2 | BYU (20) | 6-0 | 1,675 | 8 | Up six after beating Notre Dame 28-24 in Provo. 26 |
| 3 | Ohio State (9) | 6-1 | 1,649 | 4 | Up one after winning 19-15 at Indiana. 27 |
| 4 | Notre Dame | 6-1 | 1,395 | 2 | Down two after the 28-24 loss at BYU, its first of the season. 46 |
| 5 | Georgia | 6-1 | 1,382 | 1 | Down four after Auburn's field goal as time expired won 27-24 in Athens. 28 |
| 6 | Indiana | 6-1 | 1,370 | 5 | Down one after the 19-15 home loss to Ohio State. 27 |
| 7 | Ole Miss | 5-1 | 1,360 | 9 | Up two after a 31-3 win over Missouri. 24 |
| 8 | Texas Tech (1) | 6-0 | 1,336 | 10 | Up two after a 53-25 win over Arizona State. 24 |
| 9 | UCLA | 6-0 | 1,159 | 12 | Up three after a 17-7 win over Wisconsin. 24 |
| 10 | Utah | 6-0 | 1,153 | 11 | Up one after a 27-24 win at Colorado. 24 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 6-1 | 1,151 | 14 | Up three after a 26-10 win over Alabama. 29 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 6-1 | 932 | 15 | Up three after a 21-13 win over Oklahoma. 24 |
| 13 | Alabama | 5-2 | 870 | 6 | Down seven after the 26-10 loss at Tennessee, its second straight. 29 |
| 14 | Houston | 6-1 | 785 | 20 | Up six, the week's biggest climb, after a 35-32 win at Oklahoma State. 34 |
| 15 | Iowa | 5-1 | 747 | 17 | Up two while idle. 24 |
| 16 | USC | 6-1 | 592 | 19 | Up three while idle. 24 |
| 17 | Wake Forest | 6-1 | 574 | 21 | Up four after a 41-7 win over California. 24 |
| 18 | LSU | 5-2 | 529 | 22 | Up four after shutting out Mississippi State 31-0. 24 |
| 19 | Texas | 4-2 | 440 | 7 | Down twelve, the week's largest fall, after a 27-24 home loss to Florida. 210 |
| 20 | Florida | 5-2 | 355 | NR | Enters after the 27-24 win at Texas, its first road win over a top-10 team since 2012. 410 |
| 21 | Boise State | 5-1 | 295 | 23 | Up two while idle. 24 |
| 22 | Missouri | 5-2 | 290 | 13 | Down nine after the 31-3 loss to Ole Miss. 24 |
| 23 | SMU | 5-1 | 265 | 24 | Up one after a 23-13 win over Virginia. 24 |
| 24 | Northwestern | 5-1 | 254 | 25 | Up one after a 24-21 win over Michigan State. 24 |
| 25 | Arizona | 5-1 | 136 | NR | Enters on an idle week, after a Week 6 win at West Virginia. 23 |
Also receiving votes: Oklahoma State 128, Oregon 79, Auburn 61, James Madison 52, Mississippi State 30, New Mexico 6, Oregon State 3. 2
Miami sits 22 points ahead of BYU, and BYU 26 ahead of Ohio State. The next three are tighter still: Notre Dame 1,395, Georgia 1,382 and Indiana 1,370, 25 points across three places. 12
The 70 voters split 40 for Miami, 20 for BYU, nine for Ohio State and one for Texas Tech. It is the first ballot since the preseason poll on which no SEC team received a first-place vote. 3
Three different schools have now topped the poll in three weeks: Texas, then Georgia, then Miami. The last time that happened was 2012, when Alabama, Oregon and Notre Dame took turns. 3
Miami is the first ACC team at No. 1 since Clemson in 2020. Before Clemson, the last was Florida State in 2014. 1
Texas took the week's hardest fall, 12 places to No. 19. Missouri dropped nine to No. 22, Alabama seven to No. 13, and Georgia four to No. 5. Houston and BYU each climbed six. 23
Florida returns at No. 20 and Arizona enters at No. 25. Oklahoma State, No. 18 a week ago, and Mississippi State, No. 16, fell out. 12
The conference split is nine SEC teams, six Big Ten, five Big 12 and three ACC, with Notre Dame independent. 3
The Coaches Poll, released the same day, puts Miami first with 50 of its first-place votes, then Ohio State second and BYU third, each with 13. The coaches rank Notre Dame eighth against the AP's fourth and Texas Tech fifth against the AP's eighth. They keep Oregon at No. 25, where the AP has Arizona, and put Florida 24th against the AP's 20th. 11
The games behind the movement
Fourteen ranked teams lost across the weekend, five of them from the top eight. 12
Miami 43, Florida State 35 (2OT): the top spot
Darian Mensah threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns on 23-of-34 passing, the last a 3-yarder to Malachi Toney in the second overtime. Toney caught 11 passes for 154 yards and two scores, then threw the two-point conversion that followed his overtime touchdown. 5
Florida State tied it on Duce Robinson's 75-yard touchdown catch with 2:49 left, and he scored again from 20 yards to open the first overtime. Ashton Daniels threw for 298 yards and four touchdowns. 5
The last play decided an argument. Bryce Fitzgerald's end-zone interception was upheld on review, Florida State argued the ball belonged to its receiver, and Mike Norvell's answer afterward was "Go watch the film." 5
Miami is 6-0 and 4-0 in the ACC; Florida State is 3-4. The Seminoles also lost their leading rusher, Ousmane Kromah, to a left leg injury in the first half, and AP reported he had season-ending surgery. 5
Mario Cristobal called the No. 1 talk "absolutely insignificant and irrelevant" and pointed at the only 1 he counts, the 1-0. 5
Auburn 27, Georgia 24: the No. 1 goes down at home
Alex McPherson kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired, after a roughing-the-passer penalty on Georgia's Gabe Harris Jr. moved the ball into range. Auburn players swarmed the field. 8
Georgia led 14-0, then Auburn scored the next 24 points. Georgia tied it at 24 on a 94-yard, 13-play drive that Gunner Stockton finished with a 4-yard touchdown pass to London Humphreys. 8
Stockton threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns, with two interceptions and a lost fumble at the Auburn 46 with 58 seconds left. The interceptions doubled his season total from the first six games. 8
Kirby Smart put it on his own team: "We had three turnovers and critical penalties. ... We had some really, really untimely, uncharacteristic and undisciplined penalties." 8
Auburn outrushed Georgia 192-113. Byrum Brown ran 26 times for 115 yards and a touchdown and threw for another. 8
Georgia's 53-game win streak over unranked opponents ended with it. The No. 1 team has now lost in consecutive weeks for the first time since October 1990, per Sportradar. 8
BYU 28, Notre Dame 24: No. 2 falls in Provo
Bear Bachmeier threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Walker Lyons with 1:47 left, then BYU stopped Notre Dame at the goal line to hold on. Bachmeier passed for 224 yards and scored three ways: two rushing touchdowns and a 15-yard touchdown catch from Kyler Kasper. 6
He is the first FBS quarterback in 30 seasons with a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown against a top-25 opponent, and the first since Steve Young in the 1983 Holiday Bowl with passing, rushing and receiving scores in the same game. 6
CJ Carr threw for 261 yards and moved Notre Dame to the BYU 9 with four seconds left, but his last pass fell incomplete in the end zone. The Big 12 later said its review found time remained on the clock when the ball hit the ground, and that the replay crew incorrectly cleared the play. 6
BYU is 6-0 and beat Notre Dame for the first time since 2004. Notre Dame's 16-game winning streak is over. 6
Ohio State 19, Indiana 15: the fourth-down throw and the shoulder
Indiana's Nick Marsh came down out of bounds on what would have been the go-ahead touchdown with 1:02 left, his left foot in the white paint. Ohio State ran out the clock. 7
Julian Sayin threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Smith on fourth-and-1 early in the fourth quarter. He finished 15-of-29 for 235 yards with two interceptions, then left with an injured right arm. 7
Ryan Day said it "looks like Julian will be out several weeks." Ohio State is 6-1 and 4-0 in the Big Ten. 7
It was Curt Cignetti's first home loss in three seasons and the first top-five game ever played at Memorial Stadium. Indiana had gone 1,487 snaps without losing a fumble before losing two in the third quarter. 7
Tennessee 26, Alabama 10: 201 yards for the Tide
DeSean Bishop ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns, the second a 5-yarder that capped a fourth-quarter drive lasting 9:32. 9
Alabama finished with 201 total yards, 54 of them rushing, turned the ball over four times and went 2-of-13 on third down. Keelon Russell threw for 147 yards and ran for the Tide's only touchdown. 9
George MacIntyre, still starting in place of the injured Faizon Brandon, went 21-of-31 for 197 yards. Cooper Ranvier kicked four field goals. 9
These are Alabama's first consecutive regular-season losses since 2007. Josh Heupel called his defense "suffocating, elite." 9
Fans stormed the field, and the SEC fined Tennessee $500,000 for it. 13
Florida 27, Texas 24: the backup quarterback
Tramell Jones Jr. made his first career start in place of the injured Aaron Philo and threw two touchdown passes to Lacota Dippre. Florida trailed 17-3 in the second quarter and led for good on Patrick Durkin's 28-yard field goal. 10
Florida's defense held Texas under 300 yards and sacked Arch Manning five times. Myles Graham's sack forced the fumble on Texas's final possession. 10
Jadan Baugh's 11-yard touchdown run made it 27-17. Manning answered with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Cam Coleman for the final margin. 10
Steve Sarkisian: "We didn't play good football today. Kind of bled out." Texas is 4-2 and 1-2 in the SEC, and edge rusher Colin Simmons left in the fourth quarter with an apparent ankle injury. 10
Manning has three fourth-quarter turnovers this season, the most of any player in the SEC. 4
The rest of the ranked results
- No. 7 Ole Miss 31, Missouri 3: Trinidad Chambliss threw for 241 yards and three touchdowns. Missouri's 39 rushing yards were its fewest in a game since 2020 against Georgia. 4
- No. 8 Texas Tech 53, Arizona State 25: Texas Tech is 6-0 for the second straight season. 4
- No. 9 UCLA 17, Wisconsin 7: the Bruins are 4-0 in conference play for the first time since 2007, when they were in the Pac-12. 4
- No. 10 Utah 27, Colorado 24: Utah is 6-0 for the first time since 2015. 24
- No. 12 Kentucky 21, Oklahoma 13: Will Stein is the first Kentucky coach to win six of his first seven games since Alpha Brumage in 1913. 4
- No. 14 Houston 35, Oklahoma State 32: Conner Weigman now has a five-touchdown game for Houston and for his previous school, Texas A&M. 4
- No. 17 Wake Forest 41, California 7: Wake Forest has scored 30 points in five straight road games for the first time in program history. 4
- No. 18 LSU 31, Mississippi State 0: Sam Leavitt's first career game with four touchdowns and no interceptions. 4
- No. 23 SMU 23, Virginia 13: SMU's streak of scoring 24 or more points ended at 10 games. 4
- No. 24 Northwestern 24, Michigan State 21: Northwestern beat Michigan State for the first time since 2018. 4
Iowa, USC, Boise State and Arizona were idle. 4
2027 NFL Draft: Week 7 stock movement
Five documents stand behind this section, and they were published on five different dates. Mel Kiper Jr. put out his first Big Board of the season on Oct. 15, with seven quarterbacks in the top 25. Jordan Reid filed his Week 7 notes on Oct. 18, after the games. His top 50 dates to Oct. 1 and his quarterback ranking to Oct. 9. 14151617
The NFL Draft Bible's Hot 100 is monthly, and its September edition is still the newest; the October slug does not exist yet, so every Hot 100 placement below is five weeks old. 18
| Prospect (position, school) | This week's evidence | Where the boards place him | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darian Mensah, QB, Miami | 23-of-34 for 326 yards and three touchdowns, the last a 3-yarder in the second overtime | No. 4 overall and the second quarterback on Kiper's Oct. 15 board; second on Reid's Oct. 9 quarterback ranking 1417 | Rising |
| Trinidad Chambliss, QB, Ole Miss | 241 yards, three touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in a 31-3 win | No. 6 overall and the third quarterback on Kiper's board; third on Reid's with a first-round grade 1415 | Rising |
| Charlie Becker, WR, Indiana | Nine catches for 165 yards in the 19-15 loss to Ohio State | No. 11 overall on Kiper's board, the second receiver behind Jeremiah Smith 1415 | Rising in a loss |
| Xavier Gilliam, DT, Tennessee | Half a tackle for loss, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery against Alabama | Pushed into the top group of defensive tackles in Reid's Week 7 notes 15 | Rising |
| Amare Thomas, WR, Houston | Seven catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns at Oklahoma State, his sixth touchdown catch of the season | Moved from early Day 3 to a top-100 grade in Reid's notes 15 | Rising |
| Sammy Omosigho, LB, UCLA | A standout day against Wisconsin, with five forced fumbles this season | Day 2 grade from Reid, behind Georgia's Chris Cole as the top linebacker 15 | Rising |
| Arch Manning, QB, Texas | Sacked five times and stripped on Texas's last possession; three fourth-quarter turnovers this season, most in the SEC | No. 24 overall and QB6 on Kiper's board, 17th and QB5 on Reid's top 50, No. 2 on the September Hot 100 141618 | Falling |
| CJ Carr, QB, Notre Dame | 261 yards, and a final pass that fell incomplete at the goal line | No. 8 overall and the fourth quarterback on Kiper's board 14 | Holding |
The Manning spread is the clearest measure of how far apart the boards are. The Hot 100 had him second overall in September, Reid's top 50 has him 17th, and Kiper's board has him 24th and sixth among quarterbacks. All three were set before the five-sack afternoon in Austin. 141618
Kiper's board agrees with Reid on the top of the quarterback group, and both put Miami's Mensah second behind Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker. Mensah's 326 yards and three touchdowns came in the game that made Miami No. 1 for the first time since 2002. 1417
Chambliss carries the widest gap between production and projection. He is 6-0 and 205 pounds and will be a 25-year-old rookie, which is why scouts were split on him; Reid still grades him a first-rounder and compares the skill set to Bryce Young and Russell Wilson. 15
Tennessee's defense produced three names in one afternoon. Gilliam is the headliner; Tyree Weathersby had two sacks against Alabama and has 5.5 in his past four games after managing one career sack before this season, and safety Dejuan Lane caught Reid's attention in Jim Knowles' defense. Reid puts Weathersby and Lane in the middle rounds. 15
Houston's Amare Thomas and UCLA's Omosigho are the week's quieter climbs. Thomas has six touchdown catches and a top-100 grade where he started the year as a Day 3 name; Omosigho, an Oklahoma transfer, has five forced fumbles and a Day 2 grade. 15
Ohio State's win cost it its quarterback for several weeks, which matters for a 2027 board that already lists Jeremiah Smith first overall. Smith had four catches for 68 yards and the 38-yard score on fourth down. 714
What's next
Four ranked matchups sit on the Oct. 24 slate. 4
- No. 7 Ole Miss at No. 19 Texas (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC): Manning gets a ranked opponent at home a week after the Florida loss.
- No. 14 Houston at No. 10 Utah (10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN): a 6-1 Houston team against a 6-0 Utah team, with the Big 12's early pecking order at stake.
- No. 5 Indiana at Michigan (noon ET, Fox): Indiana's first game after losing a 22-game winning streak.
- Pittsburgh at No. 1 Miami (noon ET, ESPN): Miami's first game as the top-ranked team since 2002.
BYU plays at UCF on Oct. 24 at 3:30 p.m. ET on Fox. Notre Dame is off until Navy on Oct. 31, and Ohio State is off until Oct. 31 at USC. 4
References
- 1
- 2The AP Top 25
apnews.com
- 3
- 4
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- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
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- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 182027 NFL Draft Hot 100 (September Edition)
allaccessfootball.com
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