top 25 There was an almost complete turnaround on Sunday after a weekend in which nine ranked college football teams lost, including four of the top 10. This is the highest turnover in the survey since 2022.
Ohio State was the only team to retain its spot, remaining ranked No. 1 for the eighth consecutive week.
No. 2 Indiana improved its program-record ranking by one spot. No. 3 Texas A&M’s promotion by one spot gave the Aggies their highest ranking since 1995. No. 4 Alabama achieved its highest ranking of the season and No. 5 Georgia returned to the top five after a three-week absence.
The remarkable performance in the poll continues further, with No. 10 Vanderbilt becoming a top-10 team in college football for the first time since 1947. And No. 7 Georgia Tech, which won at Duke, was not ranked in the top 10 since 2014 or higher since 2009.
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Here’s the latest:
USC, Memphis, Utah and Nebraska dropped out of the rankings after Week 8 losses. All four teams were vulnerable due to new additions to the top 25 in the bottom half of the survey.
Louisville moved up to 19th in the rankings after beating Miami on Friday night. No. 23 Illinois, No. 24 Arizona State and No. 25 Michigan each returned to the top 25.
The SEC remains at the top of the leaderboard for another week with 10 teams in the rankings: Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, LSU, Texas.
The Big Ten ranks second with five teams in the top 25, including the top two: Ohio State and Indiana. Then there’s Oregon, Illinois and Michigan.
The ACC and Big 12 each have four teams. For the ACC, it’s Georgia Tech, Miami, Virginia and Louisville. From the Big 12, it’s BYU, Texas Tech, Cincinnati and Arizona State.
The University of South Florida is the only ranked team from the American Conference. Notre Dame is independent.
Miami has been dethroned after being ranked No. 2 for two consecutive weeks. The Hurricanes’ loss to Louisville clears the way for Indiana, which improved to 7-0 with a 38-13 win against Michigan State on Saturday.
It was Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza’s fourth time this season with at least four passing touchdowns, solidifying his campaign for the Heisman.
This week’s No. 2 is the highest in Hoosiers’ program history.
Georgia returned to the top five after a 43–35 win against Ole Miss, which was ranked No. 5 at the time.
This is the Bulldogs’ first time in the top five since a loss to Alabama in late September. A few weeks later, Georgia is only one spot below the Crimson Tide.
The Bulldogs are known for resiliency and comebacks in the second half. Gunner Stockton led Georgia to two touchdowns and a field-goal scoring drive in the fourth quarter, overcoming a 35–26 deficit and solidifying the victory.
by Scott Hamilton
Of course, there are still a few weeks left in October, but the status of each conference remains in doubt.
The Big Ten has nine teams either tied for first place or just one game behind; Eight SEC teams are in the same position. And no more than three teams in any league are still undefeated in conference play. So every conference is ready to be held, which is great.
Despite all the complaints and groans about zero, revenue sharing, transfer portals, etc., we are rapidly finding ourselves in an era of parity the likes of which we have never seen before. If not from conference to conference, at least within the league.
It is a beautiful thing.
Scott Hamilton is a sports columnist Charleston Post and Courier And has been a top 25 voter for eight years. You can follow him on X: @scotthamiltonpc,
By Eric Olson
It was a tumultuous week for the Top 25 teams and the new poll reflects it: The only team to stay in the same spot was No. 1 Ohio State.
It was the third time this season that four top-10 teams lost in the same weekend. It was the second time that two unranked teams defeated a top-10 opponent.
Overall, the season’s top nine ranked teams lost this weekend, according to Sportradar, the most since Week 5 in 2022, when 10 top 25 teams lost.
1. Ohio State
2. Indiana
3. Texas A&M
4. Alabama
5. Georgia
6. Oregon
7. Georgia Tech
8. Ole Miss
9. Miami
10. Vanderbilt
11. BYU
12. Notre Dame
13.Oklahoma
14. Texas Tech
15. Missouri
16. Virginia
17. Tennessee
18. USF
19. Louisville
20. LSU
21.Cincinnati
22. Texas
23. Illinois
24. Arizona State
25. Michigan
Stock up: Indiana, Alabama, Georgia, Vanderbilt, BYU, Georgia Tech.
Stock Down: Miami, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, LSU, Nebraska, Memphis.
Louisville is likely to move into the top 25 for the first time this season after defeating Miami on its home field.
The Cardinals started off strong and held the lead throughout the game despite Miami’s late efforts.
Arizona State has been in and out of the rankings this season, most recently falling out of the survey after a loss to Utah. But this week the Sun Devils beat a top 10 Texas Tech team in a game that had no shortage of excitement.
Texas Tech scored two touchdowns in two minutes and took the lead with two minutes remaining. Arizona State responded with an efficient touchdown-scoring drive to secure the win 26-22,
by Scott Hamilton
I get what you’re saying: Notre Dame. But the Irish’s two losses came to elite teams by a combined four points. And Notre Dame has done what it needs to do — execute on a weekly basis against Power 4 opponents and Group of Six power Boise State’s schedule.
The Irish have won those games by an average of 25.5 points. I would be surprised if the Irish don’t make the College Football Playoff – and would be equally shocked if Notre Dame doesn’t win a game or two in it.
by Scott Hamilton
I’m really bullish on both Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech for several reasons.
First and foremost, they are both really good football teams. Maybe not man for man – LSU’s roster is far better than Vandy’s. But Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech are both wonderful examples of the sum being greater than the parts. Every player on every team has a role, knows his role and works to execute that role to the best of his ability.
Both teams have been very well coached – they know who they are and what they are and embrace it. I also really like how the schedule plays out ahead for both teams, especially Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets have four conference games remaining against opponents who are 13-15 overall, 5-10 in the ACC. Then they finished their traditional game against Georgia.
Barring a complete collapse, I don’t think Georgia Tech has any big plans over the holidays.
by Scott Hamilton
It promised to be an eventful weekend and it certainly delivered.
There were five ranked games and three were decided by one point. Even the other two were more competitive by the final margin.
But these are easy to assess for obvious reasons – you wouldn’t penalize a ranked team for losing to another ranked team by a small margin. Sometimes, you just turn their sights.
As far as the others, you have to weigh a few different factors for that specific game: location, injuries, etc., and then look at the losing team’s entire body of work up to that point.
LSU is a great example. Both of the Tigers’ losses have come to ranked teams on the road, so it’s hard to penalize too much; But they also don’t have a bundle of quality wins to really lift them up. So I have them ranked No. 25 and will be going from there next week when LSU plays at Texas A&M.
Five Top 25 teams maintained undefeated records during Week 8: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 3 Indiana, No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 12 Georgia Tech and No. 15 BYU.
Ohio State shut out Wisconsin 34-0Indiana defeated Michigan State 38–13. Texas A&M survived a close game against Arkansas and won 45–42. Georgia Tech defeats ACC rival Duke 27-18 And BYU swept Utah, coming out on top with a 24–21 victory.
No. 2 Miami, No. 5 Ole Miss, No. 7 Texas Tech and No. 10 LSU lost in Week 8 of college football play, clearing the way for a major shuffle in the top 10 of this week’s poll.
Those were the first losses of the season to Miami, Ole Miss and Texas Tech. Louisville stuns Hurricanes at home, picking off quarterback Carson Beck four times on Friday night and won 24-21.
Vanderbilt defeated LSU 31-24 on Saturday, an effort led by Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia. Ole Miss defeated Georgia 43–35 in the offensive shootout. And Arizona State defeated Texas Tech 26-22 in a last-minute thriller.
Since 1936, no organization has been ranking teams and naming a major college football national champion longer than the Associated Press.
Employees themselves do not vote, but they choose voters. The Top 25 voters include nearly 60 writers and broadcasters who cover college football for members and other select outlets. The goal is to have one Football Bowl Subdivision school in each state represented by at least one voter.
Voting is a straightforward points system: a first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote is worth 24 points, with 1 point less for a 25th-place vote.
Again this is just a summary of which teams are 1-25 based on totals. Other people who received votes are also noted.
Voting is done online, and tabulation is automated.
Five Top 25 teams maintained undefeated records during Week 8: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 3 Indiana, No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 12 Georgia Tech and No. 15 BYU.
Ohio State shut out Wisconsin 34-0Indiana defeated Michigan State 38–13. Texas A&M survived a close game against Arkansas and won 45–42. Georgia Tech defeats ACC rival Duke 27-18 And BYU swept Utah, coming out on top with a 24–21 victory.
No. 2 Miami, No. 5 Ole Miss, No. 7 Texas Tech and No. 10 LSU lost in Week 8 of college football play, clearing the way for a major shuffle in the top 10 of this week’s poll.
Those were the first losses of the season to Miami, Ole Miss and Texas Tech. Louisville stuns Hurricanes at home, picking off quarterback Carson Beck four times on Friday night and won 24-21.
Vanderbilt defeated LSU 31-24 on Saturday, an effort led by Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia. Ole Miss defeated Georgia 43–35 in the offensive shootout. And Arizona State defeated Texas Tech 26-22 in a last-minute thriller.
Since 1936, no organization has been ranking teams and naming a major college football national champion longer than the Associated Press.
Employees themselves do not vote, but they choose voters. The Top 25 voters include nearly 60 writers and broadcasters who cover college football for members and other select outlets. The goal is to have one Football Bowl Subdivision school in each state represented by at least one voter.
There is a 1 to 25 point system, with the team receiving the number 1 vote getting 25 points reduced to 1 point for the 25th place vote. After that, it’s simple: The teams with the most points in the poll are listed from 1 to 25, and other teams that received votes are also noted.
Voting is done online, and tabulation is automated. ___ This story has been corrected to show that the last time higher-ranked teams lost in a week was in Week 5 of 2022, not Week 6.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
