Indiana rises to No. 3 in AP top 25; Texas, USC re-enter the poll
Indiana State rose to No. 3 in the Associated Press college football poll on Sunday for its highest ranking in program history, while Texas and USC were among five teams entering the top 25 after losing to eight ranked teams — three of them previously undefeated — over the weekend.
Ohio State and Miami remained in the top two while the Hoosiers earned a four-point upgrade for their then-10-point win. 3 Oregon. No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 5 Ole Miss traded spots after the Aggies’ 17-point home win over Florida and the Rebels’ three-point home win over Washington State.
The Buckeyes strengthened their hold on first place with a solid win over then-No. 17 Illinois and received 50 first-place votes, 10 more than last week. Miami, which was idle, received 13 first-place votes and Indiana received the other three.
Texas A&M earned its highest regular season seeding since finishing third in September 1995.
Alabama moved up two spots to No. 6 and was followed by Texas Tech, Oregon, Georgia and LSU. Oregon State fell five spots and has its lowest ranking in 20 polls since it was eighth in September 2024.
Indiana’s groundbreaking run under second-year coach Curt Cignetti has been one of the biggest stories in college football since last season. The Hoosiers entered the Oregon game 0-46 on the road against top-five teams, and before Sunday, had never been ranked higher than fourth. Their three first-place votes are their most in a poll since they received the same number when they finished sixth on November 5, 1945.
Oklahoma fell eight places to 14th after its first loss, 23-6, to Texas. The Longhorns were the No. 1 team before the season, but a season-opening loss at Ohio State and a Week 6 loss at Florida knocked them out of the top 25.
By beating the rival Sooners, the Longhorns held a top-10 opponent without a relegation for the first time since 1979 and returned to the poll at No. 21. It was Texas’ first win of the season against a ranked opponent, and there won’t be another on the schedule for at least three weeks.
Missouri, which started 5-0, fell two spots to No. 16 after losing by three points at home to Alabama.
No. 20 Southern California, which was No. 2 in September, returned to the rankings thanks to an 18-point win over visiting Michigan.
No. 23 Utah returned after a three-week absence with a 32-point win over Arizona State.
No. 24 Cincinnati beat Central Florida at home for its fifth straight win and first since 2022.
No. 25 Nebraska came from behind to beat Maryland on the road and earn its first seed of the season. It is the first time since the 2013 and 14 seasons that the Cornhuskers have been ranked in back-to-back seasons.
Five teams — Michigan (15), Illinois (17), Arizona State (21), Iowa State (22) and Florida State (25) — have withdrawn from the poll, representing the largest turnover in a regular-season poll since seven teams withdrew on October 2, 2022.
Group call
seconds (10): Numbers 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 21.
Big Ten (5): Numbers 1, 3, 8, 20, 25.
Page 12 (4): Numbers 7, 15, 23, 24.
ACC (3): Numbers 2, 12, 18.
American (2): No. 19, 22.
Independent (1): No. 13.
rank vs. Rank
No. 5 Ole Miss (6-0) at No. 9 Georgia (5-1): Judging by their close call against Washington State, the rebels may have been looking forward to this call. They have lost six straight games in Athens since 1996.
No. 10 LSU (5-1) at No. 17 Vanderbilt (5-1): The Tigers have won 10 straight games in the series. Both teams will be seeded in this matchup for the first time since 1947.
No. 11 Tennessee (5-1) at No. 6 Alabama (5-1): This game is a top 25 game for the fifth year in a row. Both teams emerge with a difficult victory by three points.
No. 20 Southern California (5-1) at No. 13 Notre Dame (4-2): The stakes are high in this historic series as both teams cling to their playoff hopes.
No. 23 Utah (5-1) at No. 15 BYU (6-0): First Top 25 matchup in this matchup since 2009. Last year, the Cougars took advantage of a questionable defensive penalty on fourth down before kicking a field goal with 4 seconds left for a 22-21 win.