The Top 25 made Texas its new No. 1 team thanks to a historic day on the field Saturday. 1 team.
The Longhorns beat top-ranked Ohio State in the largest fourth-quarter rally ever seen vs. an No.
The drive had a promising start before ending in a lost fumble. Teams ranked No. But there was still be movement down the ballot. Stick around for more predictions, voter Q&A and live updates. By KOKI RILEY How would you rank UGA after their first two weeks? They played cupcakes but scored a historic amount. Ethan C. There’s very little we can take away from Georgia’s first two weeks. That’s why I’ve tended to lean on my preseason evaluation of the Bulldogs, which tends to be much lower than many of my colleagues in the poll. I worry about Georgia’s lack of playmaking at receiver and its pass rush. The latter was especially an issue last season, and I’m not convinced the Bulldogs did enough this offseason to fix it. I’m fascinated to see how right or wrong I am once they start playing better teams. Georgia wide receiver Talyn Taylor catches a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Western Kentucky, Saturday, Sept. You can follow him on X: @KokiRiley By MAURA CAREY The Southeastern Conference’s pair of promising freshman quarterbacks, Faizon Brandon and Keelon Russell, were each tested on the road this week, and they both passed. It wasn’t a great week for the Big Ten, which saw its two highest-ranked programs suffer road losses. Ohio State and Oregon entered the season at Nos. Now the question is whether they will retain top-five status. The focus begins with voter representation in states with a Bowl Subdivision school, and the total number of voters from each state increases with the number of FBS teams. There are also spots reserved for national voters.
6 Oregon, which fell all the way to No. 21 after losing to to Oklahoma State. 12 and below all won their matchups. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 1. Texas 2. Georgia 3. Notre Dame 4. Indiana 5. Miami 6. Ohio State 7. LSU 8. Ole Miss 9. Alabama 11. BYU 12. USC 13. Texas Tech 14. Penn State 15. Tennessee 16. SMU 17. Utah 18. Iowa 19. Michigan 20. Missouri 21. Oregon 22. Houston 23. Louisville 24. But he played Saturday like a fire was lit under him, carrying Michigan to a 17-10 win against No. 11 Oklahoma. It was a tough day for Sooners’ quarterback John Mateer, who lost all momentum after back-to-back scoring drives with a pick at Oklahoma’s 30-yard line. Would this keep them at 1 over Texas? 12, 2026, in Athens, Ga. — Sports writer Koki Riley has been an Top 25 voter for three seasons. Week 2 was rife with viral moments, starting with a $1.2 million kick on College GameDay. In Pat McAfee’s kicking contest, Texas freshman Connor Kacena-Merrell won $600,000 personally and $600,000 for charity after drilling a barefoot 33-yard field goal. Oklahoma State’s upset over Oregon led fans to storm the field — and in 2024 Vanderbilt fashion, the goalpost was carried off into the nearest body of water: the Theta Pond. 1 and 2. Ohio State allowed 21 unanswered points in the final 15 minutes after leading 23-3 through the first three quarters. The Buckeyes fell to Texas 24-23. The Oregon Ducks lost 39-31 in a major upset by Oklahoma State. On the upside, Indiana held its own among the top 10-ranked Big Ten teams with a 55-0 win over Howard. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Top 25 voters are writers and broadcasters who cover college football . employees do not vote, but they do choose the voters, and they seek wide representation from all over the country. This season, there are 69 voters.
Oklahoma Virginia By MAURA CAREY Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood was under the spotlight this week after saying “that’s cool” in response to his job being in jeopardy. Akron’s “OC for a day” winner Marty Whims led the Zips’ opening drive as promised.
There were other changes down in the rankings, too after a stunning loss by the Big Ten’s previously No.
And the Wolverines capitalized on a fourth-quarter interception with a one-yard rushing touchdown to break a tie. Underwood ran the ball in for a 38-yard rushing touchdown to give Michigan an early lead.
Brandon followed a historic debut by leading Tennessee to a 45-24 win against Georgia Tech. Coach Josh Heupel said his performance may not have been flashy on paper, but with 148 passing yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers, it was what the Volunteers needed from the young signal-caller. Meanwhile, Russell completed 16 of 23 passes for 188 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He led four second-half touchdown drives to put the game out of reach and boost Alabama to a 45-17 win over Kentucky after the Tide trailed 14-13 at halftime. Gage Spoiler alert, but Michigan made my Top 25 this week. I was particularly impressed with how the Wolverines controlled the line of scrimmage defensively. — Sports writer Koki Riley has been an Top 25 voter for three seasons. 1 in my preseason poll to unranked in two weeks. That’s what we saw on Saturday when the Ducks were outgained by nearly 300 yards against Oklahoma State following a rough showing the week before at home against Boise State. The Ducks will probably crack my rankings again soon, but almost nothing they’ve done so far suggests they’re a Top 25 team. — Sports writer Koki Riley has been an Top 25 voter for three seasons. The poll operates on a 1 to 25 point system, with the No. 1 team receiving 25 points down to the 25th team receiving 1 point. In between, the poll lists the teams with the most points from 24 down to 2. Teams that receive votes but not enough to make the top 25 are noted separately. 1 spot after scoring 21 unanswered points in a come-from-behind 24-23 win against Ohio State. Oklahoma State delivered a 39-31 upset over No. 6 Oregon, putting the Ducks’ status in question. Michigan could be on its way back into the rankings after a 17-10 win against No. 11 Oklahoma.
By KOKI RILEY Will Michigan be considered for ranking after beating Oklahoma? I don’t think this win fully makes up for last week’s debacle against Western Michigan, especially given how poor Oklahoma looked on offense, but give credit where credit is due. Michigan looked much better this week. You can follow him on X: @KokiRiley By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS For decades, voters called, emailed and faxed their votes to the and ballots were tabulated by hand. Now voting happens online and the count is automated first before checks for miscues. By MAURA CAREY The allows broad latitude for voters to determine their rankings. They are urged to base their votes on performance, not reputation or preseason speculation ; to avoid regional bias, for or against; to pay attention to head-to-head results; and to make significant changes if desired. By MAURA CAREY Texas is eyeing the No. The Buckeyes, meanwhile, hope to retain top-five status. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
You can follow him on X: @KokiRiley By KOKI RILEY Koki, please walk us through your balloting for Oregon from the preseason poll to today’s poll, where you dropped them out altogether. sports editor Dave Zelio Not to spoil my column too much, which is up now at Nola.com , but it was always going to take a pretty crazy turn of events for Oregon to drop from No.
