Coming out of a wild Week 7, the Coaches Poll has a new No. 1 and a reshuffled top 25 after a Saturday that sent a handful of ranked teams tumbling.
The biggest mover near the top was BYU, which climbed five spots and surged into the top three after piling up 343 total points in the ballot. The Cougars did it with a signature win over then-second-ranked Notre Dame, a result that clearly changed the way the coaches viewed the top of the sport.
Kentucky also made a five-spot jump after shaking off a slow start and taking advantage of key Oklahoma giveaways in a road upset. At 6-1, the Wildcats are suddenly being treated as a legitimate playoff threat.
Florida made an even bigger statement in the poll, rising nine places to get back in after slipping out during a two-game losing streak. The Gators’ win at Texas was enough to win back the coaches’ confidence this week.
Texas took the hardest fall of the group, dropping 12 spots after coughing up a two-touchdown lead against Florida. With that loss, the Longhorns’ playoff outlook is now hanging by a thread.
Missouri also slid, falling eight spots after being held to a field goal in a 31-3 loss at Ole Miss.
Notre Dame and Alabama both lost ground too, though their drops were less severe. Notre Dame slipped three spots after losing on the road at BYU, while Alabama fell six places following a road defeat at Tennessee. That marked a second straight loss for the Crimson Tide after the week before’s setback against Georgia.
Two teams were pushed out of the rankings entirely. Mississippi State, which had been No. 19 last week, disappeared from the poll after a 31-0 loss at LSU without quarterback Kamario Taylor. Oklahoma State also got the boot after a narrow loss to Houston.
The teams that received votes but fell short of the top 25 were Arizona with 141, Oklahoma State with 87, James Madison with 80, Auburn with 55, Mississippi State with 32, Nebraska with 19, Oregon State with 17, New Mexico with 16, UTSA with 13, Michigan with 10, North Dakota State with 8, Wisconsin with 7, Duke with 7, North Carolina with 5, Pittsburgh with 4, Air Force with 3, and North Texas with 1.
In Other News...
BYU Gets Defensive Reinforcements Before Notre Dame With One Big Unknown
BYUs defense is getting some help at the right time, with linebacker Isaiah Glasker and strong safety Raider Damuni expected back for the matchup with Notre Dame. Glasker is slated to rejoin the starting lineup after recovering from injury, while Damuni is set to contribute in key defensive snaps even though he will not start.
The bigger question hanging over the Cougars is what the rest of the rotation will look like by game time. Running back Sione Moa has been cleared to play, but his status for the game is still unclear, and there has been no announcement yet on nickel back and punt returner Cannon DeVries. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Just Turned Notre Dame Into A Pride Statement
Fred Warner has become one of the more recognizable BYU alums in football, and now he is lending his voice to one of the biggest nonconference stages on the Cougars calendar. The former BYU linebacker narrated an official hype video ahead of the upcoming matchup with Notre Dame, a game the program is already casting as more than just another intersectional showdown. The clip leans into the schools shared faith-based backgrounds while also underscoring how far BYU has come since settling into the Big 12.
The matchup is set for October 17, 2026, with kickoff at 5:30 p.m. MDT on ABC, and it arrives with the kind of national visibility BYU has been chasing in its new conference home. Between Warners involvement and the messaging around the programs rise, the Cougars are clearly treating this one as a statement opportunity, even before the first snap is ever played. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Freshman Turned A Last-Second Opening Into An Unreal Payday
A late opening on College GameDay turned into a life-changing moment for BYU freshman Carter Smith, who stepped into Pat McAfees Kicking is easy competition and drilled a 33-yard field goal for a $1 million prize. The scene had the feel of one of those chaos-filled broadcast moments that only college football can produce, and Smith made the most of it after earning the chance when the original winner was disqualified for failing to provide identification.
The payday only got bigger from there, with Utah Jazz and Mammoth owner Ryan Smith and his partner doubling the prize to $2 million and adding another $1 million for charity. For BYU, it was a reminder that one unexpected opportunity can change everything in an instant, and for Carter Smith it turned a brief window on national television into something far beyond a routine kicking contest. [Read more 🡒]