Texas is still sitting on top of the AP Top 25 ballot, and after another chaotic weekend, the Longhorns have at least made the strongest case anyone can right now. A road win at Tennessee already stood out, and even with a messy finish there, Texas kept hold of No. 1 in a season where nobody has really pulled away from the field.
That uncertainty is the theme everywhere else, too. Indiana looked vulnerable, Oregon got a spark from a backup quarterback, and the week only added more fuel to the idea that just about anybody can be beaten on the right day. Texas may not be perfect, but it has the best résumé in the country at the moment.
Miami checks in at No. 2 after a 52-3 win over Central Michigan, though that kind of result doesn’t reveal much. What does stand out is the pair of players on the roster drawing legitimate Heisman attention: Malachi Toney and Darian Mensah.
Notre Dame holds third after handling Purdue with ease in a game that made the Irish look superior in every area. CJ Carr was central to that blowout, accounting for four total touchdowns.
Georgia comes in at No. 4, helped along by a dominant showing against Oklahoma. The Bulldogs were excellent, but the Sooners also made life easy with a rough performance of their own, and John Mateer’s mistakes handed Georgia points throughout the game.
Ohio State rounds out the top five, and Jeremiah Smith was impossible to miss in the Buckeyes’ win over Illinois. The star receiver piled up 217 receiving yards on 12 catches and scored four total touchdowns, turning the afternoon into a showcase performance.
Florida made the biggest move in the upper half of the ballot, climbing all the way to No. 6.
That’s a sharp rise from being ranked near the bottom of the top 25 last week, but the jump matches the Gators’ start. Their win over LSU was entertaining, and they followed that by making Ole Miss look second class.
Jon Sumrall appears to be the right fit in Gainesville, and the early results are backing that up.
Indiana is next at No. 7 after surviving a Friday night scare against Northwestern. The Hoosiers were in control for much of the game, but they had trouble finishing it off against a Wildcats team that is clearly better than it used to be. There’s not much alarm around Indiana, but it may be a touch more human this year than it was last season, even with a roster packed with talent.
Alabama sits at No. 8, and Keelon Russell is a major reason why. He threw for four touchdowns and added another on the ground in a win over South Carolina, making the Gamecocks pay from start to finish. With Russell at quarterback, Alabama looks like a team that may still be underrated at this spot.
BYU moves up one place to No. 9 after its bye week. The Cougars now turn to TCU, and based on the way the Horned Frogs have been trending, that matchup doesn’t look especially threatening.
Utah closes out the top 10. When the offense is rolling, the Utes look hard to stop, even with a new-look offensive line that still has some settling in to do.
There have been third-quarter issues in back-to-back weeks, though, so the question is whether that’s a real crack or just a temporary blip. Either way, Utah has been difficult to beat and now owns a 10-game streak of scoring at least 30 points, the longest active run in the FBS.
In Other News...
BYUs Big 12 Path Suddenly Runs Through Two Huge Tests
BYU used its weekend off to catch its breath, but the break did little to simplify the road ahead. The Cougars return to Big 12 play next weekend at TCU, and the conversation around their season is already shifting toward how they handle the stretch that follows, with Iowa State waiting as another major test. With BYU still in the mix near the top of the conference picture, every week now feels like a sorting exercise, especially in a league where the standings remain crowded and a few teams still have a realistic path to the championship game.
The Cougars have given themselves a chance because of the way they have played on offense, while their defense has been good enough to keep them in the race. But the next two games will say plenty about whether that profile translates against the kind of competition that can separate contenders from the pack. Utah, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Houston remain part of the broader Big 12 conversation too, which only adds to the pressure on BYU as it heads into a run that could either strengthen its case or leave it chasing from behind. [Read more 🡒]
Utah Just Sent A Clear Message In The Latest AP Poll
BYUs place in the AP Top 25 took a small hit after Week 4, slipping from No. 9 to No. 10 as the latest rankings settled in. The Cougars still sit well inside the national conversation, but the movement around them underscored how crowded the Big 12 picture is becoming, with Utah climbing two spots to No. 13 and other league teams continuing to jockey for position.
Oklahoma State also joined the poll at No. 19 after its win over West Virginia, adding another layer to a conference race that already has plenty of traffic. Texas Tech and Houston held steady or moved up as well, so for BYU the message from the latest poll was simple: every week is going to matter, and the margin between a rise and a slide is already razor thin. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Just Got A Ranking Boost Fans Needed To See
Five Big 12 teams are in the latest AP Top 25 poll, the most the league has had since October 2025, and that kind of league-wide recognition only adds to the weekly pressure at the top. BYU sits highest among them at No. 10, with Texas Tech at No. 12 and Utah at No. 13, while Houston has moved into the mix at No. 20 as the conference continues to stack ranked teams.
Oklahoma States debut at No. 19 after ending its long Big 12 skid was the other notable shakeup, a reminder that the leagues middle can change quickly once wins start to pile up. For Houston, the ranking is useful validation, but it also keeps the focus right where fans want it: whether the Cougars can keep climbing in a crowded conference race that suddenly looks even tighter. [Read more 🡒]