The AP Top 25 didn’t just move on Sunday - it got blown wide open.
Five of the top eight teams lost on the same day, the first time that’s ever happened in AP poll history, and the result was a rankings reset that pushed Miami to No. 1 and sent BYU rocketing to No. 2. The undefeated Hurricanes picked up 40 first-place votes and moved past Georgia, which dropped to No. 5 after a last-second home loss to unranked Auburn.
BYU’s rise was the other major headline from the shakeup. The Cougars climbed six spots after beating then-No.
2 Notre Dame in a finish that stirred immediate controversy, and the Big 12 later said officials erred by not putting another second on the clock. Notre Dame fell to No. 4 anyway, while the conference’s good day kept rolling with Texas Tech jumping two spots to No. 8 after a blowout win over Arizona State.
The Big 12 now owns three teams in the top 10, the best mark of any conference. The Big Ten also has three - Ohio State, Indiana and UCLA - while the SEC has two.
For the SEC, this was a rough one. A week ago, the league had four teams in the top 10 and seven in the top 15.
Now it’s down to two top-10 teams and five in the top 15. Ole Miss was the only top-10 team from last week to get through Saturday untouched.
Georgia, Texas and Alabama all fell, with two of those losses coming at home, and the league no longer has an unbeaten team. With a nine-game conference schedule in place, the path through the SEC is only getting harder, and this week’s carnage made that plain.
The rankings also put a spotlight on two first-year head coaches who have already turned their programs into surprises. UCLA checked in at No. 9, while Kentucky landed at No. 12, and both teams have surged under new leadership.
Bob Chesney has UCLA at 6-0 after taking over a program that went 3-9 last season and lost DeShaun Foster after just three games. The Bruins’ 17-7 win over Wisconsin, even without quarterback Nico Iamaleava, was the kind of result that makes the top-10 ranking feel earned. It’s UCLA’s first time in the top 10 since 2022.
Kentucky’s climb has been just as striking. Will Stein inherited a team that finished 5-7 in Mark Stoops’ final season, but the Wildcats are now 6-1 in the SEC with wins over LSU, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. They could still keep rising with Vanderbilt next on the schedule.
Here’s how the Week 8 AP Top 25 shook out:
- Miami (40), 6-0
- BYU (20), 6-0
- Ohio State (9), 6-1
- Notre Dame, 6-1
- Georgia, 6-1
- Indiana, 6-1
- Ole Miss, 5-1
- Texas Tech (1), 6-0
- UCLA, 6-0
- Utah, 6-0
- Tennessee, 6-1
- Kentucky, 6-1
- Alabama, 5-2
- Houston, 6-1
- Iowa, 5-1
- USC, 6-1
- Wake Forest, 6-1
- LSU, 5-2
- Texas, 4-2
- Florida, 5-2
- Boise State, 5-1
- Missouri, 5-2
- SMU, 5-1
- Northwestern, 5-1
- Arizona, 5-1
In Other News...
BYU Win Over Notre Dame Just Sparked A Brutal New Debate
BYUs win over Notre Dame is still drawing attention, but not for anything that happened in the huddle or between the whistles. The Big 12 acknowledged that the game clock should have shown one second remaining after an incomplete pass by Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr, a call that would have given the Irish one more snap from BYUs 8-yard line.
Instead, the replay officiating crew cleared the play and the game ended without another chance for Notre Dame to work the ball. The conference said it will conduct a complete review of the end-of-game officiating process, which leaves the result intact for now but adds another layer to a finish that was already going to be dissected closely. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs Notre Dame Win Just Took A Controversial Turn
BYUs 28-24 win over Notre Dame had already been the kind of nonconference result that travels well, but the ending has now become its own story. The Big 12 acknowledged an officiating mistake in the final seconds, saying there was still time left on the clock when Notre Dames last pass fell incomplete, a play that helped seal the Cougars victory.
The conference also said the replay officiating crew incorrectly cleared the sequence, which meant Notre Dame should have had one more chance to go after the win. For BYU, the result still stands, but the aftermath has pushed the spotlight from the Cougars late stand to the mechanics of how the game was managed, and the Big 12 says it will review its end-of-game officiating procedures after the error. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs Notre Dame Win Now Comes With One Uncomfortable Question
BYUs win over Notre Dame has taken on an uneasy afterlife, with the Big 12 admitting officials made an error on the final play. The conference said one second should have remained on the clock, which would have given Notre Dame another snap after the Cougars thought they had already secured the result.
The league also said the replay officiating crew incorrectly cleared the play while time was still left, and now it plans a full review of its end-of-game officiating process before upcoming games. For BYU, the victory still counts, but the aftermath has turned one of the seasons biggest results into a reminder that even the cleanest-looking finish can leave an uncomfortable question hanging over it. [Read more 🡒]