Florida is back in the Top 25, Ohio State is headed back to No. 1, and Saturday’s chaos is going to shake up the AP Poll in a big way.
The Gators’ 24-27 upset win over Texas gives them the kind of result that can shove a team right back into the conversation, and this feels like Jon Sumrall’s signature win for the 2026 season. It also came at exactly the right moment, with Florida still working through a brutal stretch of games.
Elsewhere, the day was pure college football disorder. Indiana’s 22-game winning streak ended in a loss to Ohio State, while Notre Dame saw its 16-game run snapped in a road loss to BYU. A bunch of teams that had been eyeing the College Football Playoff picture got jolted back to reality, including Mississippi State and Missouri.
With the field expanding to 24 teams soon, there’s a sense that more teams are going to be part of the discussion anyway. For now, though, here’s how the projected AP Top 25 shakes out:
- Ohio State
- BYU
- Miami
- Georgia
- Notre Dame
- Indiana
- Ole Miss
- Tennessee
- Texas Tech
- Utah
- UCLA
- Kentucky
- Iowa State
- Alabama
- Houston
- Wake Forest
- USC
- Texas
- LSU
- Boise State
- Missouri
- Florida
- SMU
- Northwestern
- James Madison
The broader trend here is that poll voters haven’t been hammering teams too hard for one loss, but a second defeat is where the damage really starts to show up. Alabama could be one of the teams that feels that pain after getting waved in Knoxville, and Missouri should drop after a 31-3 loss that’s hard to spin any other way.
Florida’s return at No. 22 feels justified in this projection. The Texas win matters, even if the Longhorns are starting to look shaky in the larger picture. The result still counts for the Gators, and it counts as a major one.
And yes, James Madison sneaks in at No. 25. Sometimes all you can do is move with the pack and find your place.
In Other News...
Florida's Win At Texas Just Changed The Gators' Postseason Outlook
Floridas Week 7 win at Texas gave the Gators more than a marquee road result. It also showed up in the numbers, with ESPNs Football Power Index lifting Florida six spots to No. 19 and nudging the teams projected regular-season finish to 7.7-4.3. For a program still trying to build momentum, a jump like that is a meaningful sign that the path forward is looking a little brighter.
Floridas improved outlook now stretches beyond the win column, too. The Gators odds of running the table, reaching the College Football Playoff and even contending for the conference all ticked upward after the upset in Austin, a reminder that one big victory can reshape the rest of a season. The FPI top 25 after Week 7 reflects how much movement came from the weekend, and Florida suddenly sits in a more interesting spot than it did before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Fans Are Running Out Of Patience With This Offense
Texas walked out of Gainesville with a second straight loss, and the frustration surrounding the Longhorns is no longer just about the result. The defeat to unranked Florida put the offense under the microscope, with the conversation quickly turning to play-calling, quarterback play and whether the group around Arch Manning is giving the team enough to work with. What had been a promising season now feels a lot more precarious, and the noise around the offense is only getting louder.
Steve Sarkisian has already said everything will be evaluated, including the quarterback position and the way the offense is being run. For Texas, that kind of public reassessment usually signals a stretch where changes are at least on the table, even if they are not immediate. The Gators may have simply been the latest opponent to expose the Longhorns' issues, but the bigger story is how quickly patience is wearing thin in Austin. [Read more 🡒]
London Montgomery Gave Florida The Spark It Desperately Needed
For a Florida team that needed a jolt, London Montgomery supplied it in all the right places against Texas. The senior running back and kick returner was a steady presence in the Gators' 27-24 win, giving the offense a little breathing room with four carries for 20 yards while also tilting the field on special teams. His five kick returns totaled 105 yards, and the hidden value of those touches showed up in the way Florida was able to build better starting positions and keep drives moving toward the end zone.
Montgomery's impact was less about one explosive highlight than the kind of complementary play every team needs in a tight game. Florida has been searching for more spark, and he helped provide it by turning routine special-teams snaps into momentum and by giving the offense a chance to operate without constantly working uphill. In a three-point game, those margins mattered, and Montgomery made them count. [Read more 🡒]