First-year head coaches are leaving their fingerprints all over college football, and the AP Top 25 is starting to catch up.
That was the big takeaway as the latest ballot came together this week: the teams creating the most noise right now are often the ones nobody fully knew what to expect from in August. A long offseason gives everyone time to build opinions, but the games have a way of blowing those ideas apart fast. What’s happening now is a wave of turnarounds, and a lot of it starts with new voices on the sideline.
Florida is the clearest example. Jon Sumrall has reshaped the Gators into a team that plays tough, physical and smart.
On offense, coordinator Buster Faulkner is running one of the sport’s most creative and entertaining units, with Jadan Baugh giving Florida what may be the best running back in the country. The Gators have already matched their win total from the entire 2025 season, and it’s only September.
For the first time in five years, Florida is back in the top 10, and it looks deserved.
The ballot also reflects the rise of UCLA, Oklahoma State and Kentucky, all of whom are ranked this week for the first time this season. Oklahoma State had already been on the radar for a few weeks, and Kentucky got there after its road win over Texas A&M, so the rest of the voters were a little slow to the table.
Still, these are the kinds of teams that have earned the attention. They’ve put together some of the best wins of the young season.
At UCLA, Bob Chesney has guided a squad with three Power 4 wins, including two on the road. The pattern is familiar by now: a former James Madison coach brings along assistants and players, lands at a Big Ten job and immediately makes it work. It’s the Curt Cignetti model, or maybe the JMU playbook by this point.
Eric Morris has done something similar at Oklahoma State. He brought 21 players from his North Texas days with him to Stillwater, including quarterback Drew Mestemaker, who led the Cowboys to their stunning upset of Oregon. That kind of continuity has sped up the rebuild.
None of that guarantees a conference title race or a College Football Playoff push in December. But these teams are already supplying some of the season’s most compelling storylines, and that matters.
There are a few other teams worth watching closely in the rankings picture. Wake Forest has two road wins over Power 4 opponents, including one against then-No.
16 Louisville, and its only loss came by 13 points to Miami in a game that held up as one of the better showings anyone has managed against the Hurricanes this season. Wake should be ranked, and so should Duke.
Friday night’s Pitt-Virginia Tech game could also produce another ranked team next week, if the voters are paying attention to ACC play.
Utah, meanwhile, is getting less national attention than it should. The Utes are the team this writer would take to win the Big 12 right now, and they’ve been dominant in Morgan Scalley’s first season.
The issue is visibility. Utah may not fully register with the broader voting public until its Oct. 24 game against Houston.
There was also some real debate over Oklahoma State, especially when weighed against Oregon. The Ducks’ win over USC gave them two top-25 victories, which makes their resume look stronger than Oklahoma State’s, even with the Cowboys’ Week 2 win over Oregon in the head-to-head meeting.
Oklahoma State has one top-25 win and a bad loss to Tulsa, and that has to count against it. Still, head-to-head remains part of the equation, and it could come back into play later if the two teams become more directly comparable.
In Other News...
Florida May Have Made A Huge Impression On Elite WR Target
Easton Royals trip to Gainesville came at a good time for Florida, and the No. 1 thing the Gators could show him was the kind of offense that can sell itself. The five-star wide receiver was on campus for Floridas game against Ole Miss, a 52-28 win that gave him a front-row look at an attack that is putting up points and, just as importantly for a receiver, helping its quarterback develop.
Royal has already been committed to Texas, but he is still weighing his options with the Early Signing Period approaching, and Florida clearly left an impression. His interest in the Gators appears tied to the kind of production and quarterback growth he saw in person, with LSU also staying in the mix as the chase for one of the nations top pass catchers continues. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Heads Into Missouri With Undefeated Start Suddenly Under Pressure
Floridas undefeated start has earned it a spot among the early national talking points, but the mood around the program changes a little as it heads to No. 25 Missouri for an Oct. 3 matchup at Faurot Field. The No. 8 Gators are 4-0 after a 52-28 win over Ole Miss, a result that kept them rolling and added another layer of confidence to a schedule that now starts to sharpen.
Jon Sumralls injury updates offered a reminder that even a strong start comes with moving parts, especially this time of year when depth and availability can shape a road game as much as rankings do. Florida has already banked a few encouraging results, and the next stretch will tell a lot about whether this opening run is the beginning of something bigger or just a fast start that still has plenty to prove. [Read more 🡒]
Trinidad Chambliss Had Fans Talking After This Classy Postgame Moment
After Floridas 52-28 win over Ole Miss, one of the nights most talked-about moments came long after the final whistle. Trinidad Chambliss, who put together a strong outing of his own with 298 passing yards and three total touchdowns, stayed on the field and waited respectfully while Florida coach Jon Sumrall finished a live postgame interview before stepping in to offer a handshake and congratulations.
It was a small gesture, but the kind that tends to travel fast because it says something about a players presence beyond the box score. Ole Miss is 3-1 and heading into a bye week before turning its attention to Vanderbilt, and Chambliss has already drawn praise from coach Pete Golding for his leadership and character, which only made the postgame scene resonate even more with fans watching closely. [Read more 🡒]