For anyone wondering whether college football could ever get back to the kind of weekly mayhem that defined 2007, this season has offered a loud answer. The top of the AP poll has been a revolving door, and October 2026 just stamped itself into the record book.
Five losses by AP top-2 teams in a single month tied the most since November 2007. It also marked the first time since November 2007 that the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the AP poll both finished a month with losing records, going 4-5.
That’s the kind of turbulence that instantly invites comparisons to 2007, the season that still stands as the sport’s chaos benchmark. In that year, a top-2 team lost in five straight weeks to close the season, the longest such streak ever, and No. 1 or No. 2 fell 11 times overall. What once felt like a one-off storm now has a rival.
As November begins, six different teams ranked No. 1 or No. 2 have already lost, the most before November since 1984. Only 1981 had more at that point, with seven.
Even more striking, five of those losses have come in the last four weeks. If another top-2 team goes down on Saturday, 2007 will no longer stand alone for the longest run of consecutive weeks with a top-2 loss.
Week 10 gives the sport a real chance to keep the madness rolling. No.
1 Miami heads to No. 4 Notre Dame, while No.
2 Georgia travels to No. 12 Ole Miss.
Both games carry the kind of danger that has already wrecked the rankings this fall. Miami has needed late escapes against a pair of unranked opponents lately, and Georgia already showed its vulnerability in a stunning loss to Auburn after moving to No.
The result has been a top tier with no one able to hold the throne for long. That’s a big part of what made 2007 so unforgettable, and this season is starting to echo it.
Back then, the chaos wasn’t just about the heavyweights stumbling. It was also about the cast of teams that briefly crashed the top of the poll.
Missouri, Kansas, South Florida, Boston College and West Virginia all spent time in the top 2, which gave the season its wild, anything-can-happen feel.
This year hasn’t fully reached that level yet, but it’s getting closer. Ohio State, Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas have accounted for five of the six top-2 losses so far, but Utah and UCLA are both undefeated and ranked in the top 5, and could be ready to move up if Miami or Georgia slips this weekend.
Kentucky sits at No. 8 and Wake Forest at No. 14, and the source of this season’s weirdness has already made room for the idea that a one-loss Wildcats or Demon Deacons team could push into the top 2. Even Indiana, described here as “college football powerhouse Indiana,” is part of the current picture.
The other thing this season has in common with 2007 is who’s doing the damage. In 2007, eight of the 11 top-2 losses came against unranked teams, which made the whole thing feel even less predictable.
This year, four of the six top-2 losses have come against unranked opponents. Yes, the SEC and Big Ten still dominate the top 25, but the gap between the elite and the middle of the sport feels smaller than it has in a long time.
That shift fits the broader shape of the modern game. After 2007, the sport moved into the Nick Saban-at-Alabama era, when talent piled up on a few rosters. Now, even though the best players still gravitate to the power conferences, it’s harder to stockpile depth two and three deep because players can find a place to play - and get paid - right away.
The backup quarterback issue is a perfect example of that reality. Teams don’t often have a reliable No. 2 waiting in the wings anymore because a quality backup at a top program can usually find a starting job somewhere else in college football’s middle class.
Whether this season turns out to be a one-year outlier or a sign of what’s coming next, it has already given the sport one of its wildest rides in nearly 20 years. And with a full month still left, the rankings don’t feel settled at all. As the College Football Playoff committee begins its weekly rankings, nothing at the top looks safe.
In Other News...
Georgia Just Got A CFP Warning Fans Can't Ignore
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season brought Georgia exactly where it expected to be in the conversation, sitting at No. 2 behind undefeated Miami. For a Bulldogs team with championship ambitions, the placement is a reminder that the margin for error is already thin, and that every week from here carries the kind of weight that can reshape the bracket picture.
The bigger buzz around the rankings came from the chaos around the rest of the top 10, where Alabama landed at No. 5 despite two losses and Tennessee was slotted much lower even with a head-to-head win over the Crimson Tide. Utah at No. 3 and UCLA at No. 8 only added to the debate over how the committee is weighing records, schedule strength and results on the field, leaving Georgia in a spot where it is secure for now but still very much watching the board. [Read more 🡒]
Georgias CFP Position Now Hinges On One Committee Debate
Georgias place in the first College Football Playoff rankings came with a familiar kind of respect and a fresh reminder of how tightly the margins can be in November. The committee slotted Miami at No. 1 and put Georgia right behind the Hurricanes at No. 2, while also showing a willingness to reward schedule strength by keeping Alabama at No. 5 despite two losses. It was an early snapshot, but one that made clear the Bulldogs are firmly in the national title mix and already part of the debate that will shape the rest of the season.
What makes Georgias position so interesting is that the committees explanation for the opening order did not stop with the top two. Ohio State and Notre Dame were also part of the discussion, with the group pointing to the factors that separated teams in the initial rankings. For Georgia, that means every week from here on out is about protecting a rsum that already looks strong, because the committee has shown it will weigh more than record alone when it starts sorting out the field. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Just Got A Playoff Reality Check Before A Huge Week
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season delivered an early snapshot of where Georgia stands in the national picture, and it came with a little less certainty than the Bulldogs might have hoped for. Miami landed at No. 1, Georgia checked in at No. 2, and the rest of the top tier included a mix of undefeated and one-loss teams that leaves plenty of room for movement as the season tightens up.
Indianas placement at No. 4 and Alabama at No. 5 only added to the sense that the race is still wide open, especially with several marquee games still ahead involving teams near the top. For Georgia, the ranking is a reminder that the margin for error is thin and that the next stretch will go a long way toward shaping where the Bulldogs land when the playoff picture starts to sharpen. [Read more 🡒]