Week 1 didn’t leave the AP Top 25 with much chaos to sort through, but Miami still made a strong case for a rise.
The Hurricanes rolled Stanford 45-6 and opened the Mario Cristobal era the same way they’ve started all five of his seasons in charge: with a win. Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney both turned in performances that looked worthy of Heisman attention, and Miami took a clean first step toward what is expected to be another run at the College Football Playoff.
Still, the broader picture after the opening weekend is pretty straightforward. Twenty-four of the top 25 teams won, and the only ranked team to lose, No.
24 Louisville, fell on a game-ending field goal against No. 9 Ole Miss.
That kind of slate usually limits movement, with only a few teams likely to shuffle significantly.
At the top, Ohio State should hold No. 1.
Georgia and Notre Dame also have no real reason to slide after the way they handled overmatched opponents. The one team that creates the real intrigue is Oregon, which had to work against a Boise State team that may have been undervalued and could be the G6 representative in the CFP.
Here’s how the projected poll shakes out after Week 1:
- Ohio State Buckeyes, 56-3 win over Ball State
- Georgia Bulldogs, 63-3 win over Tennessee State
- Texas Longhorns, 59-7 win over Texas State
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 41-13 win over Wisconsin
- Indiana Hoosiers, 52-16 win over North Texas
- Miami Hurricanes, 45-6 win over Stanford
- Ole Miss Rebels, 41-38 win over Louisville
- LSU Tigers, 51-10 win over Clemson
- Oregon Ducks, 34-27 win over Boise State
- Texas A&M Aggies, 50-0 win over Missouri State
Texas moves ahead of Notre Dame here, but not past Georgia, which sets up a No. 1 vs. No. 3 matchup in Austin. Indiana and Miami both climb, Ole Miss gets credit for a top-25 win, and LSU jumps after flattening Clemson in a result that carried more weight than the score alone.
Oregon’s slide is notable, but it’s not a long-term problem. There’s plenty of season left to recover. LSU’s leap also pushes Oklahoma down a bit even though the Sooners did nothing wrong in a 51-0 win over UTEP.
- Oklahoma Sooners, 51-0 win over UTEP
- Alabama Crimson Tide, 48-10 win over ECU
- USC Trojans, 39-0 win over Fresno State
- Texas Tech Red Raiders, 33-10 win over Abilene Christian
- BYU Cougars, 63-7 win over Utah Tech
USC edges up a few spots and suddenly looks like a real contender for that final CFP at-large place. Alabama also stays firmly in the mix after handling ECU.
The middle of the poll stays mostly steady, but there is one notable omission. Michigan would not remain in the Top 25 for now, with another chance to work its way back when Oklahoma comes to town.
- Washington Huskies, 24-10 win over Washington State
- Penn State Nittany Lions, 45-0 win over Marshall
- Tennessee Volunteers, 56-9 win over Furman
- Utah Utes, 66-14 win over Idaho
- Iowa Hawkeyes, 40-0 win over Northern Illinois
- SMU Mustangs, 27-24 win over Florida State
- Houston Cougars, 33-20 win over Oregon State
- Missouri Tigers, 54-14 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff
- Louisville Cardinals, 38-41 loss to Ole Miss
- South Carolina Gamecocks, 57-0 win over Kent State
South Carolina takes the final spot, just ahead of Pitt. SMU’s win over Florida State looked better on paper than it did in execution, since the Mustangs kept making enough mistakes to keep the game tight. Louisville, meanwhile, stays in the poll despite the loss because of how strong its showing was against Ole Miss.
In Other News...
SMU Just Took A Shot At Miami's QB Debate
Rhett Lashlee has no interest in hiding how he feels about the quarterback conversation shaping up in the ACC. In an ESPN interview, the SMU coach put Kevin Jennings in the same breath as Miamis Darian Mensah, using Jennings yardage against a stronger opponent to frame his own signal-caller as one of the leagues top answers under center.
For Miami, though, the comparison comes with a little extra edge because Mensahs recent outing against Stanford was cleaner, with a high completion rate, multiple touchdown throws and no turnovers, while Jennings was working through a closer win over Florida State that included more interceptions and a lower quarterback rating. The two quarterbacks are still firmly in the mix as the ACC Championship race takes shape, even if their teams wont cross paths in the regular season. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Fans Have One Fair Question About This AP Poll Snub
Miamis rise in the AP Top 25 has been steady enough that a sixth-place vote one week and no mention at all the next stands out immediately. Brian Fonseca, one of the polls voters, left the Hurricanes off his ballot after ranking them sixth the previous week, even though Miami still checked in at No. 7 overall.
The omission has only added to the intrigue because Miamis point total would have moved ahead of Oregons if Fonseca had included the Hurricanes, which could have shifted the order in the poll. Fonseca has not offered an explanation, so the most obvious reading is that it was simply an oversight, but until theres clarification, it leaves Miami fans with a fair question about how one ballot changed the picture. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Commit A'mir Sears Is Fueling A Huge Recruiting Push
Amir Sears has already become one of the biggest early drivers of Miamis 2027 recruiting buzz. The five-star commit has played well to open the high school season, even as his team took a loss to St. Thomas Aquinas, and his presence has helped give the Hurricanes a class that is drawing national attention. He is part of a group that already includes quarterback CJ Cypher, another notable pledge whose long-term path remains a talking point.
For Miami, the bigger picture is how much momentum these early commitments can create as the cycle keeps moving. The Hurricanes are watching a highly regarded class take shape, and the interest around Sears only adds to the sense that this group could keep climbing if the right pieces stay in place. Upcoming games will give him more chances to build on his start, while the recruiting side of the story continues to carry as much intrigue as anything happening on the field. [Read more 🡒]