Coming out of a wild Week 7, the Coaches Poll has a new No. 1 and a reshuffled top 25 after a Saturday that sent a handful of ranked teams tumbling.
The biggest mover near the top was BYU, which climbed five spots and surged into the top three after piling up 343 total points in the ballot. The Cougars did it with a signature win over then-second-ranked Notre Dame, a result that clearly changed the way the coaches viewed the top of the sport.
Kentucky also made a five-spot jump after shaking off a slow start and taking advantage of key Oklahoma giveaways in a road upset. At 6-1, the Wildcats are suddenly being treated as a legitimate playoff threat.
Florida made an even bigger statement in the poll, rising nine places to get back in after slipping out during a two-game losing streak. The Gators’ win at Texas was enough to win back the coaches’ confidence this week.
Texas took the hardest fall of the group, dropping 12 spots after coughing up a two-touchdown lead against Florida. With that loss, the Longhorns’ playoff outlook is now hanging by a thread.
Missouri also slid, falling eight spots after being held to a field goal in a 31-3 loss at Ole Miss.
Notre Dame and Alabama both lost ground too, though their drops were less severe. Notre Dame slipped three spots after losing on the road at BYU, while Alabama fell six places following a road defeat at Tennessee. That marked a second straight loss for the Crimson Tide after the week before’s setback against Georgia.
Two teams were pushed out of the rankings entirely. Mississippi State, which had been No. 19 last week, disappeared from the poll after a 31-0 loss at LSU without quarterback Kamario Taylor. Oklahoma State also got the boot after a narrow loss to Houston.
The teams that received votes but fell short of the top 25 were Arizona with 141, Oklahoma State with 87, James Madison with 80, Auburn with 55, Mississippi State with 32, Nebraska with 19, Oregon State with 17, New Mexico with 16, UTSA with 13, Michigan with 10, North Dakota State with 8, Wisconsin with 7, Duke with 7, North Carolina with 5, Pittsburgh with 4, Air Force with 3, and North Texas with 1.
In Other News...
Notre Dames BYU Loss Just Got Even More Infuriating
The sting from Notre Dames loss at BYU got sharper when the Big 12 acknowledged that an officiating error affected the games final sequence. One second remained on the clock, but it was not properly accounted for, and the replay crew incorrectly cleared the play that ended the game. For Notre Dame, that meant no extra snap on 2nd and goal and no chance to keep pushing for a late score.
The conference said it will review its end-of-game officiating process after the incident, a step that may matter less to the Irish than the result already does. In a tight game, one second is more than a technicality, and the acknowledgment only adds to the frustration over how it ended. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Just Got A Painful Reminder About Its Biggest Problem
Notre Dame got a stark reminder in Provo that the margin for error remains slim, even when the offense does enough to keep the game alive. At LaVell Edwards Stadium, the Irish spent most of the night chasing Brigham Young before briefly grabbing the lead late, only to watch the Cougars answer with under two minutes left in a 28-24 loss.
The result fit a familiar frustration for Notre Dame, which again found itself in a tight game where one stop, one clean sequence or one timely play could have changed the outcome. A significant defensive ejection added to the tension, and the late comeback bid had the kind of urgency the Irish needed, but not quite enough finish to turn it into a road win. [Read more 🡒]
Marcus Freeman Addresses What Went Wrong In Notre Dame's Costly Loss
Marcus Freeman spent his postgame time going straight to the two areas that hurt Notre Dame most in a costly loss to BYU: defensive discipline and red-zone execution. The defeat snapped the Irish's 16-game winning streak, and Freeman pointed to the problems BYU's misdirection offense created while also acknowledging that Notre Dame left points on the field with missed chances near the goal line.
Freeman also noted the adjustments the Irish tried to make after halftime, but the broader concern remains the same one that follows any tight loss to a quality opponent: execution in critical moments. For Notre Dame, the answer is not about effort or intent as much as cleaning up the details that determine whether a promising drive becomes a field goal, a touchdown or nothing at all. [Read more 🡒]