Ole Miss has crashed the top five, the SEC keeps piling up ranked teams, and Penn State sits at No. 13 in the latest AP Top 25 after a shakeup-heavy Sunday release.
The Rebels moved to No. 4 after their 32-24 win over LSU on Saturday night, jumping the Tigers and three other teams for their first top-five spot since they were No. 3 in the final poll last season. LSU slid three places to No. 10, while Texas stayed put at No. 1 for a second straight week.
Georgia checked in at No. 2, Notre Dame at No. 3 and Indiana at No.
- Miami, Ohio State, Alabama, BYU and LSU rounded out the top 10.
Texas kept the top spot after backing up its win over Ohio State with a 30-6 victory over UTSA. The Longhorns drew 58 of the 69 first-place votes from the media panel. Indiana received four, Georgia and Ole Miss got three each, and Miami picked up one.
The SEC’s depth was the story of the poll. The league placed 10 teams in the Top 25, marking the seventh time it has done that in a regular-season AP poll. The conference’s record is 11 ranked teams in back-to-back polls last September.
Two new SEC names joined the rankings this week. Florida entered at No. 21 after a 44-39 road win over Auburn, giving the Gators a 3-0 start for the first time since 2019 under first-year coach Jon Sumrall.
Florida is back in the Top 25 for the first time since Sept. 2, 2025.
Mississippi State is back as well, landing at No. 24 for the first time since 2022, when Mike Leach coached the Bulldogs. Jeff Lebby’s team, led by rising star quarterback Kamario Taylor, has won back-to-back road games for the first time since 2014 after erasing a 16-point deficit to beat South Carolina 41-34.
The weekend also brought major movement elsewhere. Louisville climbed seven spots to No. 16 after beating SMU 41-31, while SMU dropped six places to No.
- Texas A&M took the biggest tumble, falling from No. 9 to No. 23 after a 31-21 home loss to unranked Kentucky.
Oklahoma fell out after a second straight shaky offensive outing in a 14-6 win over New Mexico. Virginia also dropped out after losing 38-27 to West Virginia.
A few ranking notes stood out beyond the headline changes. Ohio State is ranked for the 100th straight AP Top 25, the third-longest active streak behind Alabama’s 299 and Georgia’s 152.
The Buckeyes are at No. 7, their lowest spot since Dec. 1, 2024.
BYU, now No. 9, hasn’t been this high this early in a season since 2009. Mississippi State’s No. 24 ranking is its highest in September since it was No. 23 on Sept. 23, 2018, not counting a No. 16 placement on Sept. 27, 2020, when the Big Ten was still out because of the pandemic.
The Big Ten placed seven teams in the poll, with Indiana at No. 5, Ohio State at No.
7, USC at No. 12, Penn State at No.
13, Iowa at No. 17, Michigan at No. 18 and Oregon at No.
- The Big 12 had four teams, the ACC had three, and Notre Dame remained the lone independent in the top 25.
This week’s ranked-on-ranked slate includes Texas at Tennessee, Ole Miss at Florida, Iowa at Michigan, Missouri at Mississippi State, Oregon at Southern California and Texas A&M at LSU. Texas and Tennessee meet for the first time since the 1969 Cotton Bowl.
The poll also offers a snapshot of the College Football Playoff picture. Based on Sunday’s rankings, Texas, Georgia, Notre Dame and Ole Miss would be the top four seeds. Indiana, Miami, Ohio State and Alabama would host first-round games.
Under the CFP format, the five highest-ranked conference champions - from the Power Four and one from the Group of Six - make the field, and the next seven teams fill out the rest. Notre Dame can claim one of those at-large spots if it finishes in the top 12 of the final CFP rankings.
Using the AP poll as a guide, the projected bracket would send BYU to Alabama, Boise State to Indiana, LSU to Ohio State and Texas Tech to Miami in the first round. The first three teams left out are USC, Penn State and Tennessee.
The AP will continue publishing bracket projections based on the weekly Top 25 until the CFP selection committee releases its first rankings on Nov. 3.
In Other News...
Penn State Already Has A New QB Question Fans Can't Ignore
Penn States non-conference tune-up slate against Marshall, Temple and Buffalo did not leave the quarterback picture any clearer, even with Rocco Becht opening all three games. The starter showed he can push the ball downfield, but the offense never got fully settled with him, and the red zone remains a problem area the staff still has to sort through.
Redshirt freshman Alex Manske also got his chances, and he looked capable enough to keep the conversation going with a handful of accurate throws and a few near completions that hinted at more upside. Connor Barry even saw the field, which only added to the sense that this is more than a one-man evaluation, and Manske appears to be positioning himself as the name to watch when Penn State starts thinking about next year. [Read more 🡒]
Bill OBrien Just Added Weight To Penn States Matt Campbell Bet
Bill OBriens take carried a little extra weight because he knows both sides of this equation. The former Penn State head coach, now at Boston College, publicly backed Matt Campbell as the Nittany Lions new leader, praising the hire and pointing to the scale of the job in State College. OBrien has lived the pressure and the expectations that come with that chair, so his approval is the kind of detail Penn State fans notice.
Campbell also has a small connection point through one of his past staffing moves, having hired a former Boston College assistant. Its another reminder that big college football decisions are rarely made in a vacuum, and Penn States new coach is stepping into a job with real history attached to it. OBriens endorsement does not settle every question, but it does add another layer to the early read on how Campbell fits the role. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Suddenly Has A Backfield Question Fans Will Notice
Quinton Martin Jr. was back in the conversation against Buffalo after sitting out Penn States game against Temple, and the change did not happen by accident. The young back responded by putting in the work on the practice field, caught the attention of coach Matt Campbell, and then earned meaningful snaps when the Nittany Lions got another look at their rotation. His payoff came with 10 carries for 100 yards, a strong reminder that opportunities in the backfield can come quickly when a player keeps pressing.
Martin has also drawn notice from teammates, which matters in a room where every rep is evaluated closely. The bigger question now is how Penn State sorts out those carries going forward, especially with Martin making it clear he wants to keep improving and force his way into more playing time. For a team still shaping its backfield pecking order, his response to one missed game has only made the next decisions more interesting. [Read more 🡒]