Texas is still sitting on top of the AP Top 25, and after a road win over Tennessee at Neyland Stadium, the Longhorns kept the No. 1 spot as the 2026 college football season rolls into Week 5.
The bigger story in this latest poll is how much movement showed up underneath the top line. Florida made the week’s biggest jump, climbing 13 places all the way to No.
- Ole Miss slid five spots to No. 9, while USC took a bigger hit, dropping six spots and falling out of the top 15 to No.
The rest of the top five stays packed with familiar names: Georgia checks in at No. 2, followed by Notre Dame, Miami, and Ohio State. Indiana is next at No. 6, with Alabama at No. 7.
Here’s the full AP Top 25 entering Week 5:
- Texas
- Georgia
- Notre Dame
- Miami
- Ohio State
- Indiana
- Alabama
- Florida
- Ole Miss
- BYU
- LSU
- Texas Tech
- Utah
- Iowa
- Oregon
- Mississippi State
- Tennessee
- USC
- Oklahoma State
- Houston
- SMU
- Boise State
- UCLA
- Kentucky
- Missouri
Among the teams just outside the rankings, Wisconsin led the way with 102 votes, just ahead of Duke with 101. Penn State followed with 98, then Wake Forest with 88 and Virginia Tech with 86. Michigan picked up 54, Pittsburgh 52, Nebraska 36, Louisville 25, Cincinnati 20, James Madison 10, Arizona 8, Minnesota 7, North Dakota State 6 and Northwestern 1.
The AP poll matters because it carries more weight than rankings like the Coaches Poll and the FWAA Poll, and it plays a role in determining which teams make the College Football Playoff. The Coaches Poll, meanwhile, is voted on by 65 FBS head coaches and is not part of the playoff selection committee’s formula for choosing the four teams that will play for the College Football Playoff National Championship.
The Associated Press has been running its college football poll since Oct. 19, 1936, making it the longest-running poll tied to national titles. The preseason poll began in 1950.
In Other News...
Texas Had To Address A Tennessee Celebration Vols Fans Wont Forget
Texas left Neyland Stadium with a hard-earned 20-17 win over Tennessee, but some of the attention afterward centered on behavior rather than the final score. Head coach Steve Sarkisian met separately with Colin Simmons and Raleek Brown to address celebrations that crossed the line, including the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty Simmons drew after a touchdown. For a road win that already carried plenty of weight, it became clear the postgame conversation had to include discipline as much as execution.
Sarkisian made clear he was not brushing it off, especially with Simmons viewed as a potential first-round NFL draft pick and expected to carry himself accordingly. The message was about professionalism and setting a standard moving forward, the kind of correction that can linger long after the scoreboard is forgotten. Tennessee fans may not have liked the result, but they certainly noticed the celebration, and Texas had to answer for it. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Just Gave Vols Fans A New Respect Debate
Tennessees narrow 20-17 loss to top-ranked Texas at Neyland Stadium left the Vols with the kind of mixed review that tends to linger. The defense and special teams did enough to keep the game tight, but the offense never fully found its rhythm, and that imbalance showed up again when the latest 247Sports SEC poll landed after Week 4.
Georgia claimed the No. 1 spot, Texas settled in at No. 2 and Tennessee slid to No. 8, a drop that adds another layer to the ongoing respect conversation around the program. Florida and Mississippi State made noticeable climbs, while Texas A&M and Ole Miss also moved down, but for Tennessee the bigger question is how much a close battle with the nations top team actually changes the conference view of the Vols. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Gets A Charged Auburn Test After One Ugly Wake-Up Call
Tennessee gets back on the road Saturday, Oct. 3, and the timing of Auburn could hardly be more instructive. Both teams are 3-1, and for Josh Heupels group, the trip comes with a quick chance to reset after the offense sputtered in the loss to Texas, a game that forced the head coach to talk openly about what needs cleaning up.
Champions Weekend adds another layer to the afternoon in Auburn, with Tennessee honoring past championship teams and individuals while the current roster tries to restore some momentum. The Vols do not have much margin for another clunker this early, and this matchup should say plenty about how quickly Heupels offense can respond to the wake-up call it just got. [Read more 🡒]