The new AP Top 25 is about to look nothing like it did a week ago.
Saturday’s chaos hit the rankings hard, with a pileup of ranked-on-ranked matchups and several heavy favorites going down across the country. The biggest headline is simple: there will be a new No. 1 in college football after another top team fell to an unranked opponent.
Georgia was the latest giant to stumble. Auburn didn’t just steal that game with a last-second field goal - it controlled big stretches of it.
The Bulldogs grabbed a quick 14-0 lead, then watched Auburn respond with ruthless efficiency, piling up three touchdowns and a field goal to move ahead by 10 before Georgia tied it late. Gunner Stockton had a chance to win it, but his fumble - his third turnover of the day - opened the door for Auburn to finish the job as time expired.
That kind of loss is going to cost Georgia in the AP poll, especially against an unranked team with two losses. Still, given the strength of the Bulldogs’ overall resume, they should remain inside the top 10.
Tennessee, meanwhile, delivered one of the weekend’s cleanest statements. Jim Knowles’ defense smothered Alabama in a 26-10 win, holding the Crimson Tide backs to 2.5 yards per carry and 54 rushing yards total while keeping Keelon Russell out of the end zone through the air.
Big Orange is now sitting near the top of the SEC race at 6-1 overall and 3-1 in league play. DeSean Bishop kept rolling, topping 100 rushing yards for the third straight time in SEC games and continuing to drive the offense.
For Alabama, the performance was the kind that sends AP voters hunting for the next team on the ballot. Scoring only 10 points on the road is not what anyone expected from a Kalen DeBoer team. Russell turned it over twice on Alabama’s first three possessions, and the only touchdown drive he produced came after a giveaway gave the Tide a short field.
The bigger issue showed up again in the trenches. The rushing attack never established itself, a problem from last season that was supposed to be fixed in 2026, and the offense went just 3 of 16 on third down while the protection unit absorbed 10 tackles for loss and five sacks.
That’s now two straight losses for Alabama after what happened against Georgia last week, and it will cost them in the AP poll. Even so, the playoff path is not shut. Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Chattanooga, and Auburn are still on the schedule, with a trip to LSU also ahead.
Ohio State escaped Bloomington with a 19-15 win against champion Indiana, but the victory came with a major asterisk. Julian Sayin will miss “several weeks” after injuring his throwing shoulder, and the Buckeyes are heading into matchups with USC and Oregon with their playoff future hanging in the balance.
Even before the injury, the offense wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire. The lack of a reliable deep threat has been a talking point again without Jeremiah Smith’s supernatural playmaking, and now Ohio State has to figure out a Plan B. Still, the Buckeyes could climb one spot to No. 3 over Miami after a road win against the ranked national champion.
Texas, by contrast, is spiraling. Arch Manning’s rough stretch continued in a second straight loss, this time to unranked Florida. Last week it was two interceptions against Oklahoma; this week, more mistakes, missed chances, and a late fumble finished off the Longhorns.
Just two weeks ago, Texas was the AP No. 1 team and the consensus projected top playoff seed. Now the margin for error is almost gone. Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri, and LSU are waiting over the next month, and the Longhorns will need near-perfect football to stay in the hunt.
BYU made sure the Big 12 had its own massive moment. The Cougars knocked off second-ranked Notre Dame in an instant classic, and that result could send BYU soaring into the top five.
Bear Bachmeier delivered the go-ahead touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter to reclaim a four-point lead, and BYU’s defense closed it out with a crucial stop as regulation expired. With losses piling up around the country - Texas, Alabama, Indiana, Georgia, and Notre Dame among them - BYU has a path to serious movement in the rankings.
That loss also shakes up the playoff picture for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were one win away from becoming the No. 1 team in college football, but BYU had other plans. Notre Dame takes its first loss of the season, and its margin for error is now much thinner with Miami coming to town in two weeks.
LSU also did its part to steady the ship. After losses at Ole Miss and Kentucky complicated Lane Kiffin’s debut season, the Tigers answered with a 31-0 win over Mississippi State to improve to 5-2 and get back to .500 in SEC play.
Kamario Taylor not playing quarterback for the Bulldogs helped, but LSU also benefited from Sam Leavitt’s turnover-free outing and four touchdown passes. The Tigers’ defense forced five turnovers on downs, and now a difficult stretch is coming fast: at Auburn, Alabama and Texas at home, and at Tennessee.
In Other News...
Texas May Be Getting A Very Different Florida Offense Than Expected
Floridas quarterback situation is suddenly a major subplot for the Longhorns, with Aaron Philo trending toward sitting out the upcoming game because of a shoulder injury. If he cannot go, Texas would be preparing for a different look entirely, with sophomore Tramell Jones lined up to make his first career start in a game that already carries plenty of weight for both teams.
Jones was a four-star recruit and has flashed efficiency in limited action this season, enough to draw praise from head coach Jon Sumrall as a potential starting quarterback. For Texas, that means the film and the plan may need a late adjustment, because the offense coming to Austin could be shaped as much by inexperience as by the usual Florida personnel. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Suddenly Has A Colin Simmons Problem Fans Will Fear
Colin Simmons gave Texas everything it could want from its star edge rusher before the game turned sideways against Florida. He had already piled up eight tackles, four tackles for loss and a sack when he went down with a lower-body injury early in the fourth quarter, a sequence that immediately changed the feel of the Longhorns defense.
Simmons was taken off the field for further examination, and Texas felt the effect almost right away as Florida moved ahead on a field goal while he was out. For a defense built around his disruption, the bigger concern now is how much time the Longhorns may have to manage without the player who had been driving their pass rush all game. [Read more 🡒]
Texas May Have A Colin Simmons Problem They Can't Afford
Texas got a scare in the fourth quarter against Florida when Colin Simmons, its star pass rusher and the nations sack leader, went down with an apparent leg injury. He was helped off the field and taken for further evaluation, leaving the Longhorns with an immediate concern about one of the most important players on their defense.
Simmons has been central to everything Texas wants to do up front, giving the Longhorns the kind of edge pressure that can change a game in a hurry. Any absence would put extra pressure on a defense that leans on him to disrupt opposing quarterbacks, and it adds another layer of urgency as Texas waits to learn more about the extent of the injury. [Read more 🡒]