A shake-up is coming to the AP Top 25 after a wild Week 6, and the biggest question is simple: who takes over at No. 1?
Texas opened the weekend at the top of the poll, but the Longhorns’ first loss of the season to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry opens the door. Georgia also did its part, knocking off then-No. 6 Alabama, and that win puts the Bulldogs squarely in the mix for the top spot when Sunday’s rankings drop.
Exactly how far Texas falls is the intrigue. The Longhorns still have a win over No.
5 Ohio State on their résumé, which should help cushion the drop. Alabama’s fate is less certain after a close home loss to Georgia, and it remains to be seen whether the Crimson Tide slide out of the top 10.
The top of the poll is expected to get a full reshuffle, with Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami, Ohio State and Indiana all positioned near the front of the pack. One projected order has Georgia climbing to No. 1, while another keeps Texas at the top despite the loss. Either way, the rankings are about to look very different.
The real pressure point for USC sits a little lower down the list. Lincoln Riley’s team survived the White Out and beat Penn State, giving the Trojans a signature win as they move to 5-1.
That result keeps USC firmly in the College Football Playoff conversation, even with the earlier home loss to No. 13 Oregon.
But the road ahead is brutal. USC still has No.
5 Ohio State, No. 7 Indiana and UCLA left on the schedule, and that stretch leaves almost no margin for error.
The Trojans can only beat the teams in front of them, and the path they’ve been handed is anything but forgiving.
UCLA’s upset of Oregon in Eugene is another piece that could help reshape the middle of the AP poll. The Bruins are expected to move ahead of USC after the win, and the Ducks’ loss adds another ranked opponent to the Trojans’ already crowded résumé. Oregon’s standing is now in question as Sunday approaches.
If USC can navigate that remaining gauntlet, the Penn State win could end up carrying real weight. Even with some movement expected ahead of them because of losses elsewhere, the Trojans’ place in the rankings should improve only slightly.
One projected top 25 has Georgia at No. 1, followed by Notre Dame, Miami, Ohio State and Alabama, with Indiana at No. 7, BYU at No.
8, Ole Miss at No. 9 and LSU at No. 10.
In that version, USC comes in at No. 19, just behind Oklahoma State and ahead of Iowa, UCLA, Houston, Boise State, SMU and Pittsburgh.
Another forecast keeps Texas at No. 1, with Georgia second and Notre Dame third. In that setup, USC is again slotted at No. 19, with Iowa at No. 20 and UCLA at No. 21.
However Sunday’s poll shakes out at the top, USC’s next few weeks will decide everything. The Trojans have the kind of schedule that can either build a playoff case or bury one.
In Other News...
USC Builds Real Momentum Before Its Massive Showdown With UCLA
USC kept building its late-season rhythm with another quality win, rallying from an early hole to beat No. 10 UC San Diego and stay perched near the top of the national picture. The Trojans answered the opening setback with a stretch of multiple unanswered goals, a reminder that this group is capable of flipping a match quickly when its pressure game starts to take over. Gavin Conant and Robert Lpez Duart each supplied three goals, while Charles Mills steadied things in net with 10 saves.
The timing matters, because the schedule only gets more demanding from here. USCs next test is a home date with No. 2 UCLA, a matchup that always carries extra weight and now arrives with the Trojans carrying real momentum into it. A win like this does not settle anything, but it does give USC a little more confidence, a little more balance and a little more proof that it can handle a team that starts fast and still come out on top. [Read more 🡒]
USC Heads Into Penn State With One Huge Availability Problem
USCs trip to Penn State comes with more than just a tough road environment and a ranked opponent waiting on the other side. The Trojans are trying to sort through a pile of injuries that already includes season-ending surgery for receiver Terrell Anderson, while Corey Simms and Trent Mosley have also been out, leaving the passing game thinner than it would like to be this late in the season.
The uncertainty does not stop at receiver, either. Freshman tight end Mark Bowman and Mosley are listed as game-time decisions, and both the offensive line and defensive line are carrying several questionable or doubtful tags. For a team heading into one of its biggest tests of the year, the final availability report could end up shaping not just the game plan, but who USC can realistically lean on once the ball is kicked off. [Read more 🡒]
Houston Suddenly Faces A Road Test That Could Expose Everything
USCs defense has already become one of the seasons sharper talking points, and the early part of the 2026 schedule has done little to quiet the concern. In a year when several ranked teams have already taken hits and the playoff picture is still taking shape, the Trojans are being watched as closely for how they hold up on that side of the ball as for what their offense can generate.
The broader college football board has only added to the pressure, with coaching changes, injuries and quarterback shifts reshaping expectations across the rankings. UCLAs fast start under Bob Chesney has only sharpened the local conversation, but for USC the bigger issue remains whether the defense can steady itself before the next stretch of games starts to define what kind of team it really is. [Read more 🡒]