TEXAS (AP) — Indiana State rose to No. 3 in the Associated Press football poll on Sunday for its highest ranking in program history and Texas was among five teams entering the top 25 after losing to eight ranked teams, three of them previously undefeated, over the weekend.
Ohio State and Miami remained in the top two while the Hoosiers earned a four-point upgrade for their then-10-point win. 3 Oregon. No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 5 Mississippi swapped spots after the Aggies’ 17-point home win over Florida and the Rebels’ three-point home win over Washington State.
The Buckeyes strengthened their hold on first place with a solid win over then-No. 17 Illinois and received 50 first-place votes, 10 more than last week. Miami, which was idle, received 13 first-place votes and Indiana received the other three.
Alabama moved up two spots to No. 6 and was followed by Texas Tech, Oregon, Georgia and LSU. Oregon State fell five spots and has its lowest ranking in 20 polls since it was eighth in September 2024.
Indiana’s groundbreaking run under second-year coach Curt Cignetti has been one of the biggest stories in college football since last season. The Hoosiers entered the Oregon game 0-46 on the road against top-five teams, and before Sunday, had never been ranked higher than fourth. Their three first-place votes are their most in a poll since they received the same number when they finished sixth on November 5, 1945.
Oklahoma fell eight places to 14th after its first loss, 23-6, to Texas. The Longhorns were the No. 1 team before the season, but a season-opening loss at Ohio State and a Week 6 loss at Florida knocked them out of the top 25. By beating the rival Sooners, they held a top-10 contender without a relegation for the first time since 1979 and re-entered the poll at No. 21.
Missouri, which started 5-0, fell two spots to No. 16 after losing by three points at home to Alabama.
In and out
– Southern California, ranked No. 20, came back after two weeks in September, with a strong 18-point win over visiting Michigan.
– No. 21 Texas earned its first win of the season against a ranked opponent and won’t see another for at least three weeks.
– No. 23 Utah returned after a three-week absence with a 32-point win over Arizona State.
– No. 24 Cincinnati beat UCF at home for its fifth straight win and ranks first since 2022.
– No. 25 Nebraska came from behind to beat Maryland on the road and earn its first seed of the season.
– Michigan (15), Illinois (17), Arizona State (21), Iowa State (22), and Florida State (25) withdrew.
Poll points
– No. 4 Texas A&M earned its highest regular season seeding since it was No. 3 in September 1995.
– Nebraska has been ranked No. 25 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2013-14.
– With five teams withdrawing, this was the largest turnover in a regular-season poll since seven teams withdrew on October 2, 2022.
Group call
SEC (10) – Nos. 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17, 21.
Big Ten (5) – numbers 1, 3, 8, 20, 25.
The Big 12 (4) – Numbers 7, 15, 23, 24.
ACC (3) – Nos. 2, 12, 18.
American (2) – No. 19, 22.
Independent (1) – No. 13.
Rank versus rank
– No. 5 Mississippi (6-0) at No. 9 Georgia (5-1): Judging by their close call against Washington State, the Rebels may have been looking forward to this. They have lost six straight games in Athens since 1996.
– No. 10 LSU (5-1) at No. 17 Vanderbilt (5-1): The Tigers have won 10 straight games in the series. Both teams will be seeded in this matchup for the first time since 1947.
– No. 11 Tennessee (5-1) at No. 6 Alabama (5-1): A matchup between the top 25 teams for the fifth straight year. Both teams came out with difficulty, winning by three points.
– No. 20 Southern California (5-1) at No. 13 Notre Dame (4-2): The stakes are high in this storied series with both teams clinging to their playoff hopes.
– No. 23 Utah (5-1) at No. 15 BYU (6-0): First top-25 matchup in this matchup since 2009. Last year, the Cougars took advantage of a questionable fourth-down defensive penalty before kicking the field goal with 4 seconds left to win 22-21.
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