Who is No. 1 in AP Top 25 football poll? How Week 9 games changed things
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Texas A&M and Indiana remain undefeated, threatening Ohio State’s top spot.
- Several ranked losses create openings for teams to enter Top 25.
- Navy, Memphis, Utah and Washington positioned to enter Top 25 amid churn
With three quarters of the season gone, the upper echelon of college football has seemingly solidified itself, but movement remains among the middle and lower portions of the Associated Press Top 25.
Five ranked teams lost — three were guaranteed with a trio of ranked-on-ranked matchups — which means changes to the poll.
No. 1 Ohio State (7-0), No. 5 Georgia (6-1) and No. 12 Notre Dame (5-2) all had the week off, and despite big wins from Texas A&M and Indiana, the Buckeyes stayed at No. 1.
Aggies down Tigers in Death Valley
Texas A&M moved to 8-0 and spoiled LSU head coach Brian Kelly’s birthday after a dominant performance in Baton Rouge. The Aggies defeated the Tigers (5-3), 49-25, and snapped a six-game losing streak in Death Valley. It was the program’s first win on the road since 1994.
The No. 3 Aggies scored 35 second-half points and held the Tigers to seven, leading to a sparse crowd in the typically-full stadium. LSU led 17-14 at halftime and had a chance to build on momentum, but it never got the run game going. Kelly’s squad finished with 60 rushing yards, compared to 224 for A&M.
KC Concepcion, the former N.C. State wide receiver, scored one offensive touchdown and a 75-yard punt return touchdown in the victory. Quarterback Marcel Reed didn’t have his best day through the air, completing 12 of 21 passes for 202 yards, two touchdown passes and two interceptions. He made up for it by finding the end zone on two rushing plays and running for 108 yards.
Hoosiers protect home field
Indiana (8-0) also remains undefeated after its 56-6 rout of UCLA (3-5). The Hoosiers intercepted the first pass of the game and returned it for a 25-yard touchdown to take an early lead, rattling the recently-improved Bruins.
UCLA kicked a pair of field goals to put points on the board, but it was overwhelmed all day. The Bruins threw two interceptions and fumbled the football, which gave Indiana help where it didn’t need it.
Fernando Mendoza, the former California quarterback, threw for 168 yards, two touchdowns and was picked off once. Like the Aggies, the Hoosiers’ success came in the ground game. They ran for 262 yards and scored four rushing touchdowns.
The Aggies rank No. 1 in strength of record and the Hoosiers rank No. 2, according to ESPN. They are listed at 8 and 2 in the Sunday update of the Football Power Index, respectively. Comparatively, Ohio State ranks No. 3 in the strength of record metric and No. 1 in the power index. Texas A&M and Indiana, however, out-rank the Buckeyes for overall strength of schedule this season. It would not have been surprising to see one, if not both programs, leapfrog Ohio State for the top spot, but the voters kept the Buckeyes on top.
On the opposite side, No. 20 LSU fell from the rankings after losing two of its past three games.
ACC teams stay strong
All three ranked ACC teams picked up wins in their respective matchups, though it was dicey for Virginia.
The Cavaliers (7-1) beat unranked North Carolina, 17-16, in overtime on the road after the Tar Heels failed to convert on the two-point conversion. UNC (2-5) finished just shy of the goal line for the upset and its first win in conference play under Bill Belichick. UVA had opportunities to put it away, but it struggled against Carolina’s defense and quarterback Chandler Morris played through an apparent injury.
The two teams were scoreless in the second half and tied at 10 entering overtime.
Despite the scare, Virginia moved to 3-0 in overtime and has won its past four games by one possession. It rose one spot to No. 15 after pulling off the gritty win.
Georgia Tech joined the 8-0 club after its home victory against Syracuse (3-5). The Yellow Jackets’ 41-16 win gives the program its first 8-0 start since 1966 and the first 5-0 ACC start in program history.
Georgia Tech trailed early after quarterback Haynes King fumbled on the first drive of the game, but the team responded with 20 unanswered points. King was responsible for five touchdowns, throwing three scoring passes and running the ball for two. Despite the win, it dropped one spot to No. 8.
Finally, Miami (6-1) beat Stanford (3-5), 42-7, after a stellar second half. The Cardinal led the Hurricanes after a first-quarter touchdown, before the Hurricanes tied it in the second. At halftime, they were tied at seven all.
Miami scored 35 points after the break, while holding Stanford scoreless, to pick up the victory. Mark Fletcher led the scoring efforts by running for 106 yards and a career-high three touchdowns.
The Hurricanes also dropped one spot to No. 10.
Other notable results
Oklahoma fell to No. 18 from 13, and Missouri to No. 19 from 15 after they lost their respective ranked matchups.
The Sooners (6-2) attempted a comeback against No. 7 Ole Miss (7-1) but fell to the Rebels, 34-26, at home. In Nashville, No. 9 Vanderbilt (7-1) used a late touchdown run from QB Diego Pavia to beat the Tigers (6-2), 17-10.
South Florida (6-2) lost its second game of the season after blowing a 31-17 lead. It fell to No. 25 Memphis (7-1), 34-31. This comes one week after the Tigers lost to unranked Alabama-Birmingham and voters dropped them from the poll. The Bulls have been in and out of the rankings this season, and they found themselves on the outside looking in. Memphis re-entered at No. 25.
Navy (7-0) was the first team out with 86 votes. It defeated Florida Atlantic (3-5) in a 42-32 offensive shootout. Neither team scored in a third quarter but combined for 40 points in the fourth. The Midshipmen’s 21 points, in addition to their two-possession lead, protected them against the Owls’ comeback attempt.
Washington didn’t make it into the poll, but picked up 46 votes. The Huskies (6-2) are listed as one of the strongest teams statistically, according to ESPN and PFF. After their victory over Arizona State (5-3), they have wins over four major power programs and a ranked opponent. The Sun Devils, who have been in and out of the rankings all year, dropped out. Again.
Iowa (6-2) picked up 27 votes after defeating Minnesota (5-3), 41-3. The Hawkeyes are 4-1 in Big Ten play, with a win over Penn State and shutout at Wisconsin. It is the only Big Ten team with a 6-2 record or better that remains unranked.
After a major win over Colorado (3-5), Utah found itself back in the poll at 24. The Utes (6-2) pulled off a 53-7 victory over the Buffaloes late on Saturday and moved to 4-1 in the Big 12. Its losses were to ranked Texas Tech and BYU teams, including a three-point defeat by the still-undefeated Cougars last week.
Week 10 Associated Press Top 25
This story was originally published October 26, 2025 at 10:36 AM.
