AP Top 25 College Football Rankings: Top Five Holds as Alabama Closes In
Three ranked teams lost last week, but the narrative shift wasn’t where you might expect. With all three defeats landing at the hands of ranked opponents, the hierarchy at the summit stayed intact while the middle of the pack scrambled for position. Now it’s time to see how that chaos landed in the latest AP Top 25 college football rankings.
Top Five Holds Steady Behind Texas
There weren’t any changes in this week’s top five, with No. 1 Texas still leading the way. The Longhorns did receive one fewer first-place vote than last week, holding only 61 this week. That single displaced vote went to No. 4 Miami (FL), who now has two first-place votes to their name.
Alabama is right on the edge of the top five at No. 6. The Tide rose one spot after defeating Mississippi State last week. They remain the closest challenger to the elite tier, sitting just below a crowded middle group where four SEC teams clog the rankings between No. 14 and No. 17.
Week 6 AP Poll Complete Rankings
| RANK | SCHOOL | POINTS | RECORD | PREVIOUS RANK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas (61) | 1,737 | 4-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Georgia (6) | 1,647 | 5-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Notre Dame | 1,532 | 5-0 | 3 |
| 4 | Miami (FL) (2) | 1,524 | 5-0 | 4 |
| 5 | Ohio State | 1,490 | 4-1 | 5 |
| 6 | Alabama | 1,460 | 5-0 | 7 |
| 7 | Indiana (1) | 1,380 | 5-0 | 6 |
| 8 | BYU | 1,144 | 4-0 | 10 |
| 9 | Ole Miss | 1,095 | 3-1 | 9 |
| 10 | LSU | 1,087 | 4-1 | 11 |
| 11 | Texas Tech | 1,062 | 5-0 | 12 |
| 12 | Utah | 996 | 4-0 | 13 |
| 13 | Oregon | 831 | 3-1 | 15 |
| 14 | Missouri | 755 | 4-1 | 25 |
| 15 | Tennessee | 746 | 4-1 | 17 |
| 16 | Florida | 691 | 4-1 | 8 |
| 17 | Mississippi State | 487 | 4-1 | 16 |
| 18 | Oklahoma State | 477 | 3-1 | 19 |
| 19 | Southern Cal | 439 | 5-1 | 18 |
| 20 | Iowa | 367 | 4-1 | 14 |
| 21 | UCLA | 287 | 4-0 | 23 |
| 22 | Houston | 279 | 4-1 | 20 |
| 23 | Boise State | 271 | 4-1 | 22 |
| 24 | SMU | 167 | 4-1 | 21 |
| 25 | Pittsburgh | 162 | 5-0 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Kentucky 160, Wake Forest 142, Wisconsin 88, Duke 83, Northwestern 59, Nebraska 48, Minnesota 19, Arizona 19, James Madison 12, North Dakota State 7.
SEC Head-to-Head Web Shakes Up Middle Tier
The Southeastern Conference provided the biggest movement in Week 6. This week, Missouri defeated Florida. Last week, Florida defeated Mississippi, and Mississippi State defeated Missouri. Two weeks ago, Mississippi defeated LSU. The round-robin nature of these results has shaken up this week’s rankings in unexpected ways.
Florida dropped eight spots to No. 16, while Missouri climbed 11 spots to No. 14. The Tigers now rank ahead of a team they lost to, as Mississippi State sits at No. 17. The Bulldogs rank behind the Gators, who lost to a common opponent it beat. In between all three of those teams is No. 15 Tennessee, creating a four-team tangle in the middle of the AP poll.
In addition, Florida now ranks seven spots behind a Mississippi team at No. 9, which it dominated a week ago. Is it because the Rebels defeated current-No. 10 LSU? Maybe, but that didn’t stop voters from ranking the Gators high just a week ago.
Kentucky Drops Out as Pittsburgh Enters
A ranked team has dropped in the rankings after a win every week this season, with four of five weeks seeing said team fall completely out of the poll. Kentucky joins Michigan (Week 1), Washington (Week 2), and Oklahoma (Week 3) as the Wildcats drop out of the poll this week.
Pittsburgh replaced Kentucky, joining the rankings at No. 25. The Panthers are undefeated at 5-0 after handing ACC foe Virginia Tech its first loss. Pitt received just two more points than Kentucky for the final spot, marking a razor-thin margin for the top of the bubble.
Ranked Matchups to Watch Week 7
There are two ranked vs. ranked matchups on this week’s college football slate:
- No. 2 Georgia at No. 6 Alabama
- No. 21 UCLA at No. 13 Oregon
Other notable games involving ranked teams include:
- No. 1 Texas vs. Oklahoma
- No. 10 LSU at Kentucky
- Texas A&M at No. 14 Missouri
- No. 19 Southern California at Penn State
- No. 20 Iowa at Washington
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