Alabama remains No. 6 in AP Top 25 College Football Poll despite narrow loss to Georgia
ACTION 8 LACE UP SPORTS (WAKA) – Alabama remains No. 6 in the latest AP Top 25 College Football Poll despite its 20-17 loss to Georgia, which has moved up to No. 1.
Georgia received 66 first-place votes from the panel of 70 media members after its first victory in Tuscaloosa since 2014 and ascended to the top of the poll for the first time since Sept. 8, 2024.
The Bulldogs, who had been No. 2 for five straight polls while rolling off five straight lopsided wins, won with the help of what appeared to be a missed pass interference call in the end zone late in the game.
Elsewhere, Texas dropped six spots to No. 7 after its loss to rival Oklahoma and Oregon was unranked for the first time in four years after losing for the second time in the past month.
Notre Dame, which tuned up for this week’s top-10 matchup at BYU with a 58-7 rout of Stanford, moved up one spot to No. 2. The Fighting Irish got one first-place vote and have their highest ranking since they were No. 2 in the final poll of the 2024 season.
No. 3 Miami, which received two first-place votes, is followed by Ohio State and Indiana. The Hoosiers, who received the remaining first-place vote, got a two-spot promotion after their narrow win at Nebraska.
After Alabama at No. 6, came Texas, BYU, Ole Miss and Texas Tech completing the top 10.
Oregon came into the season with its highest preseason ranking ever at No. 2. The Ducks’ turnover-fueled 17-15 home loss to UCLA dropped them to 3-2 and knocked them out of the poll for the first time since they went from No. 11 to unranked following a 49-3 loss to Georgia in the 2022 opener.
No. 12 UCLA and No. 15 Kentucky got the biggest promotions. The Bruins moved up nine spots with their win over Oregon, and the Wildcats went from unranked to No. 15 with their 35-34 overtime win over LSU, which dropped from No. 10 to No. 22.
In and out
In: Kentucky, which dropped out last week after beating South Carolina, is back in the poll with its highest ranking since early October 2022.
In: No. 21 Wake Forest is 5-1 and ranked for the first time since late October 2022.
In: No. 25 Northwestern, at 4-1, earned its first ranking under fourth-year coach David Braun.
Out: Oregon hasn’t lost two of its first five games since the 2016 team opened 2-5 and finished 4-8.
Out: Florida has gone from No. 8 to No. 16 to out of the rankings in two weeks following its 38-19 home loss to South Carolina.
Out: Pittsburgh managed just one touchdown on eight second-half possessions in a 21-17 home loss to North Carolina.
AP Top 25 College Football Poll (first-place votes in parentheses; SEC teams in bold):
- Georgia (66)
- Notre Dame (1)
- Miami (2)
- Ohio State
- Indiana (1)
- Alabama
- Texas
- BYU
- Ole Miss
- Texas Tech
- Utah
- UCLA
- Missouri
- Tennessee
- Kentucky
- Mississippi State
- Iowa
- Oklahoma State
- USA
- Houston
- Wake Forest
- LSU
- Boise State
- SMU
- Northwestern
Others receiving votes: Wisconsin 92, Oregon 86, Arizona 82, Nebraska 65, Oklahoma 44, James Madison 29, Florida 9, Duke 5, New Mexico 3, Oregon State 1
Ranked vs. ranked games coming up this weekend
No. 4 Ohio State at No. 5 Indiana: Ohio State plays its second top-five matchup of the season. Indiana won the last meeting 13-10 in the 2025 Big Ten championship game when the Hoosiers were No. 2 and the Buckeyes were No. 1.
No. 2 Notre Dame at No. 8 BYU: First-ever top-10 matchup at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Cougars won the last time Notre Dame visited, in 2004.
No. 16 Mississippi State at No. 22 LSU: First time the teams have met as ranked opponents since 2018.
No. 6 Alabama at No. 14 Tennessee: Crimson Tide lost the last two times they’ve visited Knoxville. The big question for the Volunteers is who will start at quarterback.
No. 13 Missouri at No. 9 Ole Miss: Motivation will be no problem for Mizzou QB Austin Simmons. He began last season as Ole Miss’ starter, got hurt, recovered and stayed on the bench behind a guy named Trinidad Chambliss.
No. 18 Oklahoma State at No. 20 Houston: This will be the first time these teams meet as ranked opponents.
