The wildest Saturday in college football history led to a major upset in the Associated Press’ weekly Top 25 poll.
When five of the top eight ranked teams all lost on the same day – the first time in AP poll history – it guaranteed another top 10 finish.
The undefeated Miami Hurricanes are the new No. 1 team in the country, with 40 first-place votes. The Hurricanes climbed to No. 1 Georgia last week, which slipped to fifth after a last-second home loss to unranked Auburn.
The Big 12 was the biggest benefactor of Saturday’s chaos at the top of the standings. BYU climbed all the way to No. 2 after its controversial win over then-No. 2 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish fell two spots to No. 4 despite the Big 12 later releasing a statement that officials I made a mistake by not putting one more second on the clock. Texas Tech moved up two spots to No. 8 after its blowout win over Arizona State.
The Big 12 now has the three best teams in the top 10 in the conference. The Big Ten also has three top 10 teams (Ohio State, Indiana and UCLA), while the SEC has two.
The SEC is already being eaten
A week ago, the SEC had four teams in the top 10 and seven in the top 15.
This week: Two in the top 10 and five in the top 15.
It’s no surprise that the SEC is blaming itself, although seeing the Big 12 with more top 10 teams is certainly eye-opening. The SEC slate is always tough, and the move to a nine-game conference schedule has naturally made things more difficult.
But Saturday showed just how tough the SEC is from top to bottom this season. The only team in last week’s top 10 to survive unscathed was Ole Miss. Georgia, Texas and Alabama all lost on Saturday, with two of those losses coming at home. There is no longer an undefeated team in the SEC, and it seems likely that there will be even more chaos within the conference.
Freshman success at UCLA, Kentucky
UCLA is in the top 10. Kentucky is the No. 12 team.
In football.
Seriously.
UCLA’s Bob Chesney and Kentucky’s Will Stein should be the co-leaders for coach of the year awards for what they’ve already accomplished in just half a season. Chesney took over a program that was 3-9 last season and fired head coach DeShaun Foster after just three games. The No. 9 Bruins are 6-0 and ranked in the top 10 for the first time since 2022. UCLA’s 17-7 win over Wisconsin without quarterback Nico Iamaleava showed this team is a legitimate College Football Playoff contender.
Stein’s situation was a little better — the Wildcats went 5-7 in Mark Stoops’ last season — but going 6-1 in the SEC with wins over LSU, Oklahoma and Texas A&M is more than impressive. The Wildcats could also continue to climb the rankings, with Vanderbilt leading the way.
Week 8 AP Top 25
1. | Miami (40) | 6-0 | 3 | 1,697 |
2. | BYU (20) | 6-0 | 8 | 1,675 |
3. | Ohio State (9) | 6-1 | 4 | 1,649 |
4. | Notre Dame | 6-1 | 2 | 1,395 |
5. | Georgia | 6-1 | 1 | 1,382 |
6. | Indiana | 6-1 | 5 | 1,370 |
7. | Ole Mademoiselle | 5-1 | 9 | 1,360 |
8. | Texas Technology (1) | 6-0 | 10 | 1,336 |
9. | UCLA | 6-0 | 12 | 1,159 |
10. | Utah | 6-0 | 11 | 1,153 |
11. | Tennessee | 6-1 | 14 | 1,151 |
12. | Kentucky | 6-1 | 15 | 932 |
13. | Alabama | 5-2 | 6 | 870 |
14. | Houston | 6-1 | 20 | 785 |
15. | Iowa | 5-1 | 17 | 747 |
16. | U.S.C. | 6-1 | 19 | 592 |
17. | Waking up forest | 6-1 | 21 | 574 |
18. | LSU | 5-2 | 22 | 529 |
19. | Texas | 4-2 | 7 | 440 |
20. | Florida | 5-2 | NR | 355 |
21. | Boise State | 5-1 | 23 | 295 |
22. | Missouri | 5-2 | 13 | 290 |
23. | EMS | 5-1 | 24 | 265 |
24. | Northwest | 5-1 | 25 | 254 |
25. | Arizona | 5-1 | NR | 136 |
Also receiving votes: Oklahoma State 128, Oregon 79, Auburn 61, James Madison 52, Mississippi State 30, New Mexico 6, Oregon State 3
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