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The nation’s top-ranked team lost in Week 2, a week where two other top-11 ranked teams fell to unranked opponents. Of course that means the latest AP Top 25 Poll will change. Here’s what you need to know.
Week 3 AP Top 25 Poll
RANK
SCHOOL
POINTS
RECORD
PREVIOUS RANKING
1
Texas (56)
1,678
2-0
4
2
Georgia (3)
1,551
2-0
2
3
Notre Dame (1)
1,531
2-0
3
4
Indiana (3)
1,466
2-0
5
5
Miami (FL) (4)
1,452
2-0
7
6
Ohio State
1,407
1-1
1
7
LSU (1)
1,334
2-0
8
8
Ole Miss
1,216
2-0
9
9
Texas A&M
1,165
2-0
10
10
Alabama
1,068
2-0
12
11
BYU
966
2-0
T14
12
Southern Cal
944
3-0
T14
13
Texas Tech
910
2-0
13
14
Penn State
692
2-0
16
15
Tennessee
676
2-0
18
16
SMU
636
2-0
17
17
Utah
558
2-0
20
18
Iowa
391
2-0
21
19
Michigan
382
2-0
NR
20
Missouri
344
2-0
23
21
Oregon
324
1-1
6
22
Houston
292
2-0
22
23
Louisville
244
1-1
24
24
Oklahoma
222
1-1
11
25
Virginia
182
2-0
25
Others receiving votes: Washington 172, Florida 83, Boise State 57, Oklahoma State 36, Western Michigan 35, Tulsa 18, Mississippi State 17, South Carolina 15, Virginia Tech 11, UCLA 9, James Madison 6, Arizona 5, North Dakota State 3, Pittsburgh 1, Kansas State 1
Texas is the new No. 1
Texas’ last-minute win over Ohio State boosted the Longhorns from No. 4 to No. 1 this week. It’s turned out to be great for the lower-ranked team in the Buckeye-Longhorn matchups from the last two years. A year ago, Ohio State replaced Texas as the nation’s top team after a win.
Hence, Texas is leading the AP Poll for the first time since the 2025 preseason. It’s the first time the Longhorns have held the AP’s top spot since Week 4 of 2024, where they held on to the spot for four of five weeks.
Ohio State drops to No. 6
When Texas lost to Ohio State last year as the nation’s top-ranked team, it dropped six spots to No. 7. Ohio State didn’t drop that fall this week, only slipping five spots to No. 6 after a one-point loss.
The Buckeyes are the highest-ranked one-loss team, falling below three teams that received first-place votes last week and Georgia. The fall isn’t too bad for the Buckeyes thanks to Oregon’s dropping from No. 6 (more on that next).
Oregon falls 15 spots to No. 21
We all knew Oregon would fall in this week’s AP poll after losing to an unranked Oklahoma State team that lost its season-opener. The voters didn’t surprise us, dropping the Ducks from No. 6 to No. 21.
Luckily for Oregon, it has a floor thanks to a win over Boise State (a team receiving votes) in the season opener.
Welcome back Michigan
Michigan dropped out of last week’s AP poll after needing a Hail Mary to defeat Western Michigan. The Wolverines proved doubters wrong with a ranked win over then-No. 11 Oklahoma, 17-10. Michigan returned to the rankings at No. 19 as one of the few 2-0 teams with a ranked win.
While the Western Michigan win might linger in some voters’ minds, a ranked win appears to be enough to bring back voter support.
Meanwhile, Michigan’s opponent from last week, Oklahoma, dropped 13 spots to No. 24.
Washington drops after shaky wins
Washington only defeated a Utah State team that lost to an FCS opponent by two points. As a result, the Huskies dropped for the second straight week, now unranked as the first team out. Washington opened the season at No. 17, dropped two spots after an Apple Cup win and now have dropped seven spots after narrowly escaping Utah State.
Ranked games to watch this week
There are three ranked vs. ranked matchups on this week’s college football slate:
Friday, September 18
Saturday, September 19
Other notable games involving ranked teams include:
Stan Becton joined NCAA.com in 2021 and has since served as a college football, FCS football, track and field, cross country and HBCU beat reporter. He has covered numerous NCAA championship events, including the FCS Championship, DI Track & Field Championships and Men’s Frozen Four. Additionally, he has covered the College Football Playoff and HBCU sporting events like the Celebration Bowl, MEAC/SWAC Challenge and Legacy Classic. Stan graduated from Carnegie Mellon University, earning a degree in Professional Writing and playing football as a five-year letterman. You can follow him on Twitter @stan_becton.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions.
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