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Georgia is No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the second time this season after a 42-7 win at Ole Miss. Utah and Notre Dame moved to No. 2 and No. 3, while Ohio State dropped to No. 21 after losing at home to Oregon. The poll also puts unbeaten UCLA at No. 4 and leaves Miami at No. 5 after its first loss.
Georgia returned to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday after beating Ole Miss 42-7, reclaiming the top ranking for the second time this season. Utah rose to No. 2 and Notre Dame to No. 3, while Ohio State slid to No. 21 after a 41-28 home loss to Oregon, reshaping the poll after a weekend of high-profile results.
Georgia received 53 of 70 first-place votes from the AP media panel, well ahead of Utah, which collected 12, and Notre Dame, which received five. The Bulldogs had spent one week at No. 1 before losing to Auburn on Oct. 17. They remained in the top five after that defeat and returned to the summit following their emphatic win at Ole Miss.
Utah moved up one place after beating rival BYU 28-20, earning its highest regular-season AP ranking. Notre Dame also climbed one spot after defeating Miami 31-24. That result dropped Miami from No. 1 to No. 5 and made the Hurricanes the fourth team to lose the top position this season, the most such changes since 2008, according to the report.
Unbeaten UCLA rose to No. 4, matching its highest ranking in 25 years. Ohio State’s drop followed consecutive losses in the poll’s recent movement: it fell from No. 2 two weeks earlier to No. 11 after losing at USC, then to No. 21 after Oregon won in Columbus. The report says the Buckeyes have not been ranked this low, apart from the 2020 pandemic season, since 2014.
A Volatile Race for No. 1
The latest poll underscores how quickly the national ranking picture has shifted. Four teams have been displaced from No. 1 this season, while Georgia’s return follows a major road win and puts the Bulldogs back in the position their season began to approach before the Auburn upset. The ranking is a snapshot of media voters’ assessments, not a playoff selection or a guarantee of postseason placement.
The upper tier also gives readers several competing storylines: Utah has reached a program regular-season high, Notre Dame climbed after beating the team that had held the top spot, and UCLA is 9-0 for the first time since 1998. For Ohio State, the poll reflects the cost of two defeats in succession and a 41-28 loss at home. The ranking alone does not determine the Buckeyes’ eventual playoff standing, but the fall makes their remaining results more consequential to the debate.
Conference representation adds another measure of the poll’s shape. The SEC has eight ranked teams, the Big Ten six and the Big 12 five. Those counts show how broadly teams from each league appear in this week’s poll; they do not by themselves establish which conference is strongest or predict how the College Football Playoff selection committee will rank the teams.
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Results Behind the Poll Shift
The changes followed the first College Football Playoff rankings of the year and a weekend featuring several games between ranked teams. Georgia’s victory over No. 19 Ole Miss was the clearest result behind its rise. Utah’s win over BYU lifted the Utes, and Notre Dame’s victory over Miami directly changed the positions of both teams.
Other moves came from wins and losses across the poll. Tennessee jumped from No. 16 to No. 9 after beating top-10 Kentucky 34-6. Alabama and Texas each moved up two places after road wins at LSU and Missouri, respectively. Oregon returned to the rankings at No. 18 after its win at Ohio State, while No. 25 SMU re-entered after a win over Virginia Tech, having dropped out following a loss at Syracuse.
This is the AP media poll, which is separate from the College Football Playoff rankings. The AP list records votes from its media panel; the playoff selection committee publishes its own rankings and makes the eventual field selections. The supplied report does not give a full comparison between the two lists.
Poll Standing Is Not a Playoff Bid
The AP poll confirms the media panel’s rankings for this week, but it does not settle the playoff picture. Committee rankings and selection decisions remain separate, and the report does not state how the latest AP positions compare with the committee’s first rankings. The teams’ remaining schedules and results will also affect how their seasons are judged.
The source material does not provide voting breakdowns beyond the first-place votes for Georgia, Utah and Notre Dame, nor does it give point totals for the full poll. It also does not establish whether every result cited will lead to a lasting change in the rankings. The current standings should be read as a weekly assessment rather than a final order.
Upcoming Ranked Matchups
The next slate includes several games that could alter the poll again. No. 2 Utah visits No. 22 Arizona, with the report noting that Utah has not won in Tucson since 2021. No. 8 Texas travels to No. 24 LSU; Texas can reach a 5-0 record against ranked opponents with a win, according to the report.
No. 11 Wake Forest visits No. 25 SMU in a game that could affect the ACC title race, while No. 15 USC travels to No. 6 Indiana. The AP panel will issue another poll after the weekend’s games. The College Football Playoff committee’s rankings remain a separate measure to watch as the season continues.
Key Questions
Why is Georgia No. 1 in the AP Top 25?
Georgia returned to the top after a 42-7 road win over Ole Miss. It received 53 of the poll’s 70 first-place votes.
Who are the top three teams this week?
Georgia is No. 1, Utah No. 2 and Notre Dame No. 3 in the AP Top 25 released Nov. 8, 2026.
Why did Ohio State fall to No. 21?
Ohio State lost 41-28 at home to Oregon. The Buckeyes had already fallen from No. 2 to No. 11 after a loss at USC.
Does the AP ranking determine the playoff field?
No. The AP poll is a media vote; the College Football Playoff selection committee publishes separate rankings and makes the playoff selections.
Which ranked games are coming up?
Among the listed matchups are Utah at Arizona, Texas at LSU, Wake Forest at SMU and USC at Indiana.
Source: espn.com
