Miami Claims No. 1 as Historic Upsets Shatter AP Top 25

Five of the top seven teams in The Associated Press college football poll lost during Week 7, a statistical anomaly never recorded in the survey’s 90-year history. The carnage vaulted Miami to the No. 1 spot Sunday for the first time since the 2002 season, while BYU surged to No. 2 after upsetting Notre Dame as a 10.5-point underdog.

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The Hurricanes survived a double-overtime game against Florida State to remain unbeaten, securing 40 of 70 first-place votes from the media panel. They finished just 22 points ahead of BYU, which took down the Fighting Irish 28-24 at home to reach 6-0 for a third consecutive year. Ohio State sits third with nine first-place votes.

Georgia lasted exactly one week at No. 1 before losing to Auburn at home. Texas, the previous No. 1, also fell to an unranked opponent. Back-to-back weeks of unranked teams knocking off the top-ranked program had not occurred since 1990. Miami now hosts unranked Pittsburgh on Saturday.

BYU’s jump to second represents its highest ranking since winning the national championship in 1984. The Cougars had not appeared higher than No. 4 in any poll, or inside the top five at all, since 1996.

Despite the chaos, Notre Dame and Georgia held onto the fourth and fifth spots. Indiana, which lost at home to Ohio State, dropped to sixth. Mississippi, Texas Tech, UCLA and Utah filled out the rest of the top 10. Texas Tech received the single remaining first-place vote.

Every position in the Top 25 changed hands this week. Only Oklahoma State and Mississippi State fell out entirely. Alabama tumbled seven spots to No. 13 following a loss at Tennessee, while Texas plunged 12 places to No. 19 after dropping a home game to Florida. The Gators returned to the rankings at No. 20. Arizona debuted at No. 25 after stringing together four double-digit victories since losing to BYU earlier this season.

The SEC‘s highest-ranked team, Georgia at No. 5, currently trails the top programs from every other power conference. The last time that alignment happened was Dec. 3, 2023, when Alabama sat fifth behind Michigan, Washington, Texas and Florida State.

Miami is the first Atlantic Coast Conference program to hold the top spot since Clemson in 2020. Before Clemson, Florida State was the last ACC team ranked No. 1 in 2014.

The SEC holds nine ranked teams. The Big Ten has five, led by Ohio State and No. 9 UCLA, which matched its highest ranking since 2022. The Big 12 also has five ranked programs. The ACC carries three, including No. 17 Wake Forest and No. 23 SMU. Boise State sits alone representing the Pac-12 at No. 21.

No. 14 Houston reached its highest ranking since sitting at No. 11 midway through the 2016 season. The Cougars travel to face unbeaten No. 10 Utah next. In another matchup of ranked teams, No. 7 Mississippi visits No. 19 Texas. The Rebels have outscored Vanderbilt and Missouri by a combined 83-20 since a 24-point loss to Florida earlier this month.