Tomorrow's Top 25 Today: Ohio State falls from top 10, USC reenters college football rankings after upset win

A chaotic Week 9 creates major shake-ups across the AP poll as Miami holds onto No. 1, Georgia climbs and open spots invite plenty of new arrivals Oct 31, 2026 at 11:53 pm ET • 8 min read Though the Week 9 schedule did not set up a handful of ranked-on-ranked games, the results of another chaotic week in college football have led to more than a handful of top 25 teams taking losses. The shake-ups will prompt some big changes in the college football rankings, none more impactful than USC's win over Ohio State in Los Angeles. USC was previously unranked after falling from the AP Top 25 poll after a 17-7 loss to Wisconsin. The Trojans endured immense pressure all week after the defeat, feeling the weight of an offense that was underperforming and the threat of an opponent in Ohio State that was arriving with a top-two ranking. USC answered its offensive questions immediately and raced out to an early lead, riding that momentum to a rain-soaked signature win for Lincoln Riley. It marked his first-ever win against a top-five opponent as USC's coach, and it will launch the Trojans back into the top 25. As for Ohio State, it is predicted to be among the lucky ones who lost in Week 9 but won't fall too far, thanks to wins against the likes of Indiana and Iowa in conference play. But with teams like SMU, Northwestern, Arizona, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin all taking losses on Saturday, the door is open for plenty of new arrivals in the rankings. Here's how we expect the new AP Top 25 to look on Sunday after Week 9: 1. Miami (Last week — 1): Even though the No. 1 team in the country was trailing in the second half, the upset alert always seemed a little premature as long as Malachi Toney was on the field. Miami's Heisman Trophy-contending wide receiver was absolutely electric in the Hurricanes' 38-35 win, finishing with seven catches for 75 yards and two touchdowns. 2. Georgia (3): The Bulldogs cashed in on Florida's early mistakes for easy points and rode another strong performance from the defense to a sixth straight win in the Cocktail Party rivalry. At 7-1 overall with a convincing win against a quality team, Georgia may pick up a couple first-place votes, but the overall rating will be left unchanged for most voters. 3. Notre Dame (5): It took a minute for Notre Dame to hit its stride, but the voters are not going to be quick to overreact one way or another to a 35-13 win against Navy. All eyes are on next week's showdown with Miami, where a firmer judgment of the Fighting Irish as a top-five team can be made. 4. Utah (6): On a week where a couple of top teams got off to slow starts, credit Utah for sending a message early against Cincinnati. The Utes raced out to a 42-6 halftime lead and then cruised in the second half as attention turns to next Saturday's showdown with BYU. The fact that the Bearcats just upset Texas Tech set up for a potential letdown spot but also allowed for Utah's dominance to validate an 8-0 record that's going to get more respect from the voters. 5. UCLA (7): Voters are not going to rush to any major adjustments in where the Bruins stand after beating Nevada 27-0. The shutout win, highlighted by four defensive takeaways, keeps the best piece of UCLA's ranking resume intact, and that's the zero in the loss column. UCLA is now 8-0 overall, but its best win remains the victory against three-loss Oregon earlier this month. 6. Indiana (4): Last week the Hoosiers held just a one-point advantage on Notre Dame (1,459 to 1,458) and an edge of less than 50 points compared to Utah. After another overtime win that was light on offensive production and heavy on upset scare, Indiana could be poised to give up a couple spots to those other teams who were also battling for top-five positioning. Indiana's resume does not hold up well upon intense scrutiny, with Nebraska and Northwestern as the best wins and mostly a "quality loss" argument thanks to the four-point defeat to Ohio State. 7. BYU (8): It seemed as though the Cougars were cruising with a dominant defensive performance early and a 17-3 halftime advantage, but a second-half charge from Arizona State had BYU sweating a little bit at the end of a 27-20 win. Ultimately, the win, by any margin, should keep the Cougars solidly ahead of Kentucky and Alabama, both of whom were off in Week 9. 8. Kentucky (9): The Wildcats were off in Week 9 and will be back in action next week at Tennessee. 9. Alabama (10): The Crimson Tide were off in Week 9 and will be back in action next week at LSU. 10. Texas (11): We are not anticipating too much change after the Longhorns took advantage of a Kamario Taylor-less Mississippi State team and cruised to a 31-3 win to improve to 6-2. 11. Ohio State (2): The drop for Ohio State in the rankings will hit on two fronts. First, Saturday night's loss came to a USC team that was previously unranked and changes the analysis for the Buckeyes, as they are now a two-loss team. But the other aspect here is that Week 9 was the first time we got to see Ohio State play four quarters without injured quarterback Julian Sayin, and the offensive production numbers reflect a group that isn't operating at the same level that it was previously. That will impact voters looking to slot Ohio State among other top teams, and make it more likely they choose the Texas head-to-head result as an anchor for the Buckeyes' new ranking position. 12. Ole Miss (12): Playing at home in a lookahead spot with Georgia coming to town next week, it would have been easy for Ole Miss to get caught in a dogfight with an Auburn team that clearly can throw punches with SEC heavyweights. So credit the Rebels for handling business in a 45-17 victory. 13. Texas Tech (13): There is an argument that Texas Tech's resume got noticeably better with a win against Arizona, but we also are not expecting voters to overreact to a one-score home win as a top-15 team. Though significant for the establishment of a new Thomas Castellanos-led offense, the win keeps the Red Raiders mostly around the same spot in the rankings. 14. Wake Forest (14): Among the many highlights for Wake Forest in a 51-7 romp of Virginia was another outstanding day for Carlos Hernandez. The Demon Deacons wide receiver had eight catches on nine targets for 136 yards and a touchdown, marking the fourth time he's hit 100 yards in a game this season. Wake Forest is now 7-1 overall and will face FCS Merrimack next week before heading to SMU with a chance to play its way into the ACC Championship Game in November. 15. LSU (15): The Tigers were off in Week 9 and will be back in action next week against Alabama in Baton Rouge. 16. Tennessee (16): The Vols were off in Week 9 and will be back in action next week against Kentucky. 17. USC (NR): Lincoln Riley believes in this team and has now guided the Trojans back into the thick of the Big Ten title race with a key head-to-head win against Ohio State. Now the challenge for the Trojans will be to close the deal with more big-time wins as they will be on the College Football Playoff Selection Committee's radar and likely ranked in Tuesday's first CFP Rankings. 18. Houston (18): The Cougars were off in Week 9 and will be back in action next week against Cincinnati. 19. Boise State (20): The Broncos are currently in action against Texas State. 20. Missouri (23): Ahmad Hardy returned to the lineup, and Missouri returned to its winning ways with a 34-10 rivalry win at Arkansas to improve the Tigers to 6-2 on the season. It's been 21 days since the last Missouri win, so voters should feel better about having Eli Drinkwitz's group as a top 25 team, and that ranked status sets up for a very interesting showdown with Texas back in Columbia next weekend. 21. Iowa (NR): Last week's balloting had Iowa finishing 26th in voting points and closer to No. 25 Wisconsin than Wisconsin was to No. 24 Oklahoma State. A thorough dismantling of the Badgers will prompt a bump up into the top 25, taking some of those Wisconsin votes along with a level of respect for the dominant nature of the victory. 22. South Carolina (NR): It's seemed like three seasons in one for South Carolina, who now has built a three-game winning streak with victories against Florida, Tennessee and Oklahoma after a three-game losing streak that had the hot seat conversation roaring. The Gamecocks smashed the Sooners on Saturday, cruising to a 42-25 win in Norman behind another stellar performance from LaNorris Sellers. 23. New Mexico (NR): The Lobos had already popped up on several ballots last week, and now at 7-1 could stand out as a more attractive option compared to some teams on the cut line with multiple losses. 24. Oregon (NR): The Ducks carry a chaotic collection of wins and losses, boasting victories against both USC and Northwestern but also being weighed down by a trio of defeats to UCLA, Oklahoma State and Illinois. Beating the Wildcats in Week 9 could prompt a bounce back into the rankings as three-loss teams get more consideration, and given some of the other upheaval, the door is open for Oregon to sit among the top three-loss teams in the country. 25. Florida (17): The woeful offensive performance from the Gators could result in a quick bounce from the top 25 even as the Gators do have some of the best wins in the country. The reasons to keep Florida ranked are the high-end wins against Ole Miss and Texas, but in current form, this team has lost three of its last four and currently looks stuck in the mud offensively. Projected to drop out: No. 19 SMU, No. 20 Northwestern, No. 22 Arizona, No. 24 Oklahoma State, No. 25 Wisconsin