The first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings will be released on November 3, marking a point in the 2026 college football season when the AP Top 25 Poll takes a back seat, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to start ignoring the always-controversial poll. Someone has to keep tabs on the AP voters who can’t possibly watch all these games and are forced to scramble and put together a list of the best 25 teams in the country.
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With just two matchups featuring ranked opponents on the Week 8 slate, nobody was expecting too many fireworks, but the one boom we did get out in Los Angeles courtesy of USC, voters made sure to overreact.
On the other side of the country, Wake Forest moved to 7-1 and continued its run of absolutely throttling opponents, but apparently, outscoring your last two opponents 92-14 doesn’t matter much.
Week 9 AP Top 25 Poll
- Miami (FL)
- Georgia
- Utah
- Notre Dame
- UCLA
- Indiana
- BYU
- Kentucky
- Alabama
- Texas
- Ohio State
- Ole Miss
- Texas Tech
- Wake Forest
- LSU
- Tennessee
- Houston
- USC
- Missouri
- Boise State
- Iowa
- New Mexico
- South Carolina
- Arizona
- Florida
Voters managed to put together the correct collection of the Top 5 teams in the country, but did so in the incorrect order. A shocking development, we know.
While Miami played with its food in Chapel Hill on Saturday, the Hurricanes improved to 8-0 and are the most-talented and most-explosive of the three unbeaten teams remaining, making the No. 1 next to their name completely justified.
Miami (FL) Hurricanes wide receiver Malachi Toney (1) scores as North Carolina Tar Heels linebacker Derek McDonald (15) defends in the fourth quarter at Kenan Stadium. (Bob Donnan-Imagn Images)
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Georgia did exactly what was expected of it by throttling Florida following a bye week after its inexplicable loss at home to Auburn. Then, you have Utah at No. 3, which is where we can officially start arguing, or at least begin nitpicking.
Utah is 8-0, but the Utes’ 8-0 isn’t as impressive as UCLA’s 8-0. Utah has beaten exactly one team with a pulse, then No. 14 Houston at home, while the Bruins won on the road at then No. 13 Oregon. UCLA getting the nod for the three with Utah sliding to the four seems more sensible.
Notre Dame is a spot too high at No. 4. For starters, the Fighting Irish have lost a game unlike UCLA and Utah, and you could argue their most impressive win came in Week 1 on a neutral site against a now 5-3 Wisconsin team. Notre Dame getting a touch of bias is as inevitable as water remaining to be wet.
The Wake Forest disrespect must be stopped
The Demon Deacons embarrassed Virginia 51-7 on Saturday to move to 7-1 on the year, with their lone loss being a 13-point defeat to No. 1 Miami. Despite having lost just once, putting together a 44-point win, and possessing an offense that has outscored opponents 187-31 over the last four weeks, Wake Forest did not budge in this week’s poll.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons quarterback Gio Lopez (3) drops back to pass during a college football game between the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the Louisville Cardinals on September 26, 2026 at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium in Louisville, KY. (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) (Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Meanwhile, Kentucky and Alabama were both on byes this past weekend, but even they managed to move up one spot compared to last week.
The reality of the situation is that Wake Forest is being penalized by its own schedule and a laughably weak ACC. With how the dominoes are falling in the conference, Wake Forest could finish the season 11-1 with its most impressive win being a road victory at Purdue in Week 2.
Yes, even above-average teams are supposed to handle Stanford, NC State, Cal and Virginia, but the way in which Wake Forest has embarrassed all four of those down-and-out squads is more impressive than the No. 14 next to its name.
USC is simply not a Top 20 team in college football
So, USC beats an Ohio State team without its starting quarterback and technically moves up THIRTEEN spots in the poll to No. 18? The same USC team that lost at Wisconsin a week ago, the same Badgers team that lost 30-0 to Iowa on Saturday? Is this the same USC team that was embarrassed at home by Oregon in Week 5 by two touchdowns?
This is your classic prisoner of the moment situation with an unranked team beating the No. 2 team in the country, but the asterisk that needs to go alongside that Buckeyes team the Trojans beat is a significant one.
USC Trojans tight end Mark Bowman (19) hurdles Ohio State Buckeyes safety Jaylen McClain (8) during a college football game between the Ohio State and the USC Trojans on October 31, 2026, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Some team has to be ranked 18th in the nation; it just shouldn’t be a USC team whose fanbase wanted head coach Lincoln Riley fired seven days ago after pulling off the big upset of what may have been the worst slate of games of the entire college football season.
Lobos love the number twenty-one
AP voters missed out on doing something hilarious this week.
New Mexico improved to 7-1 on the year after going on the road and knocking off San Jose State on Halloween and kept a very weird streak alive.
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The Lobos have scored exactly 21 points in each of their last three games, beating Hawaii 21-10, North Dakota State 21-16 and San Jose State by the same 21-16 score. New Mexico should be ranked No. 21, not No. 22, based on this scoring trend alone.
In all seriousness, Jason Eck’s squad deserves some serious praise. The Lobos are 16-5 since Eck took over in 2025, which isn’t bad considering the program hadn’t been to a bowl game since 2016 prior to his arrival in Albuquerque.
