Table of Content
Georgia reclaimed the No. 1 position in the AP Top 25 poll on Sunday following a dominant 42-7 victory over Ole Miss in Week 10. The Bulldogs enter the latest rankings hoping for a longer stay at the top, having previously been displaced after just one week last month following a loss to Auburn.
Climbing to the Top and Poll Shuffles
According to CBS Sports Headlines, the decisive win by Georgia combined with Miami’s first defeat of the season against Notre Dame made the Bulldogs the clear choice for the top spot. Miami dropped to No. 5 after the loss, while No. 2 Utah and No. 3 Notre Dame moved up following strong victories. Improving to an 8-1 record with a 6-1 conference mark after an authoritative road win over a quality league opponent, Georgia also stands as the betting favorite to win the national championship at +240 on FanDuel.
Ole Miss fell sharply from No. 12 to No. 19 following the lopsided defeat. The Rebels are joined by another struggling preseason top-10 team as preseason No. 1 Ohio State dropped from No. 11 to No. 21 after suffering a 41-28 home loss against Oregon. This marks the first instance since 1950 where both preseason top-two teams—Oregon and Ohio State—have dropped three of their opening nine contests. Meanwhile, Oregon jumped from unranked directly to No. 18 after its road victory over the Buckeyes, though both programs hold 6-3 records and sit outside the College Football Playoff picture as Week 11 approaches.
SEC Departures and Utah’s Rise
The total number of SEC teams in the AP Top 25 decreased from 10 to eight after both Missouri and Florida exited the rankings following defeats. Missouri dropped from No. 19 to the first spot among others receiving votes after a 34-20 loss to Texas. Florida completely fell out of the voting after a 23-7 defeat against Oklahoma, marking the first time since 1946 that the Gators suffered consecutive home losses by 14 or more points, leaving their record at 5-4 overall and 3-4 in conference play. Oregon and SMU entered the poll to take the places of the departed SEC squads.
Utah climbed one position to No. 2, reaching a poll position not seen for the program since 2008. As one of only two undefeated teams remaining in college football, the Utes solidified their status with a 28-20 victory against rival BYU in a highly anticipated Week 10 showdown. The result marked the most significant win of the season for Utah, advancing the team toward a College Football Playoff berth under coach Morgan Scalley. BYU slid five spots down to No. 12 following its second loss of the season.
Ohio State’s Historical Low
The last time Ohio State occupied a position this low in the AP Top 25 occurred in the opening month of the 2014 season, when a Week 2 home loss to unranked Virginia Tech dropped the Buckeyes from No. 8 to No. 22. That team did not return to the top 10 until November before eventually capturing the national championship under coach Urban Meyer during the inaugural season of the four-team playoff format.
For the current squad, securing a spot in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff presents a significantly steeper challenge moving forward.
