AP Top 25 Poll Reaction as Five Top-Ranked Teams Fall

The chaos of week 7 was historic for college football, and the ensuing week was always going to struggle to match the amount of upsets that took place. However, Saturday, Oct. 24, offered plenty of its own excitement with five ranked teams losing to unranked teams. The top team, No. 1 Miami, won't change, but the shuffling takes place shortly thereafter.

It's the third time ever that a team ranked inside the top two of the AP Top 25 Poll have lost to an unranked opponent in three straight weeks.

BYU, Texas Tech, Tennesse, Iowa, USC, and More Ranked Teams Lose

ap top 25 poll rankings prediction reaction oregon ducks dan lanning miami hurricanes mario cristobal upset wins big ten — Oct 24, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Brigham Young Cougars quarterback Bear Bachmeier (47) warms up before their game against the Central Florida Knights at Acrisure Bounce House. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Not only did then-No. 2 BYU and then-No. 8 Texas Tech make it two top-10 teams that lost on Saturday, both the Cougars and the Red Raiders suffered their first losses of the season, leaving only three undefeated teams remaining in the Power Four conferences: No. 1 Miami, No. 6 Utah, and No. 7 UCLA.

UCF almost knocked off now-No. 8 BYU in regulation, but a blocked field goal and a 10-second runoff ruling by the officials led to overtime. UCF scored and converted the two-point attempt in the second overtime, and the Cougars failed to score at all a second time, giving the Golden Knights the upset win.

Another upset with late-game heroics featured South Carolina's win over then-No. 11 Tennessee. Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers willed himself into the end zone to tie the game with less than two minutes remaining. South Carolina defensive end Dylan Stewart forced a fumble that ultimately set up a 48-yard game-winning field goal from Gamecocks kicker Malik Orsan to come away with the win.

Then-No. 16 USC is now unranked after losing on the road to the Wisconsin Badgers 24-7 in prime time as Trojans quarterback had arguably his worst game of the season. Maiava completed 62 percent of his passes for 258 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, and the USC quarterback was sacked five times while committing multiple intentional grounding penalties. The Trojans run game did the offense no favors either as freshman running back Shahn Alston led the team with 28 yards on seven carries.

Then-No. 8 Texas Tech was dominated by Cincinnati on the road as the Bearcats took a 10-6 lead in the first quarter and never looked back, beating the Red Raiders 37-24. Cincinnati rushed the ball 40 times for 255 yards and scored the first rushing touchdown on the Texas Tech defense this season. However, a majority of Cincinnati's scoring came through the air with quarterback JC French IV finishing with 172 yards and four touchdown passes.

Newly unranked Iowa, then No.15, lost to an unranked Minnesota with the Floyd of Rosedale on the line. Like Tennessee, Iowa was beaten by the Golden Gophers on a successful field goal as time expired. Minnesota held the Hawkeyes offense to their lowest point total of the year, including Iowa's loss to No. 2 Ohio State, and the Golden Gophers offense ran a successful two-minute drill to set up the game-winning field goal.

In the first matchup between ranked teams of the weekend, No. 11 Texas jumped out to an early lead over No. 12 Ole Miss, and the Longhorns were able to hold off the Rebels' second-half comeback as the middle of the SEC is as confusing as ever. Meanwhile, then-No. 10 Utah escaped an upset scare against then-No. 14 Houston, winning 21-13 after the Utes trailed the Cougars for the first three quarters of the game.

No. 4 Indiana needed overtime to score its first touchdown against Michigan and defeat the Wolverines as coach Curt Cignetti revealed quarterback Josh Hoover was not playing at 100 percent health.

AP Top 25 Poll Week 8

1. Miami
2. Ohio State
3. Georgia
4. Indiana
5. Notre Dame
6. Utah
7. UCLA
8. BYU
9. Kentucky
10. Alabama
11. Texas
12. Ole Miss
13. Texas Tech
14. Wake Forest
15. LSU
16. Tennessee
17. Florida
18. Houston
19. SMU
20. Boise State
20. Northwestern
22. Arizona
23. Missouri
24. Oklahoma State
25. Wisconsin

Oregon Ducks Season Off the Rails

Oregon did not enter the week with an AP Poll ranking in the top 25, but Ducks coach Dan Lanning and his team received the 27th-most votes in the country. However, after suffering a third loss to Illinois before Halloween, Oregon did not receive any votes in the latest edition of the AP Poll. In fact, the Oregon State Beavers received 10 votes while the Ducks received non.

The Ducks offense continues to struggle with starting quarterback Dante Moore sidelined, and Oregon has matchups with No. 20 Northwestern and No. 2 Ohio State before facing Michigan, Michigan State, and Washington to end the season.

With three losses, any hopes of the College Football Playoff are practically nonexistent for Lanning and company. Can the Ducks play spoiler for a team like the Buckeyes moving forward?

AP Top 25 Poll Prediction

1. Miami
2. Ohio State
3. Georgia
4. Notre Dame
5. Indiana
6. UCLA
7. Utah
8. BYU
9. Kentucky
10. Alabama
11. Ole Miss
12. Texas
13. Texas Tech
14. Wake Forest
15. LSU
16. Florida
17. Tennessee
18. Boise State
19. Houston
20. Iowa
21. Missouri
22. USC
23. SMU
24. Northwestern
25. Arizona

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