AP Top 25 Poll Shuffles After Florida, Arizona State Upsets: Oregon's Case for Top-Five Ranking

What does the AP Top 25 Poll look like after week 2 of the college football season? The Arizona State Sun Devils and Florida Gators fell out of the top-25 after upset losses. The No. 4 Oregon Ducks and No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes looked dominant in their respective wins.

Sep 6, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) walks on the field during Gator Walk before a game against the South Florida Bulls at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

The College Football Playoff rankings are not released until early November, meaning the AP Top 25 Poll is the authority on ranking the best teams in college football. Previously-ranked No. 12 Arizona State and No. 13 Florida suffered upset losses and fell out of the top-25.

Towards the top of the poll, a couple of teams like the No. 4 Oregon Ducks, No. 5 Miami Hurricanes, and the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes dominated in their matchups. A couple of teams that lost in week 1, like No. 7 Texas and No. 19 Alabama also picked up big wins on Saturday.

Where will teams rise and fall in the latest AP Top 25 Poll?

Sep 6, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; South Florida Bulls place kicker Nico Gramatica (7), South Florida Bulls long snapper Turner McLaughlin (48) and teammates celebrate after a game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. / Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

AP Top 25 Poll

1. Ohio State Buckeyes
2. Penn State Nittany Lions
3. LSU Tigers
4. Oregon Ducks
5. Miami Hurricanes
6. Georgia Bulldogs
7. Texas Longhorns
8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
9. Illinois Fighting Illinis
10. Florida State Seminoles
11. South Carolina Gamecocks
12. Clemson Tigers
13. Oklahoma Sooners
14. Iowa State Cyclones
15. Tennessee Volunteers
16. Texas A&M Aggies
17. Ole Miss Rebels
18. South Florida Bulls
19. Alabama Crimson Tide
20. Utah Utes
21. Texas Tech Red Raiders
22. Indiana Hoosiers
23. Michigan Wolverines
24. Auburn Tigers
25. Missouri Tigers

Oregon Ducks Make Case For Top-Five Ranking

Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, left, and Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy talk before the game as the Oregon Ducks host the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Sept. 6, 2025, at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Oregon Ducks dismantled the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Autzen Stadium, winning by a final score of 69-3. Oregon linebacker Jerry Mixon and safety Peyton Woodyard had pick-sixes on consecutive plays, and the Ducks have the makings of a top-five team with quarterback Dante Moore leading the charge.

However, no teams ranked above Oregon in week 2 lost. Still, the Ducks leaped up two spots, moving ahead of Miami and Georgia:

- No. 1 Ohio State: W 70-0 over Grambling
- No. 2 Penn State: W 34-0 over Florida International
- No. 3 LSU: W 23-7 over Louisiana Tech
- No. 4 Georgia: W 28-6 over Austin Peay
- No. 5 Miami: W 45-3 Bethune-Cookman

Ohio State looked as impressive as Oregon against Grambling while No. 2 Penn State pulled away from Florida International. SU struggled against Louisiana Tech, but the Tigers have won of the better wins in the country currently after beating Clemson in week 1, although the Clemson Tigers were on upset alert against Troy in week 2.

Georgia didn't play a perfect game against Austin Peay, but Bulldogs running backs Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens finished the game with two rushing touchdowns. A win for Miami was never in doubt as the Hurricanes dominated Bethune-Cookman.

After winning the Big Ten in 2024, it appears as though the Ducks plan on contending for the conference title again in 2025.

In the week 2 and week 3 editions of the AP Top 25 Poll, Oregon received one first-place vote.

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Biggest Risers, Fallers

No. 13 Oklahoma moved up five spots in the rankings after beating Michigan and freshman phenom Bryce Underwood, while No. 15 Tennessee moved up seven spots, mainly thanks to teams losing above them.

On the other hand, Michigan moved down eight positions in the rankings after losing to the Sooners.

Previously ranked teams like Arizona State, Florida, and SMU all fell out of the top-25 after being upset on Saturday.

Sep 6, 2025; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood (19) warms up prior to a game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Gators have a grueling stretch of games coming up with matchups against LSU, Miami, and Texas on their schedule. Against South Florida, Gators quarterback DJ Lagway and the Florida offense struggled, often settling for field goals outside of Lagway's lone touchdown pass.

Arizona State almost escaped the upset after falling down 17-0 to Mississippi State at halftime, but a blown coverage by the Sun Devils led to a Mississippi State touchdown in the last minute of the game.

Sep 6, 2025; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham looks on during warm ups prior to the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The No. 20 Utah Utes continue to dominate their opponents, and they were bumped up five spots in the rankings.

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