AP Top 25 Poll Rankings Reaction After Another Upset-Filled Weekend

With another Saturday of college football comes more chaos and upsets, and the No. 16 USC Trojans were on the wrong side of a shocking upset win at the hands of the Wisconsin Badgers on the road 24-7.

USC's offense struggled to put points on the board as seven points is the lowest ever in the head coaching career of the Trojans' front man Lincoln Riley. Being on the bubble College Football Playoff before losing to Wisconsin, USC is now expected to drop in the rankings while sitting on the outside looking in of a majority of postseason projections.

ap top 25 poll rankings prediction usc trojans lincoln riley upset loss wisconsin badgers big ten college football playoff — Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell talks with players during the game against USC, Oct. 24, 2026, at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

AP Top 25 Poll Set to Shuffle

As a team ranked inside the AP Top 25 Poll and losing to an unranked team, USC is far from being alone after Saturday's results. Joining the Trojans with losses to an unranked opponent are No. 2 BYU, No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 11 Tennessee, No. 15 Iowa.

The Cougars loss is a surprising one after BYU beat No. 4 Notre Dame to receive the No. 2 ranking in the AP Poll. However, an emotional let-down spot could have been seen coming for BYU coach Kalani Sitake and his team, losing to UCF on the road in overtime. Because of the close nature of the loss to UCF, as well as BYU's win over a top-five Notre Dame team, where the Cougars end up in the latest edition of the AP Poll will be worth monitoring.

How do AP voters handle the other four teams that lost to unranked opponents with Texas Tech, Tennessee, USC, and Iowa all losing on the road? BYU and Texas Tech are no longer undefeated, meaning the Big 12's representation at the top of the AP Poll could be no more. No. 10 Utah survived against No. 14 Houston as the Utes could be the highest-ranked Big 12 team come Sunday.

No. 15 Iowa and No. 16 USC likely stay close together in the rankings, but both the Hawkeyes and the Trojans likely fall out of the top 20 with two losses each. As for Tennessee, where will the Volunteers fall among the myriad of two-loss teams in the SEC?

No. 13 Alabama survived a near scare against Texas A&M to improve to 6-2, same record as Tennessee, and both No. 19 Texas and No. 7 Ole Miss sit at 5-2 after the Longhorns beat the Rebels in prime time on Saturday. Meanwhile, No. 18 LSU is currently 6-2 after taking care of business against Auburn.

Teams towards the bottom of the rankings also handled their respective business as No. 21 Boise State, No. 23 SMU, and No. 24 Northwestern all won (No. 22 Missouri and No. 20 Florida had byes), meaning there is little room for teams to fall down in the rankings. Will any teams get squeezed out to make room for Iowa or USC, should they fall down the rankings?

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

USC Trojans College Football Playoff Outlook

Where the USC Trojans and coach Lincoln Riley fall in the AP Poll may not be the biggest concern for fans of the program come the latest rankings release on Sunday. With the loss to Wisconsin, the Trojans now have two losses with No. 3 Ohio State, No. 6 Indiana, and No. 9 UCLA still on the schedule.

The Trojans are unlikely to reach the College Football Playoff with three losses, meaning Riley and company may not be able to lose any more games in order to reach the first CFP berth in program history.

While the win over Penn State in the White Out quited some concerns about USC's ability to win on the road, the Trojans will be tested when they travel to face Indiana. The Buckeyes will come to Los Angeles to face USC on Halloween in what could be a season-defining matchup for the Trojans.

AP Top 25 Poll Week 7

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

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