AP College Football Poll 2026 Week 2 Rankings Released with Top Risers and Fallers

Despite no major upsets in the first full week of the 2026 college football season, the top of the Associated Press Top 25 poll has shifted based on some of the results.

Ohio State remains atop the rankings after an easy 56-3 win over Ball State, but Oregon's close call against Boise State knocked it down four spots after being No. 2 in the preseason poll.

2026 AP Preseason Poll Week 2

1. Ohio State (1-0)

2. Georgia (1-0)

3. Notre Dame (1-0)

4. Texas (1-0)

5. Indiana (1-0)

6. Oregon (1-0)

7. Miami (1-0)

8. LSU (1-0)

9. Mississippi (1-0)

10. Texas A&M (1-0)

11. Oklahoma (1-0)

12. Alabama (1-0)

13. Texas Tech (1-0)

14. USC (2-0)

15. BYU (1-0)

16. Penn State (1-0)

17. SMU (1-0)

18. Tennessee (1-0)

19. Washington (1-0)

20. Utah (1-0)

21. Iowa (1-0)

22. Houston (1-0)

23. Missouri (1-0)

24. Louisville (0-1)

25. Virginia (1-0)

Oregon had the most interesting result from Week 1 after trailing by as many as 10 points at home against Boise State. The Ducks survived 34-27 thanks to Dante Moore's 378 yards passing and three touchdowns.

Boise State is a better opponent than most teams at the top of the rankings went up against to start the season, but an Oregon loss right out of the gate could have immediately derailed things for a team that most analysts believe is one of the top title contenders in the nation.

The team that moved into Oregon's spot at No. 2 is Georgia coming off an easy 63-3 win over Tennessee State.

Notre Dame, which had one of the best performances of any team in the country all weekend, jumped up one spot in the rankings to No. 3.

Playing what was technically neutral-site game against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, the Fighting Irish dropped 28 points in the second half en route to a 41-13 victory.

Other than Oregon, the only real close call for a top-10 team was Ole Miss against a Louisville team that was ranked No. 24 in the preseason poll. Mississippi won 41-38 on Lucas Carneiro's 48-yard field goal as time expired.

Despite the loss, Louisville maintained its same spot in the rankings coming off a strong showing on the road against a high-level opponent.

Lane Kiffin kicked off his tenure at LSU with an impressive 51-10 win over Clemson in what was the largest margin of defeat of Dabo Swinney's career with the program.

Michigan, on the heels of a controversial win over Western Michigan, fell outside of the top 25 after being ranked No. 16 in the preseason poll.

Looking ahead to Week 2, the marquee matchup is arguably the biggest regular-season game of the season between No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Texas. The Buckeyes won 14-7 in the season opener for both teams last year at the Horseshoe.

Saturday's showdown between the Buckeyes and Longhorns will be played in Austin. No. 11 Oklahoma at Michigan is the other big game on the schedule.