AP College Football Poll 2026 Week 8 Rankings Released with Top Risers and Fallers

Suffice it to say, the Associated Press Top 25 poll looks a lot different after a consequential Saturday in college football.

The No. 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7 teams all lost in Week 7, leading to a ton of upheaval. Miami now sits atop the AP Top 25 for the first time since 2002 after having survived an upset bid from Florida State.

BYU, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Georgia fill out the top five.

Alabama and Texas slipped to 13th and 19th, respectively, after suffering their second defeats on the season.

2026 AP Poll Week 7

1. Miami (6-0)

2. BYU (6-0)

3. Ohio State (6-1)

4. Notre Dame (6-1)

5. Georgia (6-1)

6. Indiana (6-1)

7. Ole Miss (5-1)

8. Texas Tech (6-0)

9. UCLA (6-0)

10. Utah (6-0)

11. Tennessee (6-1)

12. Kentucky (6-1)

13. Alabama (5-2)

14. Houston (6-1)

15. Iowa (5-1)

16. USC (6-1)

17. Wake Forest (6-1)

18. LSU (5-2)

19. Texas (4-2)

20. Florida (5-2)

21. Boise State (5-1)

22. Missouri (5-2)

23. SMU (5-1)

24. Northwestern (5-1)

25. Arizona (5-1)

Where do you even start?

Georgia had a golden opportunity to pull through with a win at home. With a little over a minute remaining, the Bulldogs started from their own 39-yard line and then crossed into Auburn territory thanks to a pass interference penalty.

Then quarterback Gunner Stockton coughed it up for his third turnover of the day and Auburn recovered. Eventually, the Tigers' Alex McPherson drilled a 34-yard field goal as time expired.

For Notre Dame and Indiana, the margins in their defeats couldn't have been much slimmer.

The Big 12 acknowledged one more second should've been added to the clock in the Fighting Irish's 28-24 loss to BYU. At the very least, they would've had another opportunity to score from the 8-yard line, and a pass interference penalty, which also was missed, would've moved them closer to the goal line for one final play.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Brigham Young Cougars Highlights

01:29

Over in Bloomington, Hoosiers wide receiver Nick Marsh was inches away from hauling in a go-ahead touchdown reception with just over a minute left. The junior seemed to recognize immediately his left foot landed out of bounds, resigning the reigning national champions to a 19-15 loss.

Neither Alabama nor Texas can feel too hard done by given the nature of their upsets.

Crimson Tide quarterback Keelon Russell saw his Heisman Trophy campaign hit a snag as he went 19-of-29 for 147 yards and two interceptions. The Tide defense, meanwhile, allowed Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop to go for 159 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

The Longhorns couldn't maintain the 17-3 lead they built midway through the second quarter. It was yet another lackluster showing from their offense, which left coach Steve Sarkisian pledging to evaluate everything including a possible quarterback change.

BYU's win wasn't the only notable result involving the Big 12.

Houston earned a signature win over Oklahoma State, 35-32, to improve to 6-1 on the year. Cougars quarterback Conner Weigman out-dueled the Cowboys' Drew Mestemaker. The pair of signal-callers combined to throw for 708 yards and eight touchdowns.

Mestemaker got the deficit down to three points in the fourth quarter with a 66-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Hawkins. Weigman responded with a 48-yard touchdown throw to Koby Young to make it a two-score game again with 9:48 remaining.

Houston moved up from 20th to 14th with the victory.

The Cougars are in the think of a tight Big 12 title race that involves BYU, Texas Tech and Utah, all of whom are unbeaten overall.