Miami is back at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 college football rankings for the first time since 2002, while BYU has climbed to No. 2 for its highest position since its 1984 national championship season. The dramatic changes in the October 18, 2026, poll followed a remarkable Saturday in which five of the previous top seven teams lost.
Not a single team retained its position from the previous week's rankings, underscoring the scale of the upheaval. Miami moved up two places after surviving a double-overtime rivalry game against Florida State, and BYU jumped six spots after defeating previously second-ranked Notre Dame. Ohio State rose to No. 3, while Notre Dame and Georgia remained in the top five despite suffering their first defeats.
Miami Returns to No. 1 as BYU Makes Historic Climb
Miami's return to the top followed a 43-35 double-overtime victory over Florida State on October 17. The Hurricanes improved to 6-0, maintaining their unbeaten record through one of their most demanding games of the season.
According to the Associated Press report on the historic rankings reshuffle, Miami received 40 first-place votes and accumulated 1,697 points. That was enough to move ahead of BYU, which received 20 first-place votes and 1,675 points.
The 22-point margin highlights how closely the two programs were positioned in the voting. AP poll points reflect ballots submitted by participating voters; they are not a measure of the expected scoring difference between teams.
BYU's rise was equally significant. The Cougars defeated Notre Dame 28-24 in Provo on October 17, improving to 6-0 and recording a victory over a team that entered the weekend ranked second nationally.
The victory lifted BYU from No. 8 to No. 2, a ranking the program had not reached since its national championship season in 1984. It also strengthened the Cougars' position among the nation's remaining unbeaten teams.
Ohio State moved from fourth to third after defeating Indiana 19-15. The Buckeyes collected nine first-place votes, while Texas Tech received the remaining first-place vote despite sitting eighth overall. The distribution illustrates how individual voters can differ in their assessment of the national field.
How the AP Top 10 Changed After the Upsets
The October 18 rankings produced a completely different top 10 order from the previous week. The following table shows the new positions, team records and ranking movements, as confirmed by the AP Top 25 rankings published by NCAA.com.
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami | 6-0 | 3 |
| 2 | BYU | 6-0 | 8 |
| 3 | Ohio State | 6-1 | 4 |
| 4 | Notre Dame | 6-1 | 2 |
| 5 | Georgia | 6-1 | 1 |
| 6 | Indiana | 6-1 | 5 |
| 7 | Ole Miss | 5-1 | 9 |
| 8 | Texas Tech | 6-0 | 10 |
| 9 | UCLA | 6-0 | 12 |
| 10 | Utah | 6-0 | 11 |
Notre Dame slipped only two places after losing to BYU, while Georgia dropped from first to fifth following a 27-24 defeat against previously unranked Auburn. Both teams retained prominent positions despite their setbacks, demonstrating that a single loss does not automatically remove a program from the upper tier of the poll.
Elsewhere, Alabama fell from No. 6 to No. 13 after losing 26-10 to Tennessee. Texas suffered an even larger decline, dropping from seventh to 19th after a 27-24 defeat against Florida. Houston climbed six places to No. 14, while Florida and Arizona entered the Top 25.
Why This Rankings Shakeup Was Historically Unusual
The defining feature of the weekend was the concentration of defeats among highly ranked programs. Five of the previous top seven teams lost, something that had never happened before in the AP poll's 90-year history.
The results included Auburn's upset of Georgia, BYU's victory over Notre Dame, Tennessee's win against Alabama, Florida's defeat of Texas and Indiana's narrow loss to Ohio State. The October 17 college football results reported by Reuters provide independent confirmation of the major games behind the reshuffle.
The voting consequences extended throughout the rankings. All 25 positions changed, while Oklahoma State and Mississippi State dropped out of the poll and Florida and Arizona entered.
Conference representation also remained important. The Southeastern Conference led with nine ranked programs, followed by the Big Ten with six and the Big 12 with five. Those totals reflect the distribution of ranked teams in this particular poll, not guaranteed postseason places or a definitive comparison of conference strength.
What the New Rankings Mean for the Playoff Race
Miami and BYU now occupy the top two positions in the AP poll, but those rankings do not determine the College Football Playoff bracket. The playoff selection committee conducts a separate evaluation, considering factors such as team performance, schedules and relevant competitive results.
The first College Football Playoff rankings for the 2026 season are scheduled for November 3, according to the published CFP rankings release schedule. Consequently, the October 18 AP order should not be interpreted as an official playoff seeding.
Upcoming games will provide further opportunities to evaluate the leading teams. Miami is scheduled to host Pittsburgh on October 24 before traveling to North Carolina on October 31. A November 7 matchup at Notre Dame offers another particularly significant test, bringing together the teams ranked first and fourth in the October 18 poll.
BYU, meanwhile, travels to UCF on October 24 and hosts Arizona State on October 31 before visiting Utah on November 7. Those games could influence how its unbeaten record and overall schedule are assessed as the season progresses.
The October 18 poll captures an extraordinary change in college football's national hierarchy, but it is not a final verdict. Miami and BYU have earned the leading positions in the latest AP vote; their ability to remain there will depend on what happens on the field in the weeks ahead.
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