EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsCall it Shakeup Saturday or a pithy phrase of your choosing, but Week 7 reordered the college football world. Five of the seven teams in the AP top 25 poll went down -- the most among that cohort in AP poll history (1936).Where to begin? Tommy Carr, who began the day as Michigan's backup quarterback, helped the Wolverines to a season-saving win against Penn State, and his older brother, CJ Carr, couldn't get it done for Notre Dame at BYU. Georgia lost on a walk-off field goal to Auburn just like Texas had the week before, as the No. 1 teams fell on the final play in consecutive weekends for the first time in the history of the poll.Ohio State lost starting quarterback Julian Sayin to injury but handed Indiana its first loss since the 2024 playoff, as Hoosiers wide receiver Nick Marsh stepped out of bounds on a potential winning touchdown catch.Texas dropped consecutive games and must "evaluate everything," coach Steve Sarkisian said. Alabama lost back-to-back contests for the first time since 2007, which was former coach Nick Saban's first season in Tuscaloosa.First-year coaches Bob Chesney (UCLA) and Will Stein (Kentucky) continued their spectacular debuts, and Florida's Jon Sumrall, whose team was blown out in consecutive weeks, walked out of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium wearing a black cowboy hat.Week 7 was great for the Big 12, despite its timing error on what looked like the final play of Notre Dame-BYU, as the league is well-positioned for multiple playoff entries for the first time. The day ended appropriately with Oregon quarterback Dylan Raiola coming off the bench to rally his current team past his old one (Nebraska), keeping the Ducks faint CFP hopes alight.Got all that? Now it's time to digest a very different looking version of our Power Rankings. -- Adam Rittenberg1. Miami HurricanesPrevious ranking: 2The Hurricanes had to dig deep to beat rival Florida State in double overtime 43-35. While the Hurricanes showed resilience in doing so, the Seminoles further exposed some cracks in Miami's secondary. Florida State completed one Hail Mary at the end of the game that was called back because of a penalty and then had what it thought was a completed Hail Mary that officials ruled an interception. Bryce Fitzgerald came up big in the moment, but he was in and out of the game because of a shoulder injury and his loss certainly was felt. So was the ejection of safety Zechariah Poyser early in the game for targeting. Miami struggled at times with its young players in coverage, giving up a 75-yard touchdown pass to Duce Robinson late that allowed Florida State to tie the score. -- Andrea Adelson 2. BYU CougarsPrevious ranking: 7Despite a 28-4 record since the start of the 2024 season, BYU came in as a double-digit home underdog against Notre Dame. Quarterback Bear Bachmeier and the Cougars certainly have the nation's attention after outplaying the Irish for most of the night and delivering a 10-play, 55-yard touchdown drive to take the lead with 1:47 to play. Bachmeier accounted for four touchdowns, BYU's offensive line did not give up a sack and the defense received big performances from linebackers Cade Uluave and Isaiah Glasker. The Cougars recorded their second win against an AP top-2 opponent, joining the 1990 team that took down No. 1 Miami. They now return to a highly competitive Big 12 and are three weeks away from the Holy War matchup at rival Utah. -- Rittenberg 3. Ohio State BuckeyesPrevious ranking: 4The Buckeyes will have a new starting quarterback for the foreseeable future. Coach Ryan Day said that Julian Sayin will be out "several weeks" after sustaining an injury to his throwing shoulder in the fourth quarter of Ohio State's 19-15 win at Indiana. Sayin, a Heisman finalist last season, came out of the locker room with his arm in a sling. That means the Buckeyes will be leaning on true freshman quarterback Luke Fahey, who beat out sophomore Tavien St. Clair for the backup job during the preseason. Fahey is a 5-foot-11, former three-star recruit from Mission Viejo, California. Day said the Buckeyes will use the upcoming bye week to retailor the offense for him. Fahey passed for more than 7,000 yards during his high school career. But the pressure will be on him to keep the fourth-ranked Buckeyes on track for the Big Ten championship and a CFP berth. -- Jake Trotter 4. Georgia BulldogsPrevious ranking: 1Not even the Bulldogs, who have played as consistently as any FBS team during the Kirby Smart era, are immune to the trappings of increased parity in the NIL era. A week after Georgia moved to No. 1 with a road win at Alabama, it was uncharacteristically sloppy and undisciplined in a 27-24 loss to unranked Auburn at home. Quarterback Gunner Stockton had two interceptions and lost a critical fumble in the final minute -- the first time he had more than one turnover in a game in his career. Georgia committed three personal fouls, which kept Auburn drives alive. Two Georgia defenders collided on Auburn's touchdown on a halfback pass, and Stockton ran into center Drew Bobo on his fumble, which helped set up the Tigers' winning field goal. Georgia gets a much-needed bye week before playing rival Florida in Atlanta and then traveling to Ole Miss the following week. -- Mark Schlabach 5. Notre Dame Fighting IrishPrevious ranking: 3The Irish ultimately faltered in their first major test of the season because of the red zone, where they failed to score at the end of each half and saw BYU to score touchdowns on all four of its possessions. Notre Dame had only four plays of 20 yards or longer, and generated no sacks and two tackles for loss after losing top pass rusher Boubacar Traore to a targeting penalty on the game's first series. CJ Carr made several NFL-level throws but also critical mistakes, including a fumble while attempting to spike the ball at the end of the first half. Notre Dame played better defensively as the game went along but saw BYU convert 8 of 12 third-down chances. The Irish might need to win out to ensure a playoff spot. -- Rittenberg6. UCLA BruinsPrevious ranking: 8The Bruins are now the last lone undefeated team in the Big Ten and the SEC. On Saturday against Wisconsin, with Nico Iamaleava out because of a lower-body injury, Bob Chesney and his team did not blink and barely missed a beat with Ty Dieffenbach at quarterback. The former Cal Poly quarterback was a relative unknown until Chesney brought him to Westwood in the offseason. Against the Badgers, Dieffenbach looked comfortable and threw for 264 yards, completing 22 of 33 passes on the way to a 17-7 win. It is clear that the defense is the Bruins' strength -- this is now the fourth game in which they have given up 15 points or fewer -- and their run game is their heartbeat. But UCLA has been able to win in various ways already this season (blowouts, high-scoring affairs and defensive battles). So far, it doesn't appear that anyone or anything can stop it. -- Paolo Uggetti7. Indiana HoosiersPrevious ranking: 6As talented as Indiana was in 2025, the key to its success was how relentlessly consistent the Hoosiers were at playing sound, fundamental football. They simply didn't make mistakes. This season, it has been a little different, and Saturday's loss to Ohio State was a glaring example. The fumbles, the bad flags, the missed throws, and Nick Marsh's wayward left foot ... it all added up to the Hoosiers' first loss in 22 games. As Curt Cignetti said afterward, the win was there -- Indiana just didn't take it. It has been a long time since that was true, but perhaps it was a hard lesson learned. Indiana went toe-to-toe, again, with arguably the best team in the country. It's a reminder of how good Indiana is, but how small the margin for error can be. -- David Hale8. Ole Miss RebelsPrevious ranking: 9Don't look now but the Rebels are playing pretty stingy defense to go with their high-powered offense. Ole Miss routed Missouri 31-3 at home on Saturday, limiting the Tigers to only 39 rushing yards on 26 attempts. It was the second straight game that the Ole Miss defense surrendered less than three yards per carry; it held Vanderbilt to 103 yards on 37 attempts in a 52-17 rout on Oct. 10. That's quite an improvement after the Rebels were gashed for 302 rushing yards in a 52-28 loss at Florida on Sept. 26. Another good sign: tailback Kewan Lacy ran for 122 yards on 20 attempts after sustaining a leg injury early in the Missouri game. He's heating up after dealing with a shoulder injury earlier this season. -- Schlabach9. Texas Tech Red RaidersPrevious ranking: 12The Red Raiders are getting back to playing to their elite standard, and a 53-25 rout of Arizona State on Saturday powered by a dominant first half put that on full display. Coach Joey McGuire wanted to see a fast start and got his wish, with Ben Roberts' pick-six kicking off a 43-10 scoring run that put this game out of reach by halftime. Will Hammond put up 257 total yards, J'Koby Williams rushed for a career-high 165 yards and the Red Raiders' offense scored points on seven consecutive drives. They left no doubt against the only program that knocked them off in Big 12 play a year ago, and now they're one of only six FBS teams still undefeated after a chaotic Week 7. -- Max Olson 10. Utah UtesPrevious ranking: 11With Indiana's loss to Ohio State, Utah has the longest active winning streak in the FBS with 12 straight wins. The Utes have won 18 of their past 20 games dating to 2024. This week, though, Utah didn't look the part. After dominating Colorado in the first half, it allowed the Buffaloes to score 24 in the second half, escaping with a 27-24 win. Houston promises to be a great test this week, and the Holy War looms on Nov. 7. -- Kyle Bonagura11. Kentucky WildcatsPrevious ranking: 14The Wildcats' resilience knows no bounds under coach Will Stein. After winning their past two games in overtime, the Wildcats found themselves trailing Oklahoma 13-7 in the third quarter and their offense in a rut. That is when the defense stepped up with multiple interceptions to save the day. Ty Bryant had one that led to a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Then Jordan Castell had a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown to seal a 21-13 win. Kentucky had four interceptions on Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer, and now the Wildcats are in a tie for first in the SEC with Georgia and Tennessee. When Stein said at SEC media days that the Wildcats would win because of him, his comments went viral. Now it looks as if there was truth behind those words. -- Adelson12. Tennessee VolunteersPrevious ranking: 19After a weekend when the SEC's three highest-rated teams lost, who's to say that Tennessee isn't a playoff contender after beating Alabama by two touchdowns? The offense isn't particularly fancy, but who needs that when you have DeSean Bishop averaging 172.3 rushing yards the past three games, and you have Jim Knowles' defense getting after the quarterback and refusing to allow big plays? There's a recipe for success there, especially if George MacIntyre can be efficient at quarterback the way he was against Alabama, completing 21 of 31 passes for 197 yards. The back half of the schedule, in SEC terms, is manageable with South Carolina, Kentucky, Texas A&M, LSU and Vanderbilt remaining. -- Alex Scarborough13. Wake Forest Demon DeaconsPrevious ranking: 21The second-best team in the ACC is clearly the Deacons, who demoralized California 41-7 on Saturday. The scene has played out so many times since the ACC expanded west. A team riding high travels to California for a late-night affair and comes out ice cold, escaping with a narrow win or, worse, falling on its face. It wouldn't have been out of the realm to assume that same fate for Wake Forest. Instead, the Deacons looked dominant from the outset and never took their foot off the gas. Gio Lopez has complete control of the offense, the defense makes nothing easy for the opposition, and Wake Forest -- as wild at it sounds -- has real playoff aspirations. -- Hale 14. Alabama Crimson TidePrevious ranking: 5The Crimson Tide offense that averaged 45 points and had a Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback has gone missing the past two weeks. First, it was Georgia that put Keelon Russell & Co. in a pretzel. Then came Tennessee, which squeezed the Tide like a boa constrictor Saturday, giving up only 201 yards. Russell threw two interceptions. He looked overly excited by the environment in Neyland Stadium and overwhelmed by the Vols' defense. The running game, which had shown signs of life after last season, regressed to the tune of 2.1 yards per carry. Though the defense has its own issues to solve, if Alabama is to bounce back, it will ultimately come down to whether it can run the football and Russell can recapture some of the playmaking ability that had some thinking he could contend for the Heisman. -- Scarborough15. Houston CougarsPrevious ranking: 20Conner Weigman threw for 343 yards and five touchdowns, and rushed for 52 yards as Houston won its fourth straight, beating a surging Oklahoma State team to establish itself squarely in the Big 12 title mix with a huge showdown on the road at Utah this weekend. The Cougars' only loss this season was by two points on the road in Lubbock to defending Big 12 champs Texas Tech, and the schedule after the trip to Salt Lake City is manageable, with Cincinnati, Colorado, West Virginia and Baylor, who are a combined 4-9 in conference play. -- Dave Wilson16. Iowa HawkeyesPrevious ranking: 18Though the Hawkeyes had a bye, their prospects of advancing to the Big Ten championship game seemed to improve. Indiana suffered its first loss of the season to Ohio State, and the Buckeyes lost starting quarterback Sayin to an injury to his throwing shoulder with no immediate timetable for a return. The Hawkeyes don't have the head-to-head tiebreaker against Ohio State after losing to the Buckeyes on Oct. 3. But Iowa has a manageable remaining schedule, with only one ranked opponent left. A Nov. 7 trip to No. 25 Northwestern could be critical for the Hawkeyes to remain in the Big Ten title hunt -- and potentially advance to the playoff. -- Trotter17. USC TrojansPrevious ranking: 17The Trojans were on a bye as the rest of the country descended into chaos and now, with five games left in the regular season, they have everything to play for. With three top-10 teams left on the schedule -- Ohio State, Indiana and UCLA -- USC has the opportunity to play its way back into the playoff picture, but it will take a significant improvement on defense for that to happen. -- Bonagura 18. LSU TigersPrevious ranking: 23The Tigers took advantage of Mississippi State's injury situation -- the Bulldogs played without star quarterback Kamario Taylor and tailback Fluff Bothwell -- but it might not have mattered in a 31-0 shutout. LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt completed 31 of 38 passes for 289 yards with four touchdowns and didn't turn the ball over for the first time this season. That's a big step forward. The Tigers had only three penalties and one turnover and played with more precision. LSU is still in the CFP hunt with two losses, but it faces a difficult stretch over the next five weeks with games against Auburn (road), Alabama (home), Texas (home) and Tennessee (road). -- Schlabach19. SMU MustangsPrevious ranking: 24It has been a bit of a slog for the SMU offense this season despite Kevin Jennings' best efforts. The Mustangs have only scored 30-plus points twice in FBS play this season, and that was in a win over Missouri State and a 41-31 loss to Louisville last month. In a 23-13 win over Virginia, SMU again looked pedestrian on offense. Possessions were limited, particularly in the first half, but SMU also got inside the Virginia 10-yard line twice and settled for field goals. Coach Rhett Lashlee has made it a point to say the team's red zone offense needs to improve. SMU currently ranks tied for No. 95 in the country in that area. -- Adelson20. Northwestern WildcatsPrevious ranking: NRThe Wildcats learned they could play nowhere near their best in an emotion-charged game against former coach Pat Fitzgerald and still come away with a critical road win at Michigan State. Northwestern made errors in all three phases -- a dropped touchdown pass late in the first half, breakdowns in the secondary and a host of special teams missteps, including coach David Braun's "horrible decision" to attempt a fake punt from Northwestern's 28-yard line with 3:28 left. But the Wildcats made the final two special teams plays, a field goal block by Brendan Flakes and a made field goal by Jackson Kleather with two seconds left, and got just enough offense from quarterback Aidan Chiles, who had 226 passing yards, a sixth straight game with a rushing touchdown and, most important, no turnovers. -- Rittenberg21. Florida GatorsPrevious ranking: NRThe Gators' 110th-ranked defense held up on the road at Texas, holding the Longhorns to just 272 yards and sacking Arch Manning five times. Quarterback Tramell Jones Jr., making his first career start in place of injured Aaron Philo, threw two touchdowns to Lacota Dippre and kept finding ways to keep drives alive in the second half as the Gators methodically clawed back to take the lead. After back-to-back losses to Missouri and South Carolina, Florida knocked off its second top-10 team of the season. After a bye week, a test against Georgia awaits. -- Wilson22. Texas LonghornsPrevious ranking: 10This Longhorns team with a loaded roster is going through some soul-searching following back-to-back losses to unranked teams after giving up a lead. For the second straight year, Florida upset Texas, this time with a backup quarterback making his first start and Texas playing at home. Sarkisian said everything was on the table to right the ship, his own playcalling included. Last year, the Longhorns got hot and went on a late run. It's not too late for that to save their season, but the playoff looks like a far-off goal compared to getting things on track before Ole Miss comes to town Saturday. -- Wilson23. Boise State BroncosPrevious ranking: 22Boise State was off in Week 7, but coach Spencer Danielson and the Broncos surely had at least one eye on fellow Pac-12 contenders Oregon State. The Beavers threw all over Washington State to the tune of 347 yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Braden Atkinson. Two of those scoring throws went to star freshman wide receiver Jesse Legree, who became the first pass catcher to reach 1,000 yards this fall. Oregon State closes Week 7 with the nation's top-ranked passing attack (384.9 yards per game). With a visit from the Beavers awaiting on Nov. 14 and the potential of a Pac-12 title game rematch weeks later, there's work to do for a Boise State defense that ranks 126th in pass defense through six games. -- Eli Lederman24. Arizona WildcatsPrevious ranking: 25The Wildcats have run off four straight wins since dropping a competitive game with BYU and are a serious player in the Big 12 title race. In a 52-31 win against West Virginia, quarterback Noah Fifita had arguably his best performance of the season, throwing for 341 yards with three touchdowns. After hosting Iowa State this week, Arizona will travel to Texas Tech for a intriguing showdown on Halloween. -- Bonagura25. Missouri TigersPrevious ranking: 13The Tigers couldn't keep up. Ole Miss held up its end of the bargain in a game with the makings of a high-octane, SEC shootout. But while the Rebels pieced together first-half scoring drives of 75, 61 and 80 yards, Missouri fell flat. Quarterback Austin Simmons, Ole Miss' Week 1 starter in 2025, completed 56.8% of his passes for 339 yards with an interception in the 31-3 defeat, thoroughly outdueled by Trinidad Chambliss, his former backup, who accounted for all four of his team's touchdowns. The Tigers got nowhere on the ground, either, as SEC rushing yards leader Jamal Roberts followed back-to-back 200-yard-plus rushing performances with only 39 yards on 20 carries. Missouri entered Week 7 with a chance to establish itself among the true CFP contenders within a compressed top half of the SEC. Instead, the Tigers came up short again as their flaws were exposed on the road. -- Lederman
