AP Top 25: Miami Holds No. 1, BYU Falls After UCF Upset

The upsets keep coming in college football, but Miami is holding steady. The Hurricanes stayed No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 released Sunday, Oct. 25, and were the only team in the poll to keep the same spot, while Ohio State moved up to No. 2 without playing. The reshuffle followed BYU's double-overtime loss at unranked UCF, which dropped the Cougars six places to No. 8. It was the third straight weekend of major upsets, according to the AP. Here is the full poll, what happened, and what to watch next.

What we know: the full AP Top 25

Others receiving votes: Iowa 76, New Mexico 41, Cincinnati 11, Oregon State 10, South Carolina 8, Minnesota 7, USC 7, UTSA 1, Virginia Tech 1. Source: AP poll via NCAA.com.

Miami stops the No. 1 curse

The top-ranked team had lost to an unranked opponent in each of the previous two weeks, Texas to Oklahoma and then Georgia to Auburn, the Miami Herald noted. Miami avoided the same fate by routing unranked Pittsburgh 52-23 at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday.

Quarterback Darian Mensah completed 31 of 37 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns, posting the highest quarterback rating of the season in Week 8, NCAA.com reported. The Hurricanes are 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and received 59 of the 70 first-place votes.

The week's upsets

NCAA.com counted seven losses by ranked teams in Week 8, five of them to unranked opponents. Among them, per the Miami Herald:

• No. 2 BYU lost 39-31 in double overtime at unranked UCF, a week after beating Notre Dame, then ranked No. 2.
• No. 7 Ole Miss lost 34-27 at No. 19 Texas.
• No. 8 Texas Tech, previously unbeaten, lost 37-24 to Cincinnati. Cincinnati quarterback JC French IV threw four touchdown passes, NCAA.com said.
• No. 11 Tennessee lost to South Carolina.
• No. 15 Iowa lost to Minnesota, and No. 16 USC lost to Wisconsin. Both dropped out of the rankings, while Wisconsin entered at No. 25.

According to the AP, three more top-10 teams lost on Saturday, making 10 in the last three weeks, and three teams ranked No. 1 or No. 2 have lost to unranked opponents over that span.

Texas makes the biggest jump

Texas climbed from No. 19 to No. 11, the largest move of the week, after beating Ole Miss in Austin. The Longhorns led 24-3 at halftime before Ole Miss scored 21 unanswered points and recovered an onside kick with 1:20 left, but an interception in the end zone sealed the win, NCAA.com reported. Quarterback Arch Manning went 18 of 30 for 212 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. The victory kept Texas' playoff hopes alive after consecutive losses to unranked teams.

Other risers included Utah (10 to 6), Kentucky (12 to 9), Alabama (13 to 10) and SMU (23 to 19). Oklahoma State and Wisconsin joined the poll.

Only three unbeatens left

With BYU and Texas Tech losing, just Miami, Utah and UCLA remain undefeated, according to the Miami Herald. Five undefeated teams entered Week 8 and only three came out of it, NCAA.com noted. Utah also picked up a first-place vote.

Poll points: a historically chaotic stretch

The AP added historical context to this week's poll (via Fox 13):

• The 10 losses by top-10 teams over the last three weeks tie 2007 and 1959 for the most over any three-week span in poll history.
• Miami, Utah and UCLA are the fewest unbeaten Bowl Subdivision teams at this point of a season since 1977, according to Sportradar.
• Miami's win over Pitt was its first game as the No. 1 team since 2002, and its 59 first-place votes were 19 more than a week earlier.
• Utah took sole possession of first place in the Big 12 by beating Houston and has its highest ranking in seven years. UCLA has its highest in 11 years and has climbed 19 spots over the past five polls.
• Kentucky has won six in a row and is in the top 10 for the first time since 2022. Alabama avoided its first three-game losing streak since 2007 by beating Texas A&M.
• Indiana rose two spots after winning at Michigan in overtime, while Georgia and Notre Dame moved after open dates.

Ranked teams by conference

The Big 12's six ranked teams match its record and are its most since Sept. 23, 2012, the AP said.

In and out

Oklahoma State returned at No. 24 after a 57-24 win over Colorado, and Wisconsin entered at No. 25 after beating USC 24-7, its first poll appearance since 2023. Iowa dropped out after a 13-10 loss at Minnesota, and USC, which had its fewest yards and points of Lincoln Riley's five seasons, left the poll for the first time since Oct. 19, 2025.

What's next

1. Miami at North Carolina. The Hurricanes visit the Tar Heels on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC, per the Miami Herald.
2. Next AP poll: Sunday, Nov. 1. The AP confirmed the date of its next Top 25 release.
3. Ranked vs. ranked. No. 17 Florida meets No. 3 Georgia in Atlanta. Georgia has won five straight and eight of the last nine in the series, per the AP.
4. Keep an eye on the unbeatens. With only Miami, Utah and UCLA still perfect, each of their games carries extra weight in the polls.

The bottom line

Miami survived its first test as No. 1, but with 10 top-10 losses in three weeks, the AP's Nov. 1 poll could look very different again. For more sports, read about Kimi Antonelli's U.S. Grand Prix win, Jalen Williams' injury, the 2026 Ballon d'Or and the World Series.