College Football Rankings: Getting Real With the Top 25 With a New No. 1

We always believe that college football rankings should be fluid. Things change. Some teams start to figure things out, while others are just playing because they have to.
Quarterbacks get hurt, coaches get fired, and what happened two months ago isn’t necessarily relevant now. Yes, we always respect the results – the head-to-head meetings are always taken into account – but by this point, that’s for the high-rent district of the top ten, or so.
And, by this point, we think we know who’s good (there are plenty of strong teams out there), who’s not (the Group of Six teams in an NIL/transfer era), and everything in between.
With a new No. 1 team, here are the 25 best teams in college football … for now. (This will almost certainly get blown up next week after a whole slew of massive showdowns.)

2026 College Football Rankings: The 25 Best Teams in Week 10

25. USC Trojans

Record: (7-2)
Last Week Rank: 37
Week 9: USC 30, Ohio State 18
Up Next: at Indiana
USC went from the season being over and Lincoln Riley being fired to looking fantastic against Ohio State and now looking like they could possibly pull off something else special at Indiana in two weeks. Beating Washington now looks better, too.

24. Oregon Ducks

Record: (5-3)
Last Week Rank: 27
Week 9: Oregon 34, Northwestern 26
Up Next: at Ohio State
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Ducks should be behind Oklahoma State, but the Cowboys just lost again. The loss to Illinois doesn’t help, but the Ducks beat USC in Los Angeles, handed Boise State its only loss so far, and came up with a wonderful gut-check win over Northwestern. The team hasn’t quit.

23. Houston Cougars

Record: (6-2)
Last Week Rank: 30
Week 9: OPEN DATE
Up Next: Cincinnati
We’re giving credit where others don’t – you shouldn’t be punished for losing to elite teams. The Cougars lost on a missed two-point conversion at Texas Tech, and had the ball and were driving in a loss to a Utah team that just doornailed Cincinnati. Don’t be stunned if a month from now we’re arguing for a 10-2 Houston to find a spot in the CFP.

22. Wisconsin Badgers

Record: (5-3)
Last Week Rank: 19
Week 9: Iowa 30, Wisconsin 0
Up Next: Rutgers
So this is a badly flawed team offensively. This is still the team that rolled the USC squad that just beat Ohio State. The three losses to Notre Dame, UCLA, and Iowa were all to teams that might be in the College Football Playoff.

21. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Record: (7-1)
Last Week Rank: 23
Week 9: Wake Forest 51, Virginia 7
Up Next: Merrimack
What do you do when you have blowhards – like us – whining about your schedule? You go out there and beat Stanford, NC State, Cal, and Virginia by a combined score of 187-31. The Demon Deacons are going to be 8-1 going into SMU.

20. Florida Gators

Record: (5-3)
Last Week Rank: 18
Week 9: Georgia 27, Florida 8
Up Next: Oklahoma
Those wins over Ole Miss, Texas, and Auburn buy you one more week of love and respect, Florida. Don’t lose to Oklahoma, or we’re going to have to ask you to leave.

19. Arizona Wildcats

Record: (6-2)
Last Week Rank: 15
Week 9: Texas Tech 34, Arizona 26
Up Next: TCU
Aw, Arizona, you had them. The Wildcats played well against Texas Tech, but buckled late. The 34-7 win over Cincinnati helps get them into the top 20, but all respect for the two losses being at BYU and Texas Tech – no shame there.

18. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Record: (7-2)
Last Week Rank: 29
Week 9: Texas Tech 34, Arizona 26
Up Next: West Virginia
That was a wonderful win over Arizona that’s going to get lost in the national discussion. The Red Raiders bounced back from the ugly loss to Cincinnati and looked the part of the defending Big 12 champion.

17. Missouri Tigers

Record: (6-2)
Last Week Rank: 16
Week 9: Missouri 34, Arkansas 10
Up Next: Texas
Mizzou looked and played against Arkansas like a rested team that needed those two weeks off. Texas, at Georgia, Kentucky. If Missouri wants to be a player, it’s about to get its shot.

16. Iowa Hawkeyes

Record: (6-2)
Last Week Rank: 24
Week 9: Iowa 30, Wisconsin 0
Up Next: at Northwestern
How the Floyd did you lose to Minnesota with no offense whatsoever, Iowa? That performance against a frothing Wisconsin defense this week was fantastic. Beat Northwestern, go to the College Football Playoff (maybe).

15. Ohio State Buckeyes

Record: (6-2)
Last Week Rank: 1
Week 9: USC 30, Ohio State 18
Up Next: Oregon
It’s not about Julian Sayin being hurt, although that doesn’t help. This defense isn’t close to being national title-good, and the running game isn’t strong enough to carry the load. USC hurdling over the Buckeyes might have signaled the end of the season if the team doesn’t play up to its talent level.

14. Indiana Hoosiers

Record: (8-1)
Last Week Rank: 3
Week 9: Indiana 23, Minnesota 16 OT
Up Next: OPEN DATE
Enough. “Find a way” usually means there’s a problem. Don’t let one monster field goal fool you, the special teams were awful against Minnesota, Josh Hoover is hurt, and Indiana keeps playing with fire in game after game. Even so, 8-1 is 8-1. Indiana is 8-1, and you’re not.

13. Alabama Crimson Tide

Record: (6-2)
Last Week Rank: 13
Week 9: OPEN DATE
Up Next: at LSU
The 31-20 win over Texas A&M two weeks ago wasn’t enough. Beat LSU in Baton Rouge, and we’ll buy that things are really changing. Or lose, and we’ll see the backups in a restaurant-quality New Year’s Day bowl.

12. Tennessee Volunteers

Record: (6-2)
Last Week Rank: 11
Week 9: OPEN DATE
Up Next: Kentucky
Can the Tennessee team that beat Alabama 26-10 show up when Kentucky comes into town? Considering LSU comes to Knoxville, the rest of the schedule isn’t unmanageable if the Vols get by the Cats.

11. South Carolina Gamecocks

Record: (5-3)
Last Week Rank: 17
Week 9: South Carolina 42, Oklahoma 25
Up Next: Texas A&M
It’s been interestingly blown off that the Mississippi State and Kentucky losses were this close to going the other way. Okay, so the Tennessee win was this close to being a fail, but now with the win over Oklahoma, the Gamecocks are rolling.

10. LSU Tigers

Record: (6-2)
Last Week Rank: 12
Week 9: OPEN DATE
Up Next: Alabama
There are two sides to this. Three, actually, with the third being that LSU might be the most dominant team in America, at least when it’s at home. The first side is the total destruction of everything in its path in the six wins. The second side is that LSU’s best win is … Auburn? Here we go: Alabama, Texas, at Tennessee, at Arkansas.

9 Ole Miss Rebels

Record: (6-2)
Last Week Rank: 10
Week 9: Ole Miss 45, Auburn 15
Up Next: Georgia
Okay, Ole Miss. You looked great against Auburn, and the 31-3 win over Missouri was impressive. This is your season – at 6-2, you have to win at home over Georgia.

8. Texas Longhorns

Record: (6-2)
Last Week Rank: 9
Week 9: Texas 31, Mississippi State 3
Up Next: at Missouri
For all the drama, the problems, and the ripping on parts of this program, Texas is still a solid 6-2 – Arch was terrific against Mississippi State – with wins over Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Ohio State. Even so, it has to take its game up several levels with a brutal November schedule.

7. Kentucky Wildcats

Record: (7-1)
Last Week Rank: 8
Week 9: OPEN DATE
Up Next: at Tennessee
The Wildcats are just renting this spot – they’re not allowed to put holes in the wall – with at Tennessee, Florida, and at Missouri up next. The wins over LSU and South Carolina earned Kentucky this spot. Now it has to prove it can keep it.

6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Record: (7-2)
Last Week Rank: 6
Week 9: Notre Dame 35, Navy 13
Up Next: Miami
Ehhhh, it would’ve been nice to see the Irish come out blazing after two weeks of grooving on the BYU loss. Navy was never going to beat Notre Dame, but it took too long to wake up. Okay, the Irish were probably looking ahead. We’re here now. Go beat Miami.

5. BYU Cougars

Record: (7-1)
Last Week Rank: 5
Week 9: BYU 27, Arizona State 20
Up Next: at Utah
The UCF loss looks totally awful now, after the Knights got rocked by Baylor this week. But BYU still beat Notre Dame, and the Arizona win continues to be impressive. Beat Utah, live in the top three next week.

4. Miami Hurricanes

Record: (8-0)
Last Week Rank: 4
Week 9: Miami 38, North Carolina 35
Up Next: at Notre Dame
Being the one team to beat Wake Forest now looks excellent, but … there’s no need to badmouth the Hurricanes, or point out just how miserable this pass defense is. Beat Notre Dame, be No. 1 in the country.

3. Utah Utes

Record: (8-0)
Last Week Rank: 14
Week 9: Utah 49, Cincinnati 25
Up Next: BYU
That’s it. That’s what we were waiting for. Okay, fine, we got a little spooked out by the tough fight at Colorado, but the Buffs actually aren’t that bad right now. The win over Houston was great, and blowing out the Cincinnati team that rocked Texas Tech is everything.

2. UCLA Bruins

Record: (7-1)
Last Week Rank: 2
Week 9: UCLA 27, Nevada 0
Up Next: at Minnesota
The Bruins are playing smarter than everyone else. They’re not doing anything they can’t. This is a tough, rugged team that wins on the lines and with a nasty defense that’s going to be a problem in the College Football Playoff. And yes, the wins over Oregon and Wisconsin are a good start – now win at Minnesota.

1. Georgia Bulldogs

Record: (7-1)
Last Week Rank: 7
Week 9: Georgia 27, Florida 8
Up Next: at Ole Miss
The win over Florida showed off the depth, adaptability, and defensive speed to look and play like the best team in college football. Yes, Georgia lost to Auburn and struggled against Alabama, but in a season loaded with flawed teams, talent-wise, right now, this is the best of the bunch.