The Georgia Bulldogs secured the no. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 poll on Sunday, October 11, 2026, following a 20-17 victory over Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The Associated Press panel awarded Georgia 66 first-place votes after the program snapped a 19-year road drought against the Crimson Tide.
Texas relinquished the top ranking it had held since Week 2 of the regular season, dropping six spots to no. 7 nationally after suffering a 27-24 defeat against Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl.
Georgia Bulldogs take the national lead after Tuscaloosa triumph
Head coach Kirby Smart guided Georgia to the summit of the national poll by engineering the program’s first victory in Tuscaloosa in nearly two decades. The defensive duel against Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide pushed Georgia to the top of the ballots across the country, while Alabama maintained the no. 6 spot in the rankings despite suffering its first loss of the 2026 campaign.
Notre Dame capitalized on the movement at the top of the ballot, advancing to the no. 2 spot in the country under head coach Marcus Freeman. The Fighting Irish improved to an undefeated record of six wins after defeating Stanford 58-7. The second-place national ranking marks the highest position for Notre Dame in the AP poll since the conclusion of the 2024 season, when the program reached the national championship game against Ohio State.
Kentucky Wildcats jump to no. 15 as LSU Tigers tumble 12 spots
The Kentucky Wildcats produced the most dramatic ascent in the poll, leaping from an unranked position directly into the no. 15 spot following a 35-34 overtime triumph against LSU. Led by head coach Will Stein and quarterback Kenny Minchey, Kentucky executed a walk-off two-point conversion to seal the game. It was the second consecutive week that Kentucky won an overtime contest by a 35-34 score on a two-point try, having matched that sequence against South Carolina in Week 5.
Read also: Ole Miss supera LSU em confronto eletrizante, ofuscando o retorno emocional de Lane Kiffin a Oxford
The setback sent the LSU Tigers, led by head coach Lane Kiffin and quarterback Sam Leavitt, tumbling 12 spots from tenth down to no. 22 with a 4-2 record. Reflecting on the decisive overtime sequence and late fourth-down strategy, Kiffin addressed the narrow margins that shaped the outcome of the contest in Lexington.
“Thought about going for it on fourth-and-1 and then talked myself out of it,” Kiffin stated after the game, adding later regarding the overtime coin toss: “It could be as simple as the coin toss going the other way and they score first and don’t go for two, and then we go for two.”
Southeastern Conference places nine programs in the AP Top 25
Three new teams joined the national rankings in the Week 6 update, while Oregon and Florida fell out of the poll entirely following home conference losses. Alongside Kentucky, Wake Forest entered at no. 21 and Northwestern secured the no. 25 spot. The Southeastern Conference retained substantial representation across the national ballot, placing nine programs within the top 25 rankings.
- Georgia: 1st place
- Alabama: 6th place
- Texas: 7th place
- Ole Miss: 9th place
- Missouri: 13th place
- Tennessee: 14th place
- Kentucky: 15th place
- Mississippi State: 16th place
- LSU: 22nd place
Week 7 schedule tests Notre Dame and ranked conference contenders
The upcoming Week 7 slate presents direct challenges for multiple teams in the updated ballot, headlined by no. 2 Notre Dame traveling to face no. 8 BYU on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at 19:30 EDT at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah. That matchup represents the first major road test of the season for Marcus Freeman’s roster.
Other top-25 matchups on the upcoming schedule include no. 4 Ohio State visiting no. 5 Indiana, no. 6 Alabama traveling to face no. 14 Tennessee, no. 9 Ole Miss hosting no. 13 Missouri, no. 15 Kentucky playing at Oklahoma, no. 22 LSU hosting no. 16 Mississippi State in Baton Rouge, and no. 20 Houston hosting no. 18 Oklahoma State.
