Miami and BYU Surge to the Top After Historic College Football Chaos

Historic Chaos Shakes the Rankings

Five of the top seven teams lost this past weekend. That has never happened before in the 90 year history of the national poll. Miami and BYU took full advantage of the shakeup, rising alongside Ohio State into a crowded top three.

Every spot in the Top 25 features a new team this week, though only two programs fell out of the rankings completely. Georgia dropped out of the top spot after one week following a home loss to Auburn. That defeat made the Bulldogs the second straight number one team to lose to an unranked opponent, right after Texas. Georgia and Notre Dame still stayed inside the top five because both built plenty of credit with 6-0 starts.

Miami and BYU Reach Long Awaited Heights

Miami collected 40 first place votes to take the top spot for the first time since the 2002 season ended in the national title game against Ohio State. The Hurricanes stayed unbeaten after surviving late drama against Florida State in double overtime. Miami is also the first Atlantic Coast Conference team to sit at number one since Clemson in 2020.

BYU moved up to second, which is the highest ranking for the program since its 1984 national championship season. The Cougars defeated Notre Dame 28-24 despite entering the game as a 10.5 point underdog. The win pushed BYU to 6-0 for the third straight year. The Cougars earned 20 first place votes and sit 22 points behind Miami, while holding a 26 point edge over third place Ohio State.

Other contenders tumbled hard after road and home stumbles. Alabama fell seven spots to number 13 after losing at Tennessee. Texas slid 12 spots down to number 19 following a home loss against Florida.

What it means for the next game

Here are the projections for both teams in their next games.

Pittsburgh Panthers at Miami Hurricanes (College Football, Sat, 24 Oct): Miami Hurricanes win 92%, Pittsburgh Panthers win 8%; projected score Miami Hurricanes 38, Pittsburgh Panthers 15. Our safest pick: Over 41.5 points.

BYU Cougars at UCF Knights (College Football, Sat, 24 Oct): UCF Knights win 30%, BYU Cougars win 70%; projected score UCF Knights 20, BYU Cougars 26. Our safest pick: BYU to win.