Conference title races are heating up around the country as we move into late October, especially in the SEC and Big Ten, which once again dominated the Coaches Poll top 25 college football rankings as we move into Week 9 action.
One move that won’t come as a surprise: There’s a new No. 1 team in college football after Texas failed its first big conference test at home against Georgia, which made a case to return to the top of the rankings after its dominant road victory against the Longhorns.
Elsewhere in the SEC, the Third Saturday in October game saw Tennessee overcome some early sluggish offense in a statement victory over now two-loss Alabama, as these two rivals are heading in different directions when it comes to the current College Football Playoff race.
Indiana smashed Nebraska, passing a crucial test for an offense that is plus-245 in point differential, the best mark nationally since 2020 at this point in a season, while the Big 12 is getting interesting as Iowa State and BYU are both still undefeated.
Where does that leave things in the top 25 college football rankings this week? Let’s check out what teams are moving up and down, and who are the new kids on the block, as we move into Week 9, according to the latest coaches’ vote.
First-place votes in parentheses
- Oregon (51)
- Georgia (2)
- Penn State
- Ohio State
- Miami
- Texas
- LSU
- Tennessee
- Clemson
- Iowa State
- Notre Dame
- BYU
- Indiana
- Texas A&M
- Alabama
- Kansas State
- Missouri
- Ole Miss
- Boise State
- Pittsburgh
- Illinois
- SMU
- Army
- Navy
- Vanderbilt
More … Our prediction for the AP top 25 rankings
No. 22 Michigan. College football’s defending national champs are at 3 losses before November for the first time since the pre-Harbaugh era as the passing offense is still missing in action.
No. 25 Nebraska. The Cornhuskers’ time in the coaches’ rankings was short-lived after getting pasted by resurgent Indiana on the road and falling to 5-2.
UNLV 28; Syracuse 27; Washington State 25; Duke 7; Memphis 6; Liberty 6; Wisconsin 3; Tulane 3; Cincinnati 2; Nebraska 1; Arizona State 1.
Texas (Down 5). The first loss of the season for the Longhorns, but they stay in the top-10 of this week’s Coaches rankings, as expected.
Indiana (Up 5). The Hoosiers offense is for real, but there’s some concern around the health of quarterback Kurtis Rourke after he injured his thumb.
Alabama (Down 8). For the first time since 2007, the Crimson Tide have 2 losses before the end of October, and their playoff hopes are slipping away fast.
Vanderbilt (Up 5). A nice jump for the Commodores but their schedule gets a lot harder going forward.
In a season marked by consequential upsets and losses by highly-ranked teams, we saw another No. 1 team go down, bringing the 2024 roster of perfection to just 10 teams in late October.
ACC: Miami, Pittsburgh
Big Ten: Oregon, Penn State, Indiana
Big 12: BYU, Iowa State
AAC: Army, Navy
CUSA: Liberty
More … ESPN top 25 college football rankings for Week 9
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