Florida State, after beginning the season 0-2, has fallen out of The Associated Press college football poll. This development makes Florida State the third team since the AP poll expanded to 25 teams in 1989 to drop from a preseason top-10 position to unranked in the first regular-season poll.
Georgia holds onto the No. 1 ranking with 57 first-place votes, following a dominant win against then-No. 14 Clemson, who remains in the rankings at No. 25. Ohio State climbed to No. 2, securing five first-place votes. Texas moved up to No. 3, and Alabama ascended to No. 4, positioning three Southeastern Conference teams in the top four.
Notre Dame rose two spots to No. 5 after a victory over then-No. 20 Texas A&M, which has since dropped out of the rankings.
Florida State, the defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion, suffered a Week 0 loss to Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland, and then fell at home to Boston College. The Seminoles’ early struggles make them the only preseason Top 25 team this year to lose to an unranked opponent in consecutive games while being double-digit favorites.
Historically, only two other preseason top-10 teams have fallen out of the Top 25 after the first week of the regular season in the past 35 years: Michigan in 2007, following a loss to Appalachian State, and Clemson in 2008, after a blowout loss to Alabama.
Mississippi remains at No. 6. Oregon dropped four spots to No. 7 despite a close win against Idaho. Penn State remains steady at No. 8, and Missouri advanced two spots to No. 9, giving the SEC five teams in the top 10. Michigan rounds out the top 10 after falling one spot.
Georgia Tech, now 2-0, is ranked at No. 23, marking their first appearance in the rankings since 2015.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | PREVIOUS RANK |
| 1 | Georgia | 1-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 1-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Texas | 1-0 | 4 |
| 4 | Alabama | 1-0 | 5 |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 1-0 | 7 |
| 6 | Ole Miss | 1-0 | 6 |
| 7 | Oregon | 1-0 | 3 |
| 8 | Penn State | 1-0 | 8 |
| 9 | Missouri | 1-0 | 11 |
| 10 | Michigan | 1-0 | 9 |
| 11 | Utah | 1-0 | 12 |
| 12 | Miami | 1-0 | 19 |
| 13 | USC | 1-0 | 23 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 1-0 | 15 |
| 15 | Oklahoma | 1-0 | 16 |
| 16 | Oklahoma State | 1-0 | 17 |
| 17 | Kansas State | 1-0 | 18 |
| 18 | LSU | 0-1 | 13 |
| 19 | Kansas | 1-0 | 22 |
| 20 | Arizona | 1-0 | 21 |
| 21 | Iowa | 1-0 | 25 |
| 22 | Louisville | 1-0 | N/R |
| 23 | Georgia Tech | 2-0 | N/R |
| 24 | NC State | 1-0 | 24 |
| 25 | Clemson | 0-1 | 14 |
Poll Points
With an early start to the season, Florida State has joined an exclusive group of teams that started 0-2 with each loss coming while ranked in the top 10. The last team to experience a similar start was Notre Dame in 2022, losing to Ohio State and Marshall in consecutive weeks. Ohio State also had a comparable start in 1986, losing back-to-back games to Alabama and Washington.
Florida State is only the second ranked team in history to lose twice before the first regular-season poll was released, joining Kentucky from 1951, which went 1-2 to start the season after losses to Texas and Mississippi.
Florida State will take a break before continuing their schedule with home games against Memphis, new ACC member California, and a trip to SMU, followed by a home game against Clemson. After the loss to Boston College, coach Mike Norvell commented, “You’ve got a football team that nobody envisioned ever being where we are and having disappointment, having failure, but I do believe in what this team can do. I believe in what this team can accomplish.”
Moving Up
Miami and Southern California made significant moves in the Top 25. Miami jumped seven spots to No. 19 after a decisive victory over Florida. Southern California surged 10 places to No. 13 following a late touchdown win against LSU in Las Vegas, which dropped LSU to No. 18.
Southern California started last season at No. 6 but ended unranked after an 8-5 season, despite having 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams.
In-and-Out
Joining Georgia Tech in entering the rankings is Louisville, now sitting at No. 22. The Cardinals were among the top unranked vote-getters in the preseason poll.
Conference Call
Despite the struggles of Florida State and Clemson, the ACC now has five teams in this week’s rankings:
– SEC: 8 (Nos. 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 14, 16, 18)
– Big Ten: 6 (Nos. 2, 7, 8, 10, 13, 21)
– ACC: 5 (Nos. 12, 22, 23, 24, 25)
– Big 12: 5 (Nos. 11, 16, 17, 19, 20)
– Independent: 1 (No. 5)
Ranked vs. Ranked
Key matchups involving ranked teams include No. 3 Texas visiting No. 10 Michigan in a top-10 showdown at the Big House, and No. 14 Tennessee facing No. 24 NC State in an SEC-ACC matchup in Charlotte, North Carolina.
