For the second straight week, the AP Top 25 poll will have a new No. 1 at the top of the rankings. It’s not unusual for the No. 1 ranking to change hands when the heart of conference play hits, but what made Week 7 a true chaos week for the record books was the way the upsets and shake-ups seemed to escalate throughout the day. First, No. 5 and No. 7 fell in the early window, followed by No. 1 and No. 6 in the afternoon. Then, No. 2 Notre Dame lost to No. 8 BYU in a game that directly impacted crowning the new top team in the sport.  

In one sense, there was always going to be some level of shake-up to the rankings when you have six games between ranked teams and four of those coming between teams ranked inside the top 16. But what could not have been foreseen was to have those ballot-shifting results compounded by the newly minted No. 1 Georgia losing at home to unranked Auburn, former No. 1 Texas blowing a lead to unranked Florida, and of course, the No. 2 Notre Dame (who could have been No. 1) losing as a double-digit favorite on the final play against BYU in Provo on Saturday night.  

In that context, other results like Tennessee’s lockdown of Alabama or a heavy-handed smackdown for Missouri by Ole Miss seem slightly less shocking. It also made Ohio State’s absolute thriller of a win against Indiana in Bloomington a second-page story, even if the game carried arguably more long-term significance with Julian Sayin’s injury. 

Saturday was the kind of day that college football needed after a couple of days of hand-wringing around the future of the College Football Playoff. No matter what the postseason format may be, college football will always be at its best on days like Saturday when everything that was previously assumed or known about the order of power is thrown into a wood-chipper of upsets and near-upsets. This was true in the days of the BCS and four-team CFP, and will be true moving forward as long as we continue to show up and provide the stage and stakes for college football players to perform at a high level. No other sport delivers that unpredictability with more passion, and there’s never been a better time for us fans to have that reminder.    

Here’s how we think the new AP Top 25 poll will look on Sunday after the scores and results of a chaotic Week 7 in college football: 

1. BYU (8): This is a bold prediction given the gap between BYU and No. 1, but it’s one that we feel comfortable making with the Cougars’ unbeaten record and high-profile upset win against Notre Dame. There’s also some credit earned with the AP voters in terms of BYU’s recent success, 

2. Miami (3): Mario Cristobal’s crew had a clear opportunity to claim the No. 1 spot when Georgia went down, but a double-overtime upset scare at the hands of unranked Florida State could end up leaving the Hurricanes at No. 2. Miami will get its fair share of first-place votes, no doubt, but the difference in result against expectations could leave them on the short end of voting points compared to BYU. 

3. Ohio State (4): While Julian Sayin is scheduled to miss time with an injury and Indiana dominates the conversation with a crucial missed step, there is a concrete boost to the Buckeyes’ ranking position coming out of a top-five road win. Ohio State won’t be able to push No. 1 until the top teams start taking losses, but this team has locked down the claim to being the top one-loss team in the country. 

4. Georgia (1): Losing as a heavy favorite at home is never good for your standing in the rankings, but Georgia had 66 first-place votes last week and still has one of the best wins of the year beating Alabama on the road. Even if you downgrade that win given Alabama’s loss at Tennessee, I think the Bulldogs still have a fair claim to being one of the best one-loss teams in the country. 

5. Notre Dame (2): This is a soft landing projected for another top team with a loss, but the Fighting Irish had a pretty strong profile in the eyes of the AP voters and lost on the road on the final play to a top-10 team. If Alabama only dropped a few spots after its loss to Georgia last week, we’re expecting something similar for the Fighting Irish. 

6. Indiana (5): The Hoosiers are going to be at the mercy of the results around them. They are sure to take a slight step back following the loss but should not be penalized too much for a narrow defeat to another elite team.  

7. Ole Miss (9): On a day where most of the top teams either struggled or lost outright, credit to Ole Miss for handling its business against a tough foe in Missouri. The Rebels grabbed control of the game early and never relented, even through injury issues, cruising to a 31-3 win to improve to 5-1 overall.  

8. Texas Tech (10): The hesitance to move Texas Tech up in the rankings will be tested after the Red Raiders hung 53 on the scoreboard in a runaway win against Arizona State on Saturday. The reigning Big 12 champions are now 6-0 on the season and have only had one opponent (Houston) really push them into upset territory. 

9. UCLA (12): The last undefeated team in the Big Ten is UCLA, and if you had that as a bold prediction coming into the season, please come down and accept your grand prize. Bob Chesney and the Bruins continue to be one of the shining stars in a season full of stunners, remaining unbeaten and improving to 6-0 with a 17-7 win against Wisconsin. The victory serves as some confidence for voters that UCLA can maintain its quality without injured quarterback Nico Iamaleava, and it also sets them up to be a party crasher in the Big Ten title race. 

10. Tennessee (14): You can probably still smell the cigar smoke from Knoxville as the Vols celebrated their third straight home win against rival Alabama on the Third Saturday in October. The Tennessee defense absolutely answered the call against Keelon Russell and a high-powered Alabama offense, holding the Crimson Tide to a season low for points (10) and total yards (101), while DeSean Bishop continued to be the heartbeat of the offense with 159 yards and two scores in the 26-10 win.  

11. Utah (11): The Utes got a strong push from Colorado but held on for a 27-24 win in Boulder. Utah is now 6-0 overall but prior to Saturday had been beating everyone by at least two touchdowns on the final margin, so this close call might get the attention of some AP voters. The good news for them, and us as fans, is next week features a great prove-it opportunity against Houston. 

12. Alabama (6): It’s going to be easy for voters to identify Alabama as a team that will be moving out of the top 10 following the Crimson Tide’s second straight loss, but placing this group on the ballot will be difficult. There’s a head-to-head win against Kentucky that seems significantly more impactful than it did at the time, and now it will probably be the reason Alabama does not drop further after losing to Tennessee.

13. Kentucky (15): The Wildcats improved to 6-1 on the season with a hard-fought road win at Oklahoma, and now the conversation has totally changed around Will Stein’s group from being a plucky underdog story to a legitimate College Football Playoff contender. The early season loss to Alabama prevents any major movement in the rankings, but consider Saturday night’s win in Norman a big checkpoint in earning the voters’ trust as a legitimate top 25 squad. 

14. Houston (20): Willie Fritz and the Cougars survived a tough second-half charge from Oklahoma State to win a key Big 12 elimination game and improve to 6-1 overall on the season. The Cougars’ lone loss this season came against Texas Tech, in Lubbock, with a failed two-point try. Ever since, this team has proven that the margins between those two squads remain razor thin. Whether Houston gets another crack at Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game is yet to be seen, but the Cougars will certainly get closer in the rankings thanks to Saturday nght’s win. 

15. Iowa (17): The Hawkeyes were off in Week 7 and will be back in action next week at Minnesota 

16. USC (19): The Trojans were off in Week 7 and will be back in action next week at Wisconsin 

17. Missouri (13): The Tigers are going to be bolstered by their win against Florida, which now has more value as we’re projecting the Gators to make a return to the top 25. But if Missouri drops behind Florida, or even out of the poll entirely, it will come as a result of a poor showing in Oxford. Ole Miss held the Tigers to just 39 rushing yards as a team and kept them out of the end zone all afternoon in a 31-3 defeat that drops Missouri into the pack of two-loss teams in the back half of the rankings. 

18. Florida (NR): After back-to-back losses spiked the Gators from the top 25 picture, Florida is set to come roaring back to the rankings in the wake of Saturday’s win against Texas in Austin. From a rankings perspective, the win pairs with its Week 4 win against Ole Miss, adding some real substance to its two-loss profile. 

19. Texas (7): The Longhorns are now 4-2 with wins against Ohio State and Tennessee, but are reeling with back-to-back losses to Oklahoma and Florida. It’s undeniably a strong two-loss resume for making the top 25, but a poor position for any hopes of making this year’s College Football Playoff, which unfortunately for Steve Sarkisian won’t have 24 teams just yet. 

20. Wake Forest (21): The Demon Deacons continued their hot start even through a West Coast road trip, blowing past Cal by a 41-7 final score. Wake Forest being 6-1 heading into the bye week is a surprise compared to preseason expectations, but at this point in the season the body of work speaks for itself. Both on the field and in the standings, Wake Forest is looking like a contender for the ACC Championship. 

21. LSU (22): The odds were stacked against Mississippi State having to travel to Baton Rouge and face the Tigers without Kamario Taylor in the lineup. It set up well to be a game that showcased LSU’s defense and was headlined by four passing touchdowns from Sam Leavitt. 

22. Boise State (23): The Broncos were off in Week 7 and will be back in action next week at Washington State. 

23. SMU (24): If there’s a rush of support for one of the teams who pulled off a big win on Saturday night, the Mustangs could find themselves on the outside looking in despite winning in Week 7. SMU was firmly in control for most of the second half in a 10-point win against Virginia, but that might not be enough to solidify their standing after some close margins in voting points.  

24. Northwestern (25): Like SMU, there’s a chance the Wildcats get picked off after a close conference win given the small margins between teams here in the 20s. Northwestern is 5-1 overall, but its best win is against Penn State, and Saturday’s 24-21 win at Michigan State (a team that’s now 0-4 in Big Ten play) might not inspire voters as they deal with the shakeup on their ballots.

25. Oregon (NR): The Ducks finished 27th in voting points last week and fought back to escape with a win against a Nebraska team that was 29th in the same balloting. Oregon is 4-2 on the year and certainly has underachieved compared to national title expectations, but it has also defeated three teams that the AP voters had in the top 30 coming into the week (USC, Boise State, Nebraska). You could see Arizona, Mississippi State or James Madison also as candidates for this final spot, but we’re projecting the Ducks’ quality wins give them the edge for No. 25.  

Projected to drop out: No. 16 Mississippi State, No. 18 Oklahoma State