In a significant reshuffle of the collegiate football landscape, the latest AP Top 25 poll has delivered some of the most dramatic changes seen this season. The most notable shift sees Texas A&M tumble out of the top five for the first time in two months following a costly defeat.
Major Moves in the Rankings
The top of the table saw considerable movement with just one week remaining before the postseason bracket is finalised. No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana maintain their positions as the only undefeated teams, setting the stage for a colossal Big Ten championship game clash this Saturday. This marks the seventh consecutive poll where they have held the top two spots.
Beneath them, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Oregon each climbed one place. The story of the week, however, belongs to Texas Tech, which surged into the No. 5 spot. This is the team's highest ranking since an impressive three-week stint at No. 2 back in November 2008—a remarkable achievement after 17 years.
Texas A&M's fortunes moved in the opposite direction, slipping four places to No. 7 after a ten-point loss to rivals Texas. Mississippi held firm at No. 6, while Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Alabama completed the top ten, unchanged for a third week running.
Championship Weekend Preview
The weekend's results have set the scene for two blockbuster top-ten matchups in conference championship games. The headline act is the Big Ten title game between the unbeaten Ohio State and Indiana. Simultaneously, the Southeastern Conference crown will be contested by Georgia and Alabama in another high-stakes duel.
Further down the rankings, No. 11 BYU will face the resurgent Texas Tech for the Big 12 championship. The Atlantic Coast Conference game will feature No. 16 Virginia against a Duke team that, despite a 7-5 record, received no votes in the latest poll.
Notable Shifts and Group of Five Presence
In other movements, No. 12 Miami and No. 13 Vanderbilt traded places. Miami, finishing its regular season with a commanding 31-point road win over Pittsburgh, now stands as the highest-ranked ACC team and holds hopes for a College Football Playoff at-large bid. Vanderbilt, conversely, slipped in the rankings despite securing a substantial 21-point victory on the road against Tennessee.
A season-high four teams from Group of Five conferences are now ranked, highlighting their growing influence. Leading this charge is James Madison at No. 19, which moved up one spot and is the highest-ranked Group of Five team as it prepares to host Troy for the Sun Belt championship.
They are followed by a strong contingent from the American Conference: No. 20 North Texas, No. 21 Tulane, and No. 24 Navy. North Texas is set to visit Tulane for the American championship game, a fixture that promises to be a tightly contested affair. Tulane was the sole Group of Five representative in last week's College Football Playoff rankings.
