Overview
- Ohio State stayed No. 1 for a ninth straight week with 53 first-place votes as the unchanged top six also included Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia and Oregon.
- BYU, Texas Tech, Cincinnati, Houston and Utah gave the Big 12 a season-high five ranked teams, with BYU tied at No. 10 alongside Miami.
- Vanderbilt rose to No. 9 after a 17-10 win over then-No. 15 Missouri, starting 7-1 for the first time since 1941 and reaching its highest ranking since 1937.
- Houston reentered at No. 22 for its first AP ranking since 2022 after a 24-16 road win over then-No. 24 Arizona State, improving to 7-1.
- LSU dropped out after losing three of its last four, including a 24-point home loss to Texas A&M, while USC (23), Utah (24) and Memphis (25) joined the poll and the SEC led all leagues with nine ranked teams.