Five straight polls at No. 2, and now the Georgia No. 1 AP poll result is official: the Bulldogs are back on top of college football. After beating Alabama 20-17 in Tuscaloosa, Georgia climbed to the top of the Week 7 AP Top 25, while Texas slid six spots to No. 7 after losing to Oklahoma.
One wild Saturday reshuffled the whole top of the sport. That’s how fast college football moves, and it’s why Georgia tops AP poll voters’ ballots.
Georgia ranked No. 1 with 66 of 70 first-place votes
Georgia is 6-0 and landed 66 of the 70 first-place votes, according to CBS Sports. Notre Dame got one first-place vote, Miami got two, and Indiana got one. Georgia finished with 1,745 points.
The Bulldogs had been stuck at No. 2 for five straight polls. They won five straight lopsided games during that stretch and still couldn’t pass the top team (the poll equivalent of acing the test and watching someone else get the trophy). Texas finally handed them the keys.
This is Georgia’s first time at No. 1 since Sept. 8, 2024. The Bulldogs are also 4-0 in SEC play and are the reigning conference champions. For the full game story, read our report on how Georgia beat Alabama 20-17 in Tuscaloosa.
The Alabama win did the heavy lifting for the Bulldogs’ No. 1 ranking
Georgia’s early schedule drew some skeptics. Its first three SEC opponents were the league’s three lowest-rated offenses, so the Alabama game was the real test. The Bulldogs passed it, though not without drama. ESPN noted that a missed pass interference call in the end zone late in the game appeared to help Georgia.
Alabama (5-1) held at No. 6 after the loss. Georgia also took the top spot in the Coaches Poll, where Texas sits at No. 6 and Alabama at No. 7. So the Georgia No. 1 AP poll ranking holds up in both major polls.
Texas pays for the Red River loss
Texas had been No. 1 before the weekend. Then Oklahoma beat the Longhorns 27-24 on a field goal as time expired in Dallas. The Longhorns (4-1) tumbled six spots, according to Yahoo Sports. That matches the drop Texas took after last year’s season-opening loss to Ohio State. For more on the fallout, see our look at Texas tumbling after the Oklahoma upset.
One kick, six spots.
The poll doesn’t do small apologies, and Georgia ranked No. 1 is the direct result.
The AP Top 25 rankings: the rest of the top 10 and big movers
Notre Dame (6-0) moved up to No. 2 after a 58-7 win over Stanford. Miami (5-0) is third, Ohio State (5-1) fourth, and Indiana (6-0) fifth. Alabama is sixth, Texas seventh, BYU (5-0) eighth, Ole Miss ninth, and Texas Tech tenth.
Elsewhere, the poll got messy:
- Oregon (3-2) fell out for the first time in four years after losing at home to UCLA.
- Florida also dropped out.
- LSU fell 12 spots to No. 22.
- UCLA jumped nine spots to No. 12.
- Kentucky re-entered at No. 15.
- Northwestern debuted at No. 25, its first ranking since 2020, after beating Ball State 45-14.
The SEC now has nine ranked teams: Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi State and LSU. So the conference didn’t just keep the top spot. It also filled more than a third of the poll.
Here’s the thing about being No. 1
The top spot is nice, but it also puts a target on Georgia’s back. Every opponent now gets to say it beat the No. 1 team in the country. That’s a free motivational speech, and the Bulldogs’ No. 1 ranking hands it out every week. For a look at the other big games on that slate, check our college football Week 6 guide.
The next chance for chaos is already here. No. 5 Indiana faces No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 2 Notre Dame meets No. 8 BYU, per Fox 5 Atlanta. No. 6 Alabama also visits No. 14 Tennessee, and No. 13 Missouri travels to No. 9 Ole Miss.
So can Georgia stay on top long enough to enjoy the view, or will somebody knock the Bulldogs off before the next poll drops?
