LDN Sports - AP Top 25

LSU cracks top 10, Oregon slips and Wolverines fall out of AP Top 25 after second-chance Hail Mary

[September 09, 2026] By ERIC OLSON

LSU jumped back into the top 10 in the first Associated Press Top 25 college football poll of the regular season on Tuesday, Oregon slipped out of the top five and Michigan fell out of the rankings altogether after it needed a second-chance Hail Mary try at home to beat Western Michigan.

Ohio State remained No. 1 by a wide margin entering its showdown with No. 4 Texas on Saturday. The Buckeyes received 46 first-place votes from the voting panel of 69 writers and broadcasters. The other 23 first-place votes were divided among six teams.

Georgia, Notre Dame, Texas and Indiana each moved up one spot with Oregon going from No. 2 to No. 6 following a 34-27 win over Boise State as a 25.5-point favorite. Miami, LSU, Mississippi and Texas A&M rounded out the top 10.

Defending national champion Indiana received the second-most No. 1 votes, with eight. LSU got five, Notre Dame four, Oregon three, Texas two and Miami one.

LSU made one of the biggest statements of Week 1 with its 51-10 rout of Clemson in Lane Kiffin’s debut in Baton Rouge. Courtroom drama over the eligibility status of LSU players trying to return to college from NFL training camps took the spotlight in the days leading up to the game, and then Sam Leavitt and his highly paid teammates made fast work of Clemson.

LSU’s rise from No. 11 to No. 8 gave the Tigers their first top-10 ranking since they were No. 4 after a 4-0 start last season. The Tigers went 3-6 the rest of the way, Brian Kelly was fired at midseason and Kiffin was hired away from Mississippi with the charge of restoring LSU to its former glory.

LSU’s promotion bumped Oklahoma out of the top 10. The Sooners shut out UTEP 51-0 and will take a No. 11 ranking into their visit to Michigan. That matchup lost some luster in light of Michigan’s slogging offensive performance against Western Michigan, a game the Wolverines won 13-12 after one second was put back on the clock at the end of the game. That was just enough time for Bryce Underwood to throw a second Hail Mary, this one landing in the hands of JJ Buchanan.

In and out
Virginia rode an impressive Week 0 win over North Carolina State to a No. 25 ranking. It’s the first time since 2005 the Cavaliers have been ranked in a first regular-season poll. They finished No. 16 in the final Top 25 last season but received just one vote in the preseason poll.

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Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, right, celebrates his touchdown reception against Ball State with teammate Brandon Inniss during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Michigan went from No. 16 to to out of the Top 25, the first time since at least 2008 that a team ranked so high was bounced after a win. Kansas State went from No. 17 to unranked after holding off North Dakota of the Football Championship Subdivision last year.

Poll points
— Seven teams with first-place votes are the most since the same number got first-place votes in the 2016 preseason poll. It’s the most in a regular-season poll since seven got first-place votes Sept. 2, 2014.

— Of the 25 ranked teams, 24 won in the same week for the first time since Week 1 in 2019.

— Louisville held onto its No. 24 ranking after losing 41-38 to Mississippi on a walk-off field goal. The Cardinals became the lowest-ranked team since at least 2008 to stay in the Top 25 after a loss.

Conference call
SEC (9 ranked teams): No. 2 Georgia, No. 4 Texas, No. 8 LSU, No. 9 Mississippi, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 12 Alabama, No. 18 Tennessee, No. 23 Missouri.

Big Ten (7): No. 1 Ohio State, No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Oregon, No. 14 USC, No. 16 Penn State, No. 19 Washington, No. 21 Iowa.

ACC (4): No. 7 Miami, No. 17 SMU, No. 24 Louisville, No. 25 Virginia.

Big 12 (4): No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 15 BYU, No. 20 Utah, No. 22 Houston.

Independent (1): No. 3 Notre Dame.

Ranked vs. ranked
No. 1 Ohio State at No. 5 Texas: It’s the first regular-season, top-five matchup since these teams met in Columbus to open 2025. Texas was No. 1 that day and lost 14-7. The Buckeyes moved from No. 3 to No. 1 and stayed there until they lost to Indiana in the Big Ten championship game.

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