2026 Associated Press Poll (Last Update: 1st November)

Wil Vincent

Introduction

The tables below show the full AP Poll breakdown week on week, latest week shown first. Data is procured from the AP Poll website directly, with additional data analysis for non ranked teams receiving votes. Non Ranked teams are included for educational purposes only¹, primarily in terms of working out where the Go6 race is currently heading, and how far teams have fallen / gained over the past week. A pure T25 ranking limits the ability to digest some of this data.

The full, dirty Excel Sheet used to store this data is available upon request, just ping me a message. I can also generate data pertaining to teams and vote spreads across conferences and 'segments' of rankings. As a long time statistical researcher, there is always plenty of storytelling behind the data, which is why I'm adamant on including more data on non ranked teams, and keeping season long data in one place.

Data will continue to be collected throughout the season, even once the CFP committee release their rankings. There will be some discussion articles around the two (three if you include the USA Today Coaches Poll), sets of rankings, as it enables further storytelling between the limited amount of time AP & Coach based voters get to spend on each game compared to the committee and the fabled 'eye test'.

NOTES

First place votes are listed in parentheses ( ). Where a team is tied in the rankings, they are assumed to share a position, unless a first place vote places one team above another. There is no system for ranking teams based on the highest place vote they received in any given week.
Even though the rankings are an indicator of those who may make the playoffs, the current model involves:
- The Top 5 ranked conference champions (The ACC, B1G, XII, SEC + One Group of 6 Conference).
- 7 'At large bids', based on their rankings in the College Football Playoff Rankings.
Because of this, teams listed may not actually be eligible for the playoffs, even if ranked inside the Top 12 of any poll ranking.
The AP poll is the one most often used in broadcast media, which prefers to use its rankings when advertising games, and in use on score bugs, written reports of games etc.. This however will be replaced by the College Football Playoff rankings, when the first edition is released on the 3^rd November 2026.

Week 9 - Poll Released 1^st November 2026

Team	Conference	Ranking	Votes
Miami Hurricanes	ACC	1	1740 (62)
Georgia Bulldogs	SEC	2	1648 (7)
Utah Utes	XII	3	1540 (1)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	FBS-Ind	4	1476
UCLA Bruins	B1G	5	1473
Indiana Hoosiers	B1G	6	1446
BYU Cougars	XII	7	1358
Kentucky Wildcats	SEC	8	1253
Alabama Crimson Tide	SEC	9	1107
Texas Longhorns	SEC	10	1057
Ohio State Buckeyes	B1G	11	1049
Ole Miss Rebels	SEC	12	953
Texas Tech Red Raiders	XII	13	931
Wake Forest Demon Deacons	ACC	14	898
LSU Tigers	SEC	15	814
Tennessee Volunteers	SEC	16	719
Houston Cougars	XII	17	590
USC Trojans	B1G	18	539
Missouri Tigers	SEC	19	475
Boise State Broncos	P-12	20	451
Iowa Hawkeyes	B1G	21	401
New Mexico Lobos	MW	22	179
South Carolina Gamecocks	SEC	23	163
Arizona Wildcats	XII	24	154
Florida Gators	SEC	25	94
Northwestern Wildcats	B1G	[NR] \| 26	79
Oregon Ducks	B1G	[NR] \| 27	55
UTSA Roadrunners	AAC	[NR] \| 28	43
SMU Mustangs	ACC	[NR] \| 29	27
Virginia Tech Hokies	ACC	[NR] \| 30	12
Duke Blue Devils	ACC	[NR] \| 31	10
Minnesota Golden Gophers	B1G	[NR] \| 32	8
Liberty Flames	C-USA	[NR] \| 33	4
Oklahoma State Cowboys	XII	[NR] \| 34	3
Louisville Cardinals	ACC	[NR] \| 35	1

Week 8 - Poll Released 25^th October 2026

Team	Conference	Ranking	Votes
Miami Hurricanes	ACC	1	1735 (59)
Ohio State Buckeyes	B1G	2	1681 (10)
Georgia Bulldogs	SEC	3	1511
Indiana Hoosiers	B1G	4	1459
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	FBS-Ind	5	1458
Utah Utes	XII	6	1413 (1)
UCLA Bruins	B1G	7	1398
BYU Cougars	XII	8	1325
Kentucky Wildcats	SEC	9	1185
Alabama Crimson Tide	SEC	10	1063
Texas Longhorns	SEC	11	966
Ole Miss Rebels	SEC	12	871
Texas Tech Red Raiders	XII	13	861
Wake Forest Demon Deacons	ACC	14	822
LSU Tigers	SEC	15	813
Tennessee Volunteers	SEC	16	662
Florida Gators	SEC	17	556
Houston Cougars	XII	18	491
SMU Mustangs	ACC	19	440
Boise State Broncos	P-12	20=	422
Northwestern Wildcats	B1G	20=	422
Arizona Wildcats	XII	22	400
Missouri Tigers	SEC	23	329
Oklahoma State Cowboys	XII	24	180
Wisconsin Badgers	B1G	25	125
Iowa Hawkeyes	B1G	[NR] 26	76
New Mexico Lobos	MW	[NR] 27	41
Cincinnati Bearcats	XII	[NR] 28	11
Oregon State Beavers	P-12	[NR] 29	10
South Carolina Gamecocks	SEC	[NR] 30	8
Minnesota Golden Gophers	B1G	[NR] 31=	7
USC Trojans	B1G	[NR] 31=	7
UTSA Roadrunners	AAC	[NR] 33=	1
Virginia Tech Hokies	ACC	[NR] 33=	1

Week 7 - Poll Released 18^th October 2026

Team	Conference	Ranking	Votes
Miami Hurricanes	ACC	1	1697 (40)
BYU Cougars	XII	2	1675 (20)
Ohio State Buckeyes	B1G	3	1649 (9)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	FBS-Ind	4	1395
Georgia Bulldogs	SEC	5	1382
Indiana Hoosiers	B1G	6	1370
Ole Miss Rebels	SEC	7	1360
Texas Tech Red Raiders	XII	8	1336 (1)
UCLA Bruins	B1G	9	1159
Utah Utes	XII	10	1153
Tennessee Volunteers	SEC	11	1151
Kentucky Wildcats	SEC	12	932
Alabama Crimson Tide	SEC	13	870
Houston Cougars	XII	14	785
Iowa Hawkeyes	B1G	15	747
USC Trojans	B1G	16	592
Wake Forest Demon Deacons	ACC	17	574
LSU Tigers	SEC	18	529
Texas Longhorns	SEC	19	440
Florida Gators	SEC	20	355
Boise State Broncos	P-12	21	295
Missouri Tigers	SEC	22	290
SMU Mustangs	ACC	23	265
Northwestern Wildcats	B1G	24	254
Arizona Wildcats	XII	25	136
Oklahoma State Cowboys	XII	[NR] 26	128
Oregon Ducks	B1G	[NR] 27	79
Auburn Tigers	SEC	[NR] 28	61
James Madison Dukes	SBC	[NR] 29	52
Mississippi State Bulldogs	SEC	[NR] 30	30
New Mexico Lobos	MW	[NR] 31	6
Oregon State Beavers	P-12	[NR] 32	3

Week 6 - Poll Released 11^th October 2026

Team	Conference	Ranking	Votes
Georgia Bulldogs	SEC	1	1745 (66)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	FBS-Ind	2	1630 (1)
Miami Hurricanes	ACC	3	1594 (2)
Ohio State Buckeyes	B1G	4	1508
Indiana Hoosiers	B1G	5	1461 (1)
Alabama Crimson Tide	SEC	6	1372
Texas Longhorns	SEC	7	1371
BYU Cougars	XII	8	1237
Ole Miss Rebels	SEC	9	1135
Texas Tech Red Raiders	XII	10	1132
Utah Utes	XII	11	1073
UCLA Bruins	B1G	12	951
Missouri Tigers	SEC	13	882
Tennessee Volunteers	SEC	14	706
Kentucky Wildcats	SEC	15	655
Mississippi State Bulldogs	SEC	16	650
Iowa Hawkeyes	B1G	17	621
Oklahoma State Cowboys	XII	18	604
USC Trojans	B1G	19	505
Houston Cougars	XII	20	380
Wake Forest Demon Deacons	ACC	21	326
LSU Tigers	SEC	22	274
Boise State Broncos	P-12	23	268
SMU Mustangs	ACC	24	142
Northwestern Wildcats	B1G	25	112
Wisconsin Badgers	B1G	[NR] 26	92
Oregon Ducks	B1G	[NR] 27	86
Arizona Wildcats	XII	[NR] 28	82
Nebraska Cornhuskers	B1G	[NR] 29	65
Oklahoma Sooners	SEC	[NR] 30	44
James Madison Dukes	SBC	[NR] 31	29
Florida Gators	SEC	[NR] 32	9
Duke Blue Devils	ACC	[NR] 33	5
New Mexico Lobos	MW	[NR] 34	3
Oregon State Beavers	P-12	[NR] 35	1

Week 5 - Poll Released 4^th October 2026

Team	Conference	Ranking	Votes
Texas Longhorns	SEC	1	1737 (61)
Georgia Bulldogs	SEC	2	1647 (6)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	FBS-Ind	3	1532
Miami Hurricanes	ACC	4	1524 (2)
Ohio State Buckeyes	B1G	5	1490
Alabama Crimson Tide	SEC	6	1460
Indiana Hoosiers	B1G	7	1380 (1)
BYU Cougars	XII	8	1144
Ole Miss Rebels	SEC	9	1095
LSU Tigers	SEC	10	1087
Texas Tech Red Raiders	XII	11	1062
Utah Utes	XII	12	996
Oregon Ducks	B1G	13	831
Missouri Tigers	SEC	14	755
Tennessee Volunteers	SEC	15	746
Florida Gators	SEC	16	691
Mississippi State Bulldogs	SEC	17	487
Oklahoma State Cowboys	XII	18	477
USC Trojans	B1G	19	439
Iowa Hawkeyes	B1G	20	367
UCLA Bruins	B1G	21	287
Houston Cougars	XII	22	279
Boise State Broncos	P-12	23	271
SMU Mustangs	ACC	24	167
Pittsburgh Panthers	ACC	25	162
Kentucky Wildcats	SEC	[NR] 26	160
Wake Forest Demon Deacons	ACC	[NR] 27	142
Wisconsin Badgers	B1G	[NR] 28	88
Nebraska Cornhuskers	B1G	[NR] 29	83
Duke Blue Devils	ACC	[NR] 29	59
Northwestern Wildcats	B1G	[NR] 30	48
Minnesota Golden Gophers	B1G	[NR] 32=	19
Arizona Wildcats	XII	[NR] 32=	19
James Madison Dukes	SBC	[NR] 34	12
North Dakota State Bison	MW	[NR] 35	7

Week 4 - Poll Released 27^th September 2026

Team	Conference	Ranking	Votes
Texas Longhorns	SEC	1	1737 (62)
Georgia Bulldogs	SEC	2	1646 (6)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	FBS-Ind	3	1581
Miami Hurricanes	ACC	4	1501 (1)
Ohio State Buckeyes	B1G	5	1465
Indiana Hoosiers	B1G	6	1408 (1)
Alabama Crimson Tide	SEC	7	1305
Florida Gators	SEC	8	1272
Ole Miss Rebels	SEC	9	1089
BYU Cougars	XII	10	1078
LSU Tigers	SEC	11	1073
Texas Tech Red Raiders	XII	12	1053
Utah Utes	XII	13	903
Iowa Hawkeyes	B1G	14	856
Oregon Ducks	B1G	15	725
Mississippi State Bulldogs	SEC	16	715
Tennessee Volunteers	SEC	17	663
USC Trojans	B1G	18	410
Oklahoma State Cowboys	XII	19	345
Houston Cougars	XII	20	278
SMU Mustangs	ACC	21	246
Boise State Broncos	P-12	22	221
UCLA Bruins	B1G	23	218
Kentucky Wildcats	SEC	24	150
Missouri Tigers	SEC	25	118
Wisconsin Badgers	B1G	[NR] 26	102
Duke Blue Devils	ACC	[NR] 27	101
Penn State Nittany Lions	B1G	[NR] 28	98
Wake Forest Demon Deacons	ACC	[NR] 29	88
Virginia Tech Hokies	ACC	[NR] 30	86
Michigan Wolverines	B1G	[NR] 31	54
Pittsburgh Panthers	ACC	[NR] 32	52
Nebraska Cornhuskers	B1G	[NR] 33	36
Louisville Cardinals	ACC	[NR] 34	25
Cincinnati Bearcats	XII	[NR] 35	20
James Madison Dukes	SBC	[NR] 36	10
Arizona Wildcats	XII	[NR] 37	8
Minnesota Golden Gophers	B1G	[NR] 38	7
North Dakota State Bison	MW	[NR] 39	6
Northwestern Wildcats	B1G	[NR] 40	1

Week 3 - Poll Released 20^th September 2026

Team	Conference	Ranking	Votes
Texas Longhorns	SEC	1	1706 (58)
Georgia Bulldogs	SEC	2	1580 (3)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	FBS-Ind	3	1517
Ole Miss Rebels	SEC	4	1488 (3)
Indiana Hoosiers	B1G	5	1467 (4)
Miami Hurricanes	ACC	6	1445 (1)
Ohio State Buckeyes	B1G	7	1415
Alabama Crimson Tide	SEC	8	1182
BYU Cougars	XII	9	1090
LSU Tigers	SEC	10	1078
Texas Tech Red Raiders	XII	11	1067
USC Trojans	B1G	12	907
Penn State Nittany Lions	B1G	13	850
Tennessee Volunteers	SEC	14	826
Utah Utes	XII	15	752
Louisville Cardinals	ACC	16	692
Iowa Hawkeyes	B1G	17	561
Michigan Wolverines	B1G	18	432
Missouri Tigers	SEC	19	369
Oregon Ducks	B1G	20	364
Florida Gators	SEC	21	269
SMU Mustangs	ACC	22	212
Texas A&M Aggies	SEC	23	202
Mississippi State Bulldogs	SEC	24	179
Houston Cougars	XII	25	127
Washington Huskies	B1G	[NR] 26	107
Kentucky Wildcats	SEC	[NR] 27	98
West Virginia Mountaineers	XII	[NR] 28	93
Oklahoma Sooners	SEC	[NR] 29	91
Oklahoma State Cowboys	XII	[NR] 30	50
Boise State Broncos	P-12	[NR] 31	48
Virginia Tech Hokies	ACC	[NR] 32	46
Western Michigan Broncos	MAC	[NR] 33	27
Duke Blue Devils	ACC	[NR] 34	20
Tulsa Golden Hurricane	AAC	[NR] 35	18
Arizona Wildcats	XII	[NR] 36	12
Pittsburgh Panthers	ACC	[NR] 37	10
UCLA Bruins	B1G	[NR] 38	10
James Madison Dukes	SBC	[NR] 39	7
North Dakota State Bison	MW	[NR] 40	6
Kansas State Wildcats	XII	[NR] 41	3
Nebraska Cornhuskers	B1G	[NR] 42	2

Week 2 - Poll Released 13^th September 2026

Team	Conference	Ranking	Votes
Texas Longhorns	SEC	1	1678 (56)
Georgia Bulldogs	SEC	2	1551 (3)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	FBS-Ind	3	1531 (1)
Indiana Hoosiers	B1G	4	1466 (3)
Miami Hurricanes	ACC	5	1452 (4)
Ohio State Buckeyes	B1G	6	1407
LSU Tigers	SEC	7	1334 (1)
Ole Miss Rebels	SEC	8	1216
Texas A&M Aggies	SEC	9	1165
Alabama Crimson Tide	SEC	10	1068
BYU Cougars	XII	11	966
USC Trojans	B1G	12	944
Texas Tech Red Raiders	XII	13	910
Penn State Nittany Lions	B1G	14	692
Tennessee Volunteers	SEC	15	676
SMU Mustangs	ACC	16	636
Utah Utes	XII	17	558
Iowa Hawkeyes	B1G	18	391
Michigan Wolverines	B1G	19	382
Missouri Tigers	SEC	20	344
Oregon Ducks	B1G	21	324
Houston Cougars	XII	22	292
Louisville Cardinals	ACC	23	244
Oklahoma Sooners	SEC	24	222
Virginia Cavaliers	ACC	25	182
Washington Huskies	B1G	[NR] 26	172
Florida Gators	SEC	[NR] 27	83
Boise State Broncos	P-12	[NR] 28	57
Oklahoma State Cowboys	XII	[NR] 29	36
Western Michigan Broncos	MAC	[NR] 30	35
Tulsa Golden Hurricane	AAC	[NR] 31	18
Mississippi State Bulldogs	SEC	[NR] 32	17
South Carolina Gamecocks	SEC	[NR] 33	15
Virginia Tech Hokies	ACC	[NR] 34	11
UCLA Bruins	B1G	[NR] 35	9
James Madison Dukes	SBC	[NR] 36	6
Arizona Wildcats	XII	[NR] 37	5
North Dakota State Bison	MW	[NR] 38	3
Pittsburgh Panthers	ACC	[NR] 39=	1
Kansas State Wildcats	XII	[NR] 39=	1

Week 1 - Poll Released 6^th September 2026

Team	Conference	Ranking	Votes
Ohio State Buckeyes	B1G	1	1684 (46)
Georgia Bulldogs	SEC	2	1532
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	FBS-Ind	3	1512 (4)
Texas Longhorns	SEC	4	1462 (2)
Indiana Hoosiers	B1G	5	1428 (8)
Oregon Ducks	B1G	6	1422 (3)
Miami Hurricanes	ACC	7	1405 (1)
LSU Tigers	SEC	8	1315 (5)
Ole Miss Rebels	SEC	9	1154
Texas A&M Aggies	SEC	10	1079
Oklahoma Sooners	SEC	11	1039
Alabama Crimson Tide	SEC	12	910
Texas Tech Red Raiders	XII	13	900
USC Trojans	B1G	14	861
BYU Cougars	XII	15	840
Penn State Nittany Lions	B1G	16	621
SMU Mustangs	ACC	17	501
Tennessee Volunteers	SEC	18	491
Washington Huskies	B1G	19	489
Utah Utes	XII	20	381
Iowa Hawkeyes	B1G	21	369
Houston Cougars	XII	22	214
Missouri Tigers	SEC	23	182
Louisville Cardinals	ACC	24	163
Virginia Cavaliers	ACC	25	89
Boise State Broncos	P-12	[NR] 26	86
Florida Gators	SEC	[NR] 27	83
Michigan Wolverines	B1G	[NR] 28	69
Arizona Wildcats	XII	[NR] 29	33
Memphis Tigers	AAC	[NR] 30	23
South Carolina Gamecocks	SEC	[NR] 31	19
Western Michigan Broncos	MAC	[NR] 32	12
Pittsburgh Panthers	ACC	[NR] 33	11
Navy Midshipmen	AAC	[NR] 34	10
UCLA Bruins	B1G	[NR] 35	7
Illinois Fighting Illini	B1G	[NR] 36=	6
Virginia Tech Hokies	ACC	[NR] 36=	6
Minnesota Golden Gophers	B1G	[NR] 38=	4
James Madison Dukes	SBC	[NR] 38=	4
Colorado Buffaloes	XII	[NR] 40	3
Vanderbilt Commodores	SEC	[NR] 41=	2
Arizona State Sun Devils	XII	[NR] 41=	2
Auburn Tigers	SEC	[NR] 41=	2

Preseason - Poll Released 17^th August 2026

Team	Conference	Ranking	Votes
Ohio State Buckeyes	B1G	1	1672 (40)
Oregon Ducks	B1G	2	1597 (14)
Georgia Bulldogs	SEC	3	1513
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	FBS-Ind	4	1510 (6)
Texas Longhorns	SEC	5	1483
Indiana Hoosiers	B1G	6	1440 (8)
Miami Hurricanes	ACC	7	1379 (1)
Texas A&M Aggies	SEC	8	1131
Ole Miss Rebels	SEC	9	1102
Oklahoma Sooners	SEC	10	1047
LSU Tigers	SEC	11	988
Texas Tech Red Raiders	XII	12	983
Alabama Crimson Tide	SEC	13	904
USC Trojans	B1G	14=	839
BYU Cougars	XII	14=	839
Michigan Wolverines	B1G	16	718
Washington Huskies	B1G	17	501
Penn State Nittany Lions	B1G	18	482
SMU Mustangs	ACC	19	434
Tennessee Volunteers	SEC	20	394
Utah Utes	XII	21	304
Iowa Hawkeyes	B1G	22	260
Houston Cougars	XII	23	252
Louisville Cardinals	ACC	24	198
Missouri Tigers	SEC	25	117
Clemson Tigers	ACC	[NR] 26	112
Florida Gators	SEC	[NR] 27	51
Boise State Broncos	P-12	[NR] 28	43
Arizona Wildcats	XII	[NR] 29	32
TCU Horned Frogs	XII	[NR] 30	11
South Carolina Gamecocks	SEC	[NR] 31=	10
Navy Midshipmen	AAC	[NR] 31=	10
Illinois Fighting Illini	B1G	[NR] 33	9
Oklahoma State Cowboys	XII	[NR] 34=	8
Vanderbilt Commodores	SEC	[NR] 34=	8
Pittsburgh Panthers	ACC	[NR] 36	7
Virginia Tech Hokies	ACC	[NR] 37	6
Minnesota Golden Gophers	B1G	[NR] 38	5
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	ACC	[NR] 39=	4
UNLV Rebels	MW	[NR] 39=	4
New Mexico Lobos	MW	[NR] 39=	4
James Madison Dukes	SBC	[NR] 42=	3
Auburn Tigers	SEC	[NR] 42=	3
California Golden Bears	ACC	[NR] 44=	2
Memphis Tigers	AAC	[NR] 44=	2
Virginia Cavaliers	ACC	[NR] 46=	1
Tulane Green Wave	AAC	[NR] 46=	1
Liberty Flames	C-USA	[NR] 46=	1
Western Michigan Broncos	MAC	[NR] 46=	1

¹If we are being honest, the entire AP Poll is for educational purposes only since the inception of the CFP in 2014.