Vanderbilt inches up to No. 9 in AP Top 25; LSU drops out - ESPN

Vanderbilt earned its highest ranking in The Associated Press college football poll in 88 years, while LSU dropped out of Top 25 following its third loss in four games.

The top six was unchanged, with Ohio State holding the No. 1 spot for a ninth straight week, followed by Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia and Oregon.

The top 25 teams in the AP college football poll, released Sunday (first-place votes in parentheses).

The idle Buckeyes received 53 first-place votes and the Hoosiers got 11, six more than last week. Texas A&M was No. 1 on one ballot.

The top six were unchanged for the first time since Nov. 12, 2023, when the top eight stood pat. The last time Texas A&M received a first-place vote was Oct. 11, 2015.

No. 7 Ole Miss and No. 8 Georgia Tech swapped spots, as did No. 9 Vanderbilt and Miami, which is tied at No. 10 with BYU.

Including BYU, the Big 12 has five teams in the Top 25 for the first time this season, with No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 17 Cincinnati, No. 22 Houston and No. 24 Utah also ranked.

The Big 12 last had five Top 25 teams ranked on Sept. 22, 2024.

No. 24 Utah hammered Colorado 53-7 with Byrd Ficklin starting in place of injured quarterback Devon Dampier and leading an offense that rushed for 422 of its 587 total yards.

Houston, which knocked off then-No. 24 Arizona State 24-16 for its first road win against a ranked opponent since 2017, is in the Top 25 for the first time since the first two polls in 2022.

The Cougars (7-1) are off to their best start since 2021, two years before they joined the Big 12. None of Houston's four remaining regular-season games are against ranked opponents.

Vanderbilt's 17-10 win over then-No. 15 Missouri gave the Commodores a 7-1 start for the first time since 1941 and,