While Lane Kiffin held the attention of the college football world for much of Saturday, and the weekend as a whole, there was still a massively entertaining weekend of rivalries and postseason-clinching games across the country. Conference title races and the College Football Playoff were top of mind as familiar foes clashed in the final week of the regular season, giving AP Top 25 poll voters one last full set of results to sort out the national landscape as we prepare for the postseason.
Among the many adjustments that voters will have to address on their ballots is how to react to Texas’ 27-17 win against rival Texas A&M on Friday night in Austin. It was the first loss of the season for an Aggies team that had peaked at No. 3, and also the best win of the season for a Longhorns team that has been bouncing up and down the rankings throughout a disjointed season that has ultimately ended with a 9-3 record. Texas A&M has been eliminated from the SEC title race but remains a lock for the College Football Playoff, while Texas now becomes the biggest thorn in the side of other hopeful at-large teams. The College Football Playoff selection committee, not the AP poll voters, will determine their final fate on Dec. 7. But how close the voters move Texas to the top 10 will kickstart the debate as to their worthiness for inclusion in the CFP as a three-loss team.
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Elsewhere in the rankings, there were top-15 teams who logged impressive road wins, like Miami and Vanderbilt, and an adjustment for Michigan after the Wolverines lost at home to rival Ohio State. The Buckeyes were already a near-unanimous selection for No. 1 and would probably be after Week 14 if not for Indiana, who likewise closed out the season with a double-digit win against a rival but instead it was by 53 points and against Purdue. When Ohio State and Indiana play next Saturday night in the Big Ten Championship Game, it will not only be for the conference crown but also for the No. 1 spot in the rankings heading into the College Football Playoff.
Here’s how we think the new AP Top 25 poll will look after Week 14.
1. Ohio State (Last week — 1): A cathartic streak-snapping win for the Buckeyes at Michigan will have Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game and even more entrenched in their position as the No. 1 team in the country.
2. Indiana (2): The Hoosiers walloped rival Purdue 56-3 on Friday night and cemented the 2025 team as the only squad in school history to have a 12-0 regular season. Indiana, like Ohio State, is now clinched for the Big Ten Championship Game and will have a chance to prove their worthiness for 1-seed consideration on the field in Indianapolis against the Buckeyes.
3. Georgia (4): This year’s edition of “Clean, Old Fashioned Hate” was a bit of a rock fight, but Georgia got enough offense to secure a win and clinch the eighth 11-win season of Kirby Smart’s head coaching tenure. Wins against Ole Miss, Texas and Tennessee are the core pieces of what voters have decided is the best one-loss profile in the country, and a lower-scoring rivalry win won’t change those opinions.
4. Oregon (5): The Ducks got a good fight from Washington on the road in their rivalry game, but an early lead and some explosive pass plays from Dante Moore in the second half helped Oregon get the 26-14 win. Now at 11-1, with the only loss coming to Indiana, Oregon is poised to not only move up in the rankings but also host a first-round game in the College Football Playoff.
5. Ole Miss (6): While the college football world is clearly going to be concerned with the future of the Ole Miss program and its coaches, the team that is being judged by AP voters just finished one of the best regular seasons in school history with an 11-1 record. Being able to block out the noise and log a 38-19 win on the road against Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl speaks to the quality of the squad, which is set to for a slight bump up in the wake of Texas A&M’s loss.
6. Texas A&M (3): There will obviously be a drop for the Aggies after losing at Texas on Friday night, but the number of spots in the adjustment might not be too dramatic. Texas A&M’s one-loss resume isn’t as strong as some other top-10 teams, but road wins against Notre Dame and Missouri will help when voters are making final decisions for the spots in this range on their ballots.
7. Texas Tech (7): The Red Raiders wrapped up the regular season with an emphatic statement win at West Virginia. Though Texas Tech was already clinched for the Big 12 title game, there was no sign of being distracted from the challenge at hand. Texas Tech led by 21 by the end of the first quarter and cruised to a 49-0 win, matching the 2008 school record for 11 wins in the regular season.
8. Notre Dame (9): The Fighting Irish are currently in action at Stanford.
9. Oklahoma (8): We are projecting that the Sooners could give up a spot in the wake of a 17-13 win against LSU that was much closer — and tougher — than expected heading into the matchup. John Mateer threw three interceptions and Oklahoma faced second half deficits of 10-3 and 13-10 before Isaiah Setagna broke loose for a 58-yard touchdown reception to give the Sooners the lead for good.
10. Alabama (10): The Crimson Tide won’t see too much movement after the Iron Bowl win but have a tremendous opportunity to move up with an SEC Championship Game showdown ahead against Georgia.
11. BYU (11): It took about 15 minutes and a couple of possessions for BYU to wake up, but after spotting UCF a 14-0 lead, the Cougars turned the tables and outscored the visitors from Orlando 41-7 the rest of the afternoon. BYU, like Texas Tech, had a spot in the Big 12 title game clinched when they woke up on Saturday morning thanks to Arizona’s win at Arizona State but needed a good showing for any chance of at-large consideration in the College Football Playoff.
12. Texas (16): The Longhorns were already the highest-ranked three-loss team in the country on the backs of head-to-head wins against Oklahoma and Vanderbilt. Now when you add in Friday night’s win against Texas A&M, it’s easy to see how voters will boost Texas to a point where they can jump some of the two-loss teams that stood between the Longhorns and the top 10.
13. Vanderbilt (12): Voters who were on the low end of Vanderbilt’s ranking will surely correct that after the Commodores’ 21-point win on the road at Tennessee, but it might not be enough for a big move up in the final poll. Vanderbilt’s position will be strengthened, and there is likely no potential of getting jumped by Miami despite a close vote margin, but Texas’ rise — and the Longhorns’ head-to-head edge — could cap any upward movement.
14. Miami (13): After several trips north in late November that have gone poorly for Miami, it had to feel good to simply take care of business in the trap spot. Beating Pitt, a team the CFP Selection Committee moved into the rankings last week, by 31 points is going to be about as strong of a final statement as you could hope for when it comes to the Hurricanes’ at-large hopes.
15. Utah (14): The Utes closed up another 10-win season with a solid 31-21 win at Kansas on Friday afternoon. Though the team is shut out of the Big 12 title picture, and possibly the CFP as well, it’s still a strong response for the program after a couple of disappointing and injury-riddled seasons in 2023 and 2024.
16. Virginia (17): The Wahoos left no doubt on the field and closed out a 10-2 regular season campaign with a 27-7 win against rival Virginia Tech. Though the Hokies have been on interim coach status since September and entered with just three wins on the season, this was still a rivalry that had been dominated by Virginia Tech over the last 20 years and thus made for a nervy day leading up to kickoff. But now that the drama is settled, Virginia can turn its attention to the ACC Championship Game and preparing for a shot at the College Football Playoff.
17. USC (19): The Trojans got off to a rough start against UCLA but rallied in the second half for a 29-10 win to finish the year 9-3 overall and 7-2 in Big Ten play.
18. Michigan (15): Losing to the No. 1 team in the country isn’t going to come with a massive penalty in the rankings, but it does put the Wolverines in the same position as a three-loss USC team it lost to earlier this season. That can help serve as an anchor for voters looking to shuffle their ballots, where Michigan isn’t punished for losing to the best team in the country but still gets sorted into a spot more in line with its record.
19. James Madison (20): The Dukes absolutely pounded Coastal Carolina, winning 59-10 to put an exclamation point on the first unbeaten team in Sun Belt play since Louisiana in 2021. Whether the crooked score will garner the attention of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee is yet to be determined, but the AP Top 25 poll voters who have been supportive of JMU for a few weeks will use the result to solidify the team’s position.
20. North Texas (21): Eric Morris accepted the head coaching position at Oklahoma State earlier this week but his North Texas team showed no signs of being distracted, rolling Temple 52-25 on Friday. The Mean Green will now get a chance to play their way into the College Football Playoff through the American Championship Game next Friday night.
21. Tulane (22): With a sweat-free win against Charlotte, Tulane punched its ticket to the American Championship Game and now will look to make an impression on the College Football Playoff committee in hopes of being one of the highest-ranked conference champions.
22. Navy (NR): The Midshipmen were 27th in voting points last week and proceeded to beat Memphis by double-digits to close out a 9-2 regular season. With North Texas and Tulane advancing to the title game in the American, Navy now turns its attention to America’s Game and beating Army in Baltimore on Dec. 13.
23. Arizona (NR): After a disastrous Year 1, Brent Brennan not only steadied the ship for Arizona football but led one of the better conference campaigns in the Big 12. The Wildcats beat rival Arizona to finish 9-3 overall and 6-3 in conference play, closing out the regular season with five straight wins.
24. Missouri (NR): The Tigers were just in the AP Top 25 poll two weeks ago and checked in at 28th in last week’s balloting, so it’s a team that’s not far off the voters’ radar. Missouri’s rivalry week offering was a 14-point road win at Arkansas to cap off an 8-4 regular season record.
25. Iowa (NR): The Hawkeyes absolutely thrashed Nebraska on Friday afternoon to round out an 8-4 season. Voters could end up moving South Florida into this position as the Bulls are 9-3 after thrashing Rice, but Iowa’s resume has only gotten stronger with the continued success of Indiana and Oregon.
Projected to drop out: No. 18 Tennessee, No. 23 Georgia Tech, No. 24 Pittsburgh, No. 25 SMU
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