Miami leads the AP Top 25 released on October 18, 2026, with BYU second and Ohio State third. Miami has 1,697 points to BYU’s 1,675, a 22-point margin after a Saturday that knocked down several of the previous leaders.
The change follows the October 17 games in the United States, when five of the previous top seven lost. Miami moved from third to first, while BYU’s 28–24 home win over Notre Dame took the Cougars from eighth to second—their highest AP position since the 1984 championship season.
October 17 result → October 18 AP position
| Team | October 17 result | AP: previous → now |
|---|---|---|
| Miami | Beat Florida State 43–35 (2OT) | 3 → 1 |
| BYU | Beat Notre Dame 28–24 | 8 → 2 |
| Ohio State | Beat Indiana 19–15 | 4 → 3 |
| Notre Dame | Lost to BYU 24–28 | 2 → 4 |
| Georgia | Lost to Auburn 24–27 | 1 → 5 |
| Alabama | Lost to Tennessee 10–26 | 6 → 13 |
| Texas | Lost to Florida 24–27 | 7 → 19 |
Selected teams, not the complete 25. Scores and positions follow the NCAA final table; linked below.
The results that reordered the top seven
Miami protected its unbeaten record by beating Florida State 43–35 in double overtime. Ohio State’s 19–15 win over Indiana moved it from fourth to third. Those victories mattered alongside defeats for the teams above them: former No. 1 Georgia lost 27–24 to Auburn, and former No. 2 Notre Dame fell at BYU.
The size of the drop varied. Georgia is now fifth, Notre Dame fourth and Indiana sixth; Alabama fell from sixth to 13 th after losing 26–10 at Tennessee. Texas dropped from seventh to 19 th after a 27–24 loss to Florida. The table connects each result to its old and new position, rather than treating every defeat as the same ranking penalty.
A narrow points gap at the top
At the top, the final totals are Miami 1,697, BYU 1,675 and Ohio State 1,649. The 22-point Miami–BYU difference is a gap in ballot points, not a count of voters. AP awards points down each voter’s ranking, from 25 for first place to one for 25 th, so positions across the ballots contribute to the total.
BYU’s rise is substantial even though it stopped one place short of first. Its official report records a third consecutive 6–0 start and the win over Notre Dame in Provo. That evidence explains the importance of the result; it does not reveal why every individual voter ordered the top three as they did.
Read the poll label alongside the number
For this week’s complete AP list, use the NCAA table linked below. Readers comparing another table should also keep the poll name in view: BYU’s official release lists Miami, Ohio State and BYU as the top three in the AFCA coaches poll, while AP places BYU ahead of Ohio State.
The October 18 result is therefore a change in the order of the leading teams, with Miami narrowly ahead on total points and BYU making the biggest jump among the new top three. To follow the next change, compare the next AP release with this dated table and the intervening results; a different poll’s second-place team is a separate comparison.
Rank positions and scores follow the final October 18 NCAA table, checked against AP’s live report and BYU’s official release. The prior-week article remains available as a dated comparison.
- AP·October 18 poll and voting updates ↗
- NCAA·October 18 AP rankings and October 17 results ↗
- BYU·October 18 AP and coaches rankings ↗