The Big 12 had two teams in the top 10 of The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll for the first time in two years Sunday, Notre Dame was back in the top 10 after a two-month absence and Oklahoma and Texas made the biggest upward moves.
The top seven teams were unchanged in the final poll before the College Football Playoff committee releases its first rankings Tuesday night to kick off the run-up to the CFP bracket release Dec. 7.
No. 1 Ohio State, which pulled way in the second half to beat Penn State, is at the top of the AP poll for a 10th straight week. Indiana, which scored 50-plus points against a Big Ten opponent for the third time while hammering Maryland, is No. 2 for a third straight week.
The Buckeyes and Hoosiers again were followed by Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon and Mississippi. Losses by Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and Miami shuffled the Nos. 8, 9 and 10 spots, now held by BYU, Texas Tech and Notre Dame.
The distribution of first-place votes was the same as last week. Ohio State received 54, Indiana got 11 and Texas A&M one.
No. 8 BYU and No. 9 Texas Tech gave the Big 12 two teams in the top 10 for the first time since Oct. 29, 2023. The Cougars, who were idle, have their highest ranking of the season. The Red Raiders won at Kansas State and re-entered the top 10 for the first time in three weeks. The two teams face each other this weekend.
Notre Dame, winner of six straight, was pushed by a one-win Boston College on the road before it won by 15 points and moved up two spots to No. 10. The Fighting Irish were last in the top 10 in Week 3, at No. 8, before a home loss to Texas A&M dropped them to 0-2 and dropped them to No. 24.
No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 13 Texas received seven-spot promotions for their wins Saturday. The Sooners beat Tennessee on the road and the Longhorns knocked off Vanderbilt at home. Tennessee took the biggest fall, dropping nine spots to No. 23.
In and out
— No. 24 Washington, which was idle, is in the poll for the first time since it finished the 2023 season at No. 2 following its loss to Michigan in the national championship game. The Huskies’ only losses are to No. 1 Ohio State at home and to a then-unranked Michigan on the road.
— Houston, whose No. 22 ranking last week was its first Top 25 appearance since 2022, dropped out after losing at home to West Virginia.
Poll points
— BYU has risen in the poll six straight weeks since making its debut on Sept. 21. The Cougars have gone from No. 25 to No. 8 over that span.
— Miami’s losses to two then-unranked opponents in three weeks have caused a 16-spot plummet, from No. 2 to No. 18.
— Ohio State is in the Top 25 for a 90th straight poll, third-most on the active list. Notre Dame is in a 50th straight time, fifth on the active list.
— Texas made its 800th appearance in the poll, seventh all-time.
Conference call
SEC (9 teams) — Nos. 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 13, 15, 19, 23.
Big Ten (6) — Nos. 1, 2, 6, 20, 21, 24.
Big 12 (4) — Nos. 8, 9, 17, 25.
ACC (4) — Nos. 12, 14, 16, 18.
American (1) — No. 22.
Independent (1) — No. 10.
Ranked vs. ranked
— No. 8 BYU (8-0, 5-0 Big 12) at No. 9 Texas Tech (8-1, 5-1): The game of the year in the Big 12. The Red Raiders have lost 16 straight against top-10 teams.
— No. 3 Texas A&M (8-0, 5-0 SEC) at No. 19 Missouri (6-2, 2-2): The Aggies embarrassed Missouri in College Station last year, getting out to a 34-0 lead and winning 41-7.
NOTRE DAME, VIRGINIA, TEXAS TECH ON AP-BASED CFP BRACKET; TEXAS, OKLAHOMA ON OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
Notre Dame, Virginia and Texas Tech are on the College Football Playoff mock bracket based on The Associated Press Top 25 released Sunday while Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M and Alabama remain the top four seeds.
The CFP committee will release its first rankings of the season on Tuesday night.
With Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and Miami all losing Saturday and dropping off the AP bracket, three of the four first-round matchups changed and one would be an all-Big 12 game.
The Southeastern Conference has four of the 12 teams on the mock bracket. The Big Ten has three teams, the Big 12 two, and the Atlantic Coast Conference and American Conference one each. Notre Dame would be in as an independent.
— No. 9 seed Texas Tech at No. 8 seed BYU. Winner vs. No. 1 Ohio State.
— No. 12 seed Memphis at No. 5 Georgia. Winner vs. No. 4 Alabama.
— No. 10 seed Notre Dame at No. 7 Mississippi. Winner vs. No. 2 Indiana.
— No. 11 seed Virginia at No. 6 Oregon. Winner vs. No. 3 Texas A&M.
The first three teams outside the bracket: Oklahoma, Texas and Louisville.
Oklahoma is ranked No. 11 by the AP but would get bumped by automatically qualifying conference champion Virginia of the ACC. Texas is No. 13 in the AP poll but would be on the outside looking to make room for Group of Five representative Memphis.
The five highest-ranked conference champions automatically qualify for the CFP, but no longer do the four highest-ranked champions receive a first-round bye. The 12-team bracket is now seeded directly based on the CFP’s final rankings on Dec. 7.
The top four seeds will be assigned to quarterfinals in ranking order and in consideration of current bowl relationships. This year, quarterfinal winners advance to the semifinals at the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl. The No. 1 seed would receive preferential placement based on geography.
Teams ranked Nos. 5-12 by the CFP will play in the first round, with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or at other sites designated by the higher-seeded school. First-round games are Dec. 19 and 20, quarterfinals Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, semifinals Jan. 8 and 9 and the championship game is Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
AUBURN FIRES COACH HUGH FREEZE FOLLOWING 12TH LOSS IN HIS LAST 15 SEC GAMES
Auburn fired coach Hugh Freeze on Sunday, moving on after the Tigers lost for the 12th time in their last 15 Southeastern Conference games.
The 56-year-old Freeze failed to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in three years on the Plains, scoring 24 or fewer points in 17 of his 22 league games. He also ended up on the wrong end of too many close matchups, including twice this season thanks partly to questionable calls.
Defensive coordinator DJ Durkin will serve as interim coach for the team’s remaining four games.
“Coach Freeze is a man of integrity, and we are appreciative of his investment in Auburn and his relentless work over the last three years in bolstering our roster,” athletic director John Cohen said in a statement. “Our expectations for Auburn football are to annually compete for championships, and the search for the next leader of Auburn football begins immediately.”
Freeze became the eighth Power Four coach fired this season, following moves at Arkansas, Florida, LSU, Oklahoma State, Penn State, UCLA and Virginia Tech. Stanford also has a vacancy after firing Troy Taylor in March.
Freeze’s finale was a 10-3 home loss to unranked Kentucky on Saturday night in which Jackson Arnold and Ashton Daniels were sacked a combined seven times. It was the third consecutive loss for Auburn (4-5, 1-5 SEC) at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Freeze, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in February, received much of the blame for the skid. He missed on hand-picked portal quarterbacks Payton Thorne (Michigan State), Arnold (Oklahoma) and maybe even Daniels (Stanford). Freeze also went 1-12 against ranked teams.
The Tigers owe Freeze $15.8 million, with no mitigation, from a six-year, $39 million deal he signed to replace Bryan Harsin in 2022. Harsin was fired eight games into his second season. He was 9-12 overall and 4-9 in league play.
Freeze got the boot at 15-19 overall and 6-16 in the conference. The last five losses included more offensive woes. The Tigers scored 17, 10, 10, 17 and 3 in losses to Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Georgia and Missouri and Kentucky.
Now, the “Auburn Family” is looking for its fourth football coach in seven seasons. The Tigers fired Gus Malzahn in 2020, Harsin in 2022 and now Freeze in 2025. Together, the school will end up paying $52.5 million in buyout fees.
Freeze and the Tigers showed promise by winning at Baylor to open the season. They were 3-0 and tied with Oklahoma when the season started to unravel.
The SEC acknowledged that officials missed what should have been a flag before John Mateer connected with wide-open receiver Isaiah Sategna for a 24-yard touchdown in second quarter.
Sategna appeared to run off the field before he stopped outside the numbers and ran a pattern for the score. The league said simulated replacements or substitutions cannot be used to confuse opponents. The Tigers ended up losing 24-17.
The following week at Texas A&M, Auburn managed just nine first downs, 177 yards of total offense and went 0 for 13 on third down in another one-possession loss.
It was more of the same against Georgia, which controlled the game after forcing a questionable fumble at the goal line late in the first half. A touchdown would have given Auburn a 17-0 lead. Instead, the turnover sparked the Bulldogs, who allowed just 40 yards in the second half and won 20-10.
Nonetheless, Auburn trailed 13-10 until Georgia scored in the waning minutes. So it was another close loss for Freeze, who ended his tenure 2-10 in one-possession games.
BREAKING DOWN THE RACE FOR CONFERENCE TITLE GAME SPOTS IN EACH FBS LEAGUE
The race for college football’s conference titles takes on a new importance in the era of an expanded playoff, with champions of the top leagues having a shot at automatic bids. And given the size some leagues have ballooned to, the chase to reach a conference title game can seem unusually chaotic.
Of the FBS conferences, only the Sun Belt still uses divisions, with the other leagues simply pitting their first- and second-place finishers in the title game. Here’s a look at where each conference stands. (All records are in-conference records.)
ACC
Standings: Virginia (5-0) is now the only unbeaten team in ACC play, followed by Georgia Tech (5-1), Pittsburgh (5-1), Louisville (4-1), SMU (4-1) and Duke (4-1).
Possible tiebreakers: Virginia has a head-to-head win over Louisville, Georgia Tech beat Duke and Louisville beat Pitt.
Down the stretch: Duke hosts Virginia on Nov. 15. Then a week later, Georgia Tech hosts Pitt and SMU hosts Louisville. Miami (2-2) can hand Pitt a head-to-head loss on Nov. 29, but the Hurricanes need help to get back into the title picture.
Betting favorites: Georgia Tech and Duke (+300 according to BetMGM Sportsbook)
American Athletic
Standings: After Navy’s loss to North Texas on Saturday, a whopping six teams have one loss in conference play: Navy (5-1), Memphis (4-1), North Texas (4-1), South Florida (3-1), Tulane (3-1) and East Carolina (3-1). The AAC champ has a shot to earn the Group of Five bid to the 12-team playoff.
Possible tiebreakers: Memphis beat South Florida, South Florida beat North Texas and North Texas beat Navy. Tulane beat East Carolina.
Down the stretch: The situation could become less muddled in a hurry. Memphis hosts Tulane on Friday night and then plays at East Carolina on Nov. 15. Navy hosts South Florida on Nov. 15. Memphis hosts Navy on Nov. 27, which is Thanksgiving night.
Big 12
Standings: BYU (5-0) is alone in first place, followed by Texas Tech (5-1), Cincinnati (5-1), Houston (4-2), Utah (4-2), Arizona State (4-2) and TCU (3-2).
Possible tiebreakers: BYU beat Utah and Texas Tech beat Houston and Utah but lost to Arizona State. Utah beat Cincinnati. Houston and Utah both beat Arizona State, and Arizona State beat TCU.
Down the stretch: BYU plays at Texas Tech on Saturday and at Cincinnati on Nov. 22. TCU visits BYU on Nov. 15 and Houston on Nov. 22 before hosting Cincinnati on Nov. 29.
Betting favorite: Texas Tech (-200 according to BetMGM Sportsbook)
Big Ten
Standings: Indiana (6-0) and Ohio State (5-0) top the standings, and they don’t play each other in the regular season. Michigan (5-1), Iowa (4-1), Oregon (4-1) and Southern California (4-1) are next in line.
Possible tiebreakers: Indiana has beaten Iowa and Oregon, and USC beat Michigan.
Down the stretch: Iowa hosts Oregon on Nov. 8 and plays at USC on Nov. 15. Oregon hosts USC on Nov. 22. Michigan hosts Ohio State on Nov. 29.
Betting favorite: Ohio State (-155 according to BetMGM Sportsbook)
Conference USA
Standings: Conference USA isn’t in the playoff mix, with every team having at least two losses overall, but there’s still a conference title race to watch. Kennesaw State (4-0) and Jacksonville State (4-0) lead the way, followed by Western Kentucky (5-1) and Liberty (3-1). Missouri State (3-1) is not yet eligible to play in the Conference USA title game after joining the league this season.
Possible tiebreakers: Jacksonville State has a win over Liberty.
Down the stretch: Kennesaw State still has to play at Jacksonville State on Nov. 15 and at Liberty on Nov. 29. Jacksonville State hosts Western Kentucky on Nov. 29.
Mid-American
Standings: Every MAC team has at least three losses overall. The conference leaders are Miami, Ohio (4-0), Buffalo (4-1), Western Michigan (4-1) and Ohio (3-1).
Possible tiebreakers: Miami beat Western Michigan.
Down the stretch: Miami plays at Ohio on Tuesday night and at Buffalo on Nov. 19. Ohio is at WMU on Nov. 11 and at Buffalo on Nov. 28.
Mountain West
Standings: The Mountain West received a bid to the playoff last season via Boise State, but right now only San Diego State and UNLV have fewer than three losses overall. San Diego State (4-0) leads in conference play, with Boise State (4-1) in second. Then it’s another step back to Hawaii (3-2), Fresno State (3-2), New Mexico (3-2), UNLV (2-2), Utah State (2-2) and San Jose State (2-2).
Possible tiebreakers: San Diego State beat Fresno State. Boise State beat New Mexico and UNLV but lost to Fresno State. Hawaii beat Utah State but lost to Fresno State and San Jose State. New Mexico beat Utah State and UNLV but lost to San Jose State. Utah State beat San Jose State.
Down the stretch: San Diego State is at Hawaii on Nov. 8 and then hosts Boise State a week later. UNLV hosts Utah State on Nov. 15 and hosts Hawaii on Nov. 21. On Nov. 22, Fresno State hosts Utah State and San Diego State hosts San Jose State. New Mexico hosts San Diego State on Nov. 28, the same day Utah State hosts Boise State. San Jose State hosts Fresno State the following day.
SEC
Standings: Texas A&M (5-0) and Alabama (5-0) are tied for first, followed by Mississippi (5-1), Georgia (5-1) and Texas (4-1).
Possible tiebreakers: Alabama beat Georgia, and Georgia beat Mississippi.
Down the stretch: Texas plays at Georgia on Nov. 15 and hosts Texas A&M on Nov. 28.
Betting favorite: Alabama (+115 according to BetMGM Sportsbook)
Sun Belt
Standings: Could the Sun Belt put a team in the playoff? Maybe if James Madison wins out and enough AAC teams cannibalize each other? JMU (5-0) leads the East Division in the Sun Belt, with Coastal Carolina (4-1) close behind. Southern Mississippi (4-0) leads the West, followed by Troy (4-1) and Arkansas State (4-1).
Possible tiebreakers: Arkansas State has a head-to-head win over Troy.
Down the stretch: There’s still a lot to be decided here, with James Madison playing at Coastal Carolina on Nov. 29. Southern Miss is at Arkansas State next weekend and hosts Troy on Nov. 29.
