GEORGIA UP TO NO. 3 BEHIND OHIO STATE, INDIANA IN TOP 25 SHUFFLE AS OREGON, TEXAS TECH ALSO CLIMB
Texas A&M fell out of the top five of The Associated Press college football poll for the first time in two months Sunday, Texas Tech notched its highest ranking in 17 years and a season-high four teams from Group of Five conferences are ranked as the top five got a shuffle with a week to go before the postseason bracket is set.
No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana, the only remaining unbeatens, are the top two teams for a seventh straight poll heading into their Big Ten title game clash on Saturday. No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Oregon each moved up a spot, and Texas Tech’s No. 5 ranking is its best since it spent three weeks at No. 2 in November 2008.
Mississippi remained No. 6 and was followed by Texas A&M, which slipped four spots after its 10-point loss at Texas. Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Alabama rounded out the top 10 for the third straight week.
The weekend results created two top-10 matchups in conference championship games this Saturday. Besides the Big Ten showdown, Georgia and Alabama will play for the Southeastern Conference crown. The other Top 25 matchup pits Texas Tech against No. 11 BYU in the Big 12. The Atlantic Coast Conference game matches No. 16 Virginia against a Duke team that is 7-5 and received no votes in Sunday’s poll.
No. 12 Miami and No. 13 Vanderbilt traded places in the rankings. The Hurricanes, who finished the regular season with a 31-point road win over Pittsburgh, are the highest-ranked ACC team and hope to receive a College Football Playoff at-large bid. Vanderbilt slipped despite beating Tennessee by 21 points on the road.
James Madison, which will host Troy for the Sun Belt championship game Friday, moved up one spot to No. 19 and is the highest-ranked Group of Five team. Three teams from the American Conference are behind the Dukes: No. 20 North Texas, No. 21 Tulane and No. 24 Navy.
North Texas visits Tulane for the American championship game Friday. Tulane, at No. 24, was the only G5 team in last week’s CFP rankings.
In and out
— No. 22 Arizona is ranked for the first time since September 2024. The Wildcats won 23-7 at Arizona State in the battle for the Territorial Cup and are on a five-game winning streak.
— No. 23 Navy, which won 28-17 at Memphis, is in the Top 25 for the first time this season and will take its highest ranking since 2019 into the annual showcase game against Army on Dec. 13.
— No. 25 Missouri beat Arkansas by two touchdowns and returned to the poll after a one-week absence.
Tennessee (No. 18), Pittsburgh (No. 24) and SMU (No. 25) dropped out.
Poll points
— Seven straight weeks with the same Nos. 1 and 2 teams is the longest since Georgia and Michigan went 11 weeks in a row as the top two in 2023.
— The American Conference’s three Top 25 teams are its most since Nov. 20, 2022, when the same number were ranked. The league record for ranked teams is four, in 2015 and 2019.
— The last time there were four Group of Five teams ranked was the final poll of the 2024 season.
— Tennessee’s streak of 33 straight poll appearances ended after it dropped to 8-4 with its loss to Vanderbilt.
Conference call
SEC (8 ranked teams): Nos. 3 Georgia, 6 Mississippi, 7 Texas A&M, 8 Oklahoma, 10 Alabama, 13 Vanderbilt, 14 Texas, 25 Missouri.
Big Ten (5): Nos. 1 Ohio State, 2 Indiana, 4 Oregon, 17 Southern California, 18 Michigan.
Big 12 (4): Nos. 5 Texas Tech, 11 BYU, 15 Utah, 22 Arizona.
ACC (3): Nos. 12 Miami, 16 Virginia, 24 Georgia Tech.
American (3): Nos. 20 North Texas, 21 Tulane, 23 Navy.
Independent (1): No. 9 Notre Dame.
Sun Belt (1): No. 19 James Madison.
Ranked vs. ranked
No. 2 Indiana (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) vs. No. 1 Ohio State (12-0, 9-0), Saturday, at Indianapolis: It’s a matchup of Heisman Trophy front-runners in QBs Fernando Mendoza of Indiana and Julian Sayin of Ohio State. Hoosiers are one of two teams to score more than 530 points this season (532). Buckeyes are only team to give up fewer than 100 points (93).
No. 4 Georgia (11-1, 7-1 SEC) vs. No. 10 Alabama (10-2, 7-1), Saturday, at Atlanta: This will be the fourth meeting of these teams in a SEC championship game since 2018. Crimson Tide handed Georgia its only loss this season, 24-21 on Sept. 27. Bulldogs have rolled off eight straight wins since.
No. 11 BYU (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) vs. No. 5 Texas Tech (11-1, 8-1), Saturday, at Arlington, Texas: Each team will be playing in the Big 12 championship game for the first time. Red Raiders dominated the regular-season meeting in Lubbock, winning 29-7.
LSU LURES LANE KIFFIN AWAY FROM VIRTUAL PLAYOFF LOCK OLE MISS
Lane Kiffin left his one-loss Ole Miss team to become the coach at LSU on Sunday, taking over a program that has won national titles under three of its previous four coaches while saying he would have stayed to coach the Rebels in the postseason had he been allowed to.
The move comes two days after No. 6 Mississippi’s victory over Mississippi State in the annual Egg Bowl rivalry game that all but guaranteed the Rebels a playoff berth when the bracket is announced Dec. 7.
“I was hoping to complete a historic six season run with this year’s team by leading Ole Miss through the playoffs, capitalizing on the team’s incredible success and their commitment to finish strong,” Kiffin wrote in a social media post. He said Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter denied his request “despite the team also asking him to allow me to keep coaching them so they could better maintain their high level of performance.”
“Unfortunately, that means Friday’s Egg Bowl was my last game coaching the Rebels,” he added.
Mississippi promoted defensive coordinator Pete Golding to succeed Kiffin. A former Ole Miss player, Golding is in his third season on the Rebels’ staff after serving five years as a top defensive assistant at Alabama.
“Coach Kiffin and I met yesterday, and he informed us that he is accepting the head coaching position at another school,” Carter said. “For our program to begin preparing for its future – both the short and long term, he will be stepping away from the team immediately.”
LSU trumpeted its new hire, with athletic director Verge Ausberry calling Kiffin the best coach in the country.
“Lane is a proven winner who has thrived in an era of college athletics that requires coaches to adapt and innovate,” he said. “His passion, creativity and authenticity make him the ideal leader to guide LSU into the future and consistently position us among the sport’s elite.”
Kiffin’s decision played out for days, contributing to an already-busy hiring cycle that saw several moves earlier Sunday, including three in the SEC alone. While players have transferred away from playoff-bound teams, a coach leaving a team that is 11-1 and all but certain to make the playoff is something new.
Kiffin and Carter had agreed last week that a decision had to be made this weekend as negotiatoins dragged on. Carter could not afford to wait until after critical recruiting periods in December and transfer periods in January had passed before starting his coaching search. The CFP begins on Dec. 19, the semifinals don’t occur until Jan. 8-9 and the final is Jan. 19.
Kiffin is considered one of the top offensive coaches in college football. He went 55-19 in six seasons at Ole Miss, success that made him a target of several major programs seeking new coaches. Kiffin also was pursued by Florida, which fired coach Billy Napier a week before LSU cut ties with Brian Kelly.
The lure of LSU
While LSU offered Kiffin a raise over his current $9 million annual salary, the decision presumably was about more than money.
LSU has a championship brand in multiple sports; state-of-the-art facilities; a rabid, regional fan following; and a legendary, historic home football venue in Tiger Stadium (nicknamed Death Valley), which towers over the banks of the Mississippi River and holds 102,000 spectators — 38,000 more than Mississippi’s Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
The lone football coach of LSU’s past four who did not win a national championship was Kelly. He was fired in late October during his fourth season, a seismic development that also led then-athletic director Scott Woodward to resign under pressure from Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry.
Ausberry — a Louisiana native, former Tigers football player and long-time LSU administrator — led a search for a new coach that focused primarily on Kiffin. LSU reportedly offered Kiffin $90 million in salary during seven years and pledged to ensure the football program has ample financial backing to pay players.
Kiffin has overseen one of the most successful stints in Ole Miss history, arguably exceeded by only Johnny Vaught, whose 25 seasons at Ole Miss included a six-year period from 1957 through 1962 during which his teams went a combined 57-6.
LSU is 247-84 with three national championships since the 2000 season, which was Nick Saban’s first with the Tigers. Saban won his national title at LSU in the 2003 season and went 48-16 in five years before leaving to coach in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins. Les Miles, hired in 2005, went 114-34 with a national title in 2007. Ed Orgeron, who succeeded Miles during the 2016 season, went 51-20, highlighted by his 15-0, national-title winning campaign in 2019. Kelly, who was in the midst of a 10-year contract worth about $100 million at LSU, went 34-14 with the Tigers.
Kiffin’s rise
Kiffin, son of the late NFL and college defensive coach Monte Kiffin, played quarterback in college at Fresno State. He got his first head-coaching job at any level in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders in 2007, but was fired just four games into his second season.
His took first college head-coaching job at Tennessee in 2009 and left after one season to take over at Southern California, where he was fired five games into his fourth season. He returned to coaching in 2017 with Florida Atlantic, spending three seasons there before Ole Miss lured him to Oxford in 2020.
Kiffin has said he adopted the mantra of striving to “do things better than they’ve ever been done before,” from one of his mentors, Pete Carroll, under whom Kiffin served as an assistant at USC from 2001 to 2006.
“I am incredibly honored to have the opportunity to lead the storied LSU football program,” Kiffin said. “From national championships to iconic players, LSU is synonymous with excellence and is among the most powerful brands in all of sports.”
No coach has ever won multiple national championships at LSU. Kiffin will be the next to try.
ARKANSAS HIRES RYAN SILVERFIELD FROM MEMPHIS AS NEW COACH AFTER 2-10 SEASON
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas hired Ryan Silverfield away from Memphis as the Razorbacks’ new coach Sunday after a miserable 2-10 season filled with near misses.
Silverfield is 50-25 in six seasons at Memphis, and he was at his best going 10-3 in 2023 and 11-2 in 2024. The Tigers were ranked as high as No. 22 this season before finishing 8-4. He also went 4-0 in bowl games, not counting the Cotton Bowl in December 2019 that Silverfield coached after Mike Norvell left for Florida State. He will be the 35th head coach in Arkansas history.
“Coach Silverfield’s proven ability to win games over a sustained period separated him from the pack and make him the right choice to be our next head football coach,” Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said in a statement.
Silverfield’s worst season at Memphis was 6-6 in 2021. Silverfield has won 29 games over the last three seasons, putting Memphis among the top 15 programs nationally, and he led the Tigers to 12 straight bowl berths, the longest streak among non-Power Four programs.
Yurachek said Silverfield shares Arkansas’ vision of making the College Football Playoff and competing for national championships.
“With our new and significant financial investment in the football program, we are confident we now have the coach and resources to make that happen,” Yurachek said.
Memphis athletic director Ed Scott thanked Silverfield and wished him the best in his next chapter. The Tigers named Reggie Howard as interim coach with a national search for Silverfield’s replacement underway.
The Tigers ranked 19th nationally averaging 34.6 points a game, the fourth straight season Memphis has ranked in the Top 25 nationally in that category at the end of the regular season. Silverfield’s teams averaged at least 30 points in each of his seasons.
Memphis also gave up only 22.5 points a game this season, the Tigers’ best under Silverfield.
Arkansas lost at home 31-17 to Missouri on Saturday to cap a season that included an 0-8 record against Southeastern Conference opponents for the third time since 2018. Bobby Petrino, a former Razorbacks head coach from 2008-11, went 0-7 as interim coach after Sam Pittman was fired Sept. 28, though the Hogs lost four of those games by 3 points or less behind a defense that struggled all season.
NC STATE COACH DAVE DOEREN IS RETURNING FOR A 14TH SEASON WITH THE WOLFPACK
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — N.C. State coach Dave Doeren is returning for a 14th season with the Wolfpack.
Athletic director Boo Corrigan confirmed Doeren’s return on Sunday. The previous night, Doeren’s Wolfpack beat rival North Carolina for the fifth straight year and the program is headed to a bowl game for the 11th time in Doeren’s 13 seasons.
“Dave has built a program that is centered on culture and player development — on and off the field,” Corrigan said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. “You can see his passion for this program and the student-athletes in how hard our team plays and competes. I look forward to continuing to find new ways to support him and the football program.”
Doeren had been emphatic in public comments about his plans to return next season, including in shutting down rumors earlier this month that he might retire after the season. He did so again Sunday.
“I have full intention of being here,” Doeren said in an interview with the AP between recruiting visits as signing day looms Wednesday. “I love working for Boo Corrigan. I’m recruiting my (butt) off. … I’m all in.”
Doeren, who turns 54 on signing day, has posted a 94-70 record with the Wolfpack and became the program’s all-time winningest coach with a 2023 victory over Miami. That includes the Wolfpack reaching nine wins four times to flirt with becoming only the second 10-win team in program history.
And notably, that includes a 9-4 record against the rival Tar Heels. The most recent was a 42-19 win at home Saturday night, with the Wolfpack (7-5, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) scoring touchdowns on all four first-half drives to roll a UNC team in its first season under NFL icon Bill Belichick — who coached the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles.
Doeren is the second-longest tenured coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference behind Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, and tied for the fifth-longest in the Bowl Subdivision ranks after the firing of Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy in September.
“Boo and I are aligned,” Doeren said. “He’s doing everything he can to help us in the NIL space to be as aggressive as we can be, to retain and acquire as much talent as we can.”
The 2025 regular season had mixed results. Losses to Duke, Notre Dame, Pitt and Miami came by 12 or more points. There was also a home loss to a Virginia Tech team under an interim coach after the firing of Brent Pry.
Yet N.C. State also handed Georgia Tech its first loss after an 8-0 start brought the Yellow Jackets to Raleigh with a top-10 ranking. The Wolfpack also beat Virginia — which will play in the ACC championship game — in an unusual September nonconference game between longtime league members, one that didn’t count in the league race because it was added outside the ACC scheduling model.
N.C. State closed by beating Florida State for the fourth straight time and sixth time in seven years to secure bowl eligibility, followed by the lopsided win against the Tar Heels.
“I’m totally invested in this place,” Doeren said. “I love this school and I plan on finishing here.”
FLORIDA HIRES TULANE’S JON SUMRALL AS HEAD COACH WITH SIX-YEAR, $44.7 MILLION DEAL
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida hired Tulane’s Jon Sumrall as its next coach Sunday, settling for its second choice after Lane Kiffin reportedly picked LSU over the Gators.
Sumrall finalized a six-year, $44.7 million contract that comes with incentives, according to a person familiar with the search. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because financial details were not released. The deal averages $7.45 million annually.
The 43-year-old Sumrall will remain with the 22nd-ranked Green Wave for next week’s American Conference title game and through the College Football Playoff if Tulane makes the 12-team field.
The Gators also are on the verge of signing general manager Dave Caldwell, who won a Super Bowl during his five seasons with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. He also spent eight years (2013-20) with the Jacksonville Jaguars and built a roster that made the AFC title game.
Caldwell is expected to help manage Florida’s salary cap and evaluate college talent as demands on coaches have expanded with the burgeoning transfer portal and name, image and likeness payments.
Sumrall played linebacker at Kentucky (2002-04) and returned to his alma mater for a three-year stint before becoming Troy’s head coach in 2022. He won consecutive Sun Belt championships in two seasons with the Trojans and then enjoyed similar success at Tulane.
Sumrall is 19-7 in two years in New Orleans and led the Green Wave to the American championship game both seasons. So he has made four league title games in four years as a head coach. The Gators are hoping he’s Urban Meyer 2.0 and not Billy Napier 2.0.
“Not many coaches win big at two different non-Power programs, and even fewer do it as quickly as Jon has done it,” Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said. “He joins rare company — coaches like Urban Meyer, Brian Kelly and Willie Fritz — who’ve delivered immediate success at multiple stops. Jon’s track record of rapid turnarounds speaks directly to his leadership and the culture he establishes.”
Sumrall had been considered a possibility at Auburn, Arkansas and Ole Miss. Florida made a late push when Kiffin’s interest in the Gators waned. Florida fans are likely to view him as a consolation prize, another gamble from a Group of Five conference.
Sumrall replaces Napier, who was fired in mid-October and went 22-23 over four seasons in Gainesville. Napier was nicknamed “Sun Belt Billy” because he often looked in over his head in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference.
Going back to Louisiana for another G5 coach? And a defensive guy to boot? That’s a bold move for Stricklin, who is sure to draw the ire of the Florida faithful for failing to land Kiffin.
He was roundly booed at a championship celebration to honor men’s basketball coach Todd Golden and his title-winning team in April. Now, the fan base is calling for his job.
A website titled FireScottStricklin.com documents Stricklin’s shortcomings, and some fans organized a rally Sunday outside Florida Field to promote Stricklin’s “immediate removal.”
But Stricklin seemingly has the support of the Board of Trustees, which gave him a three-year contract extension in June and allowed him to conduct a coaching search that included roughly 10 interviews without interference.
There were rumors and reports about boosters getting involved and straining relationships with Kiffin and his camp. But Stricklin made it clear he was the only one making the hire. Kiffin reportedly chose LSU after a public tug-of-war involving all three schools.
Kiffin’s family members took scouting trips to Gainesville and Baton Rouge, and he met with administrators and fundraisers on several occasions. The trip to Gainesville was underwhelming, according to people familiar with the search, and high school football in the area left plenty to be desired.
Florida even turned to Heisman Trophy winners Steve Spurrier and Danny Wuerffel during its pursuit of Kiffin, who eventually slowed communication with UF officials to the point where the Gators decided they had to move on in a crowded market.
Now, Sumrall will be counted on to lead a downtrodden program back to prominence in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference.
Tulane’s numbers are far from gaudy: The Green Wave rank 39th in the country in total offense and 64th in total defense. Sumrall is expected to hire outside coordinators and an NFL-style general manager to help him rebuild in Gainesville.
The Gators (4-8) clearly have talent and ended a dismal season with one of their best performances, a 40-21 victory against rival Florida State in the Swamp in which running back Jadan Baugh ran for a career-high 266 yards and two touchdowns and DJ Lagway threw for three scores.
AUBURN TABS USF’S ALEX GOLESH AS ITS NEXT COACH, REPLACING HUGH FREEZE ON THE PLAINS
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Auburn hired South Florida’s Alex Golesh as its next coach on Sunday, counting on him to revitalize an offense that has ranked in the bottom half of the Southeastern Conference each of the last six years.
The 41-year-old Golesh, who was born in Russia and moved to the United State at age 7, is signing a six-year contract that averages more than $7 million annually to replace Hugh Freeze. Freeze was fired in early November after failing to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in three seasons on the Plains. Freeze lost 12 of his last 15 SEC games.
Golesh went 23-15 in three seasons with the Bulls, a tenure that culminated with USF ranking second in the country in total offense (501.7 yards a game) and fourth in scoring (43 points a game).
“He has produced wins and record-setting results throughout his entire career, including over the last three seasons at USF,” Auburn athletic director John Cohen said. “Alex is known nationally for his player development prowess, ability to shape creative and explosive offenses, and his relentless approach to building winning programs.
“In our conversations, he showed the determination and edge that this program demands of its head coach.”
Golesh becomes Auburn’s fourth football coach in seven seasons. The Tigers fired Gus Malzahn in 2020, Brysan Harsin in 2022 and now Freeze in 2025. Together, the school will end up paying $52.5 million in buyout fees.
The Tigers owe Freeze $15.8 million, with no mitigation, from a six-year, $39 million deal he signed to replace Harsin in 2022. Freeze got the boot at 15-19 overall and 6-16 in the conference. The last five losses included more offensive woes.
Golesh could be the answer. His Bulls upset Boise State and Florida — both ranked — in September and lost road games at Memphis and Navy by three points each to miss out on the American Conference championship game and a potential berth in the College Football Playoff.
He previously worked as Josh Heupel’s offensive coordinator at UCF (2020) and Tennessee (2021-22) before taking over at USF, and he implements an up-tempo style that can be taxing on defenses.
His offenses have consistently been among the nation’s most productive and highest scoring, averaging more than 35 points and 450 yards during his time with the Bulls. USF ranks in the top 25 of 20 national statistical categories, including 11 offensive, seven defensive and two special teams statistics.
“Auburn Football is one of the proudest, most tradition-rich programs in all of college football and my family and I could not be more excited to join the Auburn Family,” Golesh said. “This will be a player-driven program, and no one will outwork our staff.
“Auburn has won, can win and will win championships. Let’s get to work.”
UNLV WILL VISIT BOISE STATE IN MOUNTAIN WEST CHAMPIONSHIP GAME AFTER PREVAILING IN METRICS BREAKDOWN
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The Mountain West announced on Sunday that Boise State will host UNLV in the conference championship game on Friday, making this the third straight season the Broncos and Rebels will meet for the title.
Boise State, New Mexico, San Diego State and UNLV all finished with 6-2 records in conference play. Because all four teams did not meet this season, the tie was broken by a composite average of nationally recognized metrics: Connelly SP+, ESPN SOR, KPI and SportSource rankings.
UNLV and Boise State had the two best composite average scores. With the two participants determined, the tiebreaker reverted to head-to-head to determine the host. The Broncos earned the right to host because of their 56-31 win over the Rebels on Oct. 18.
San Diego State finished third in the metrics followed by New Mexico.
UNLV will be appearing in its third Mountain West championship game and is seeking its first title. Boise State will be playing in the championship game for the fourth straight season and is seeking its third straight title. The Broncos are in the title game for the ninth time overall and are looking for their sixth championship.
Under first-year head coach Dan Mullen, UNLV beat rival Nevada 42-17 on Saturday to move to 10-2 overall this season, reaching the 10-win plateau for the fourth time in program history and in consecutive years for the first time. The Rebels have won four straight games.
Boise State won its final two regular-season games to move to 8-4 overall. The Broncos, who have played without starting quarterback Maddux Madsen since an injury in a loss to Fresno State on Nov. 1, rallied for a 25-24 win at Utah State on Friday to move into the tie atop the league standings.
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