A week after a huge promotion in the poll, Florida is bound to come down in the newest AP Top 25 after a lopsided loss.
The No. 8 Gators fell 45-17 to No. 25 Missouri on a Saturday while other ranked teams generally won in workmanlike fashion.
Elsewhere in the rankings, No. 8 Alabama put a 56-23 beating on No. 16 Mississippi State. Both teams entered the week undefeated.
No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Miami also remained unbeaten — and mostly untested — as top-10 teams. No. 1 Texas was idle Saturday.
Stick around for projections and live updates when the latest rankings drop at 2 p.m. EDT.
Alabama cruises to 56-23 rout of Mississippi State
By MAURA CAREY
Any speculation that young quarterback Keelon Russell may not rise to the occasion subsided as he passed for 285 yards and three touchdowns while adding a rushing score in a 56-23 win against No. 16 Mississippi State.
Trae’shawn Brown ran the ball in for two scores and Rico Scott added a pair of receiving touchdowns. Dijon Lee Jr. also added a 30-yard pick-six.
Nevertheless, there may not be much room for improvement for the seventh-ranked Crimson Tide this week because No. 1 Texas was idle and Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami, Ohio State and Indiana each landed in the win column.
Florida’s top 10 stint could be short-lived
After moving up 13 spots in the poll and cracking the top 10 for the first time since 2021, Florida could be in line for a big fall in the rankings after losing 45-17 to Missouri.
The Tigers found success in minimizing Florida’s star running back Jadan Baugh’s impact, holding him to just 13 yards on 12 carries. Baugh was averaging 150 rushing yards per game before the Gators’ trip to Columbia.
It was the first loss of the Jon Sumrall era for Florida, falling to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in Southeastern Conference play.
3 Top 25 losses this week
Only three Top 25 teams lost this week, all in ranked matchups. No. 8 Florida fell 45-17 on the road to No. 25 Missouri. No. 14 Iowa dropped 31-14 to No. 5 Ohio State. And No. 16 Mississippi State lost 56-23 to No. 7 Alabama.
Six Top 25 teams had the week off and 16 ranked teams landed in the win column.
6 Top 25 teams were idle
Six AP Top 25 teams had the week off.
No. 1 Texas was idle after beating Tennessee in a hard-fought Week 4 road victory. No. 9 Ole Miss had a week to regroup following its first loss of the season to Florida. No. 13 Utah was off after a 31-17 win against Big 12 foe Iowa State.
No. 15 Oregon’s bye week came at a good time, giving quarterback Dante Moore a week to focus on recovering after a scary hit to the head.
Two of last week’s poll newcomers were also idle: No. 19 Oklahoma State and No. 23 UCLA.
How the votes are counted
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
For decades, voters called, emailed and faxed their votes to the AP and ballots were tabulated by hand.
Now voting happens online, and the count is automated first before AP checks for miscues.
The poll operates on a 1-to-25-point system, with the No. 1 team receiving 25 points down to the 25th team receiving 1 point. In between, the poll lists the teams with the most points from 24 down to 2. Teams that receive votes but not enough to make the top 25 are noted separately.
