At the summit, Ohio State retained the No. 1 position in the first regular-season AP Poll, earning 46 first-place votes. They sit well ahead of No. 5 Indiana, which collected eight first-place votes. Georgia, Notre Dame, and Texas round out the top five, while Oregon slid four spots to No. 6, signaling a cautious start for a program accustomed to high preseason expectations.
Virginia made a striking debut, jumping from unranked to No. 25 after a commanding 34-8 Week Zero victory over NC State. Although the Cavaliers had an off week during the initial weekend of play, their strong start earned them a berth in the rankings.
The most shocking development involved Michigan. After a fall from No. 16 to exit the poll entirely, this marked the first time in at least a decade that a highly ranked team was unseated from the rankings despite a win. The Wolverines, under new head coach Kyle Whittingham, endured a harrowing Week 1 finish, narrowly defeating Western Michigan 13-12 with a controversial last-second Hail Mary. They entered as 27.5-point favorites but delivered a performance that drew immediate scrutiny and concern from fans and analysts alike.
“I’m going to tell you right now, there was not a lot of hooting and hollering in that locker room,” Whittingham said after the game. “In fact, there was none, because we understand that we’ve got a lot of work to do, and that we’ve got to be much, much better than we were.” His candor underscored the gravity of the early-season setback and the work ahead for the program.
Beyond the top tier, LSU garnered significant attention with a standout performance under Lane Kiffin, vaulting to No. 8 after a decisive 51-10 win over Clemson. LSU’s ascent from the preseason outside the top 10 to a top-10 position illustrated the potential for dramatic movement early in the year, and it nudged Oklahoma out of the top 10 despite Oklahoma’s own dominant 51-0 victory over UTEP.
Oregon, meanwhile, absorbed a noticeable drop after Week 1. A 34-27 win over Boise State wasn’t enough to sustain their lofty preseason ranking, slipping four spots to No. 6 in both major polls. The narrow victory prompted pollsters to respond with caution about why a team with such high expectations didn’t command a more decisive performance.
Teams receiving votes in the margins included Boise State, which led those outside the ranked slate with 86 points, followed by Florida (83), Michigan (69), Arizona (33), Memphis (23), South Carolina (19), and Western Michigan (12). Pittsburgh and Navy earned a handful of votes, with UCLA, Virginia Tech, Illinois, James Madison, Minnesota, Colorado, Auburn, Arizona State, and Vanderbilt receiving smaller totals.
With Week 2 on the horizon, the conversational focus is on whether the top programs can sustain their performance and authority, or if more shakeups are imminent. The early season has already demonstrated that rankings can shift rapidly, and the implications for conference dynamics and national narrative are substantial. Fans and analysts will be watching closely to see which teams solidify their standing and which surprising contenders challenge the established order.
