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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Maura Carey

The Latest: Get ready for a new top 5 in college football's AP Top 25

Oklahoma Alabama Football - (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

For three weeks, the top five teams of the AP Top 25 college football rankings have remained unchanged, with Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama and Georgia at the top of the heap.

That’s set to shift when the latest poll drops at 2 p.m. ET.

No. 4 Alabama should take the greatest hit after a 23-21 loss to No. 11 Oklahoma.

The upset crushed not only the Crimson Tide’s eight-game winning streak, but also narrowed its path to the Southeastern Conference championship game and the College Football Playoff.

No. 3 Texas A&M nearly faced the same fate as the Tide. The Aggies had to pull off their biggest comeback in program history to beat South Carolina 31-30 and stay on track to play in the SEC title game.

No. 5 Georgia, meanwhile, is in for a promotion after its 35-10 win over No. 10 Texas.

Still solid are No. 1 Ohio State, which breezed through a victory over UCLA, and a still-undefeated No. 2 Indiana.

Where will the others fall?

Follow live updates from The Associated Press below for poll projections, game recaps and exclusive voter insight, all in one place.

Here's the latest:

Who might rise and fall in this week’s poll

By MAURA CAREY

Stock up: Georgia, Oklahoma, BYU, USC, Notre Dame.

Stock down: Alabama, Texas, Louisville, Iowa, Cincinnati, South Florida, Pitt.

Who votes in the poll, and how does it work?

No organization has been ranking teams and naming a major college football national champion longer than The Associated Press, since 1936.

AP employees don’t vote themselves, but they do choose the voters. AP Top 25 voters comprise around 60 writers and broadcasters who cover college football for AP members and other select outlets. The goal is to have every state with a Football Bowl Subdivision school represented by at least one voter.

There is a 1-to-25 point system, with a team voted No. 1 receiving 25 points down to 1 point for a 25th-place vote. After that, it’s simple: The poll lists the teams with the most points from 1 to 25, and others receiving votes are also noted.

Voting is done online, and the tabulation is automated.

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