The Latest: No. 3 Indiana climbs to its highest ever Top 25 ranking
Original Publication Date: October 12, 2025 8:49AM
Publication Updated: October 12, 2025 11:26AM
Indiana climbed to No. 3 in college football’s AP Top 25 poll, scoring its highest ranking in poll history.
The Hoosiers can thank their 10-point win at Oregon for the four-spot promotion, while the Ducks dropped five spots to No. 8, their lowest ranking in 20 polls. Ohio State and Miami remained the top two teams.
No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 5 Mississippi traded places after the Aggies’ 17-point home win over Florida and the Rebels’ three-point home win over Washington State.
The slew of Week 7 losses by ranked teams also made room for five arrivals in the poll, including No. 20 USC and No. 21 Texas. The Longhorns were the preseason No. 1 team, but dropped out of the rankings last week after losses to Ohio State and Florida.
Five teams dropped out of the rankings — Michigan, Illinois, Arizona State, Iowa State and Florida State — contributing to the most turnover in a regular-season poll since October 2022.
Follow live updates from The Associated Press below for game recaps, ranking analysis and exclusive voter insight, all in one place.
Here’s the latest:
Indiana earns highest ranking in program history
A 30-20 win against Oregon carried Indiana to its highest ranking in program history, coming in at No. 3. It’s the 20th consecutive poll appearance for the Hoosiers, who also earned three first-place votes this week, their most since 1945.
Oregon tied it up in the fourth quarter with a pick-six from freshman Brandon Finney. The Hoosiers didn’t falter, responding with an immediate 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive and picking off Ducks’ quarterback Dante Moore on consecutive possessions to seal the game.
Oregon fell to No. 8 as a result, the Ducks’ lowest ranking since last September.
AP Top 25 poll rankings:
1. Ohio State
2. Miami (Fla.)
3. Indiana
4. Texas A&M
5. Ole Miss
6. Alabama
7. Texas Tech
8. Oregon
9. Georgia
10. LSU
11. Tennessee
12. Georgia Tech
13. Notre Dame
14. Oklahoma
15. BYU
16. Missouri
17. Vanderbilt
18. Virginia
19. South Florida
20. USC
21. Texas
22. Memphis
23. Utah
24. Cincinnati
25. Nebraska
Knocking on the door
USC, Texas and Utah are likely to return to the rankings after big-time wins on Saturday.
Cincinnati could crack the poll following its fifth straight win, a 20-11 victory over UCF. The Bearcats received the most votes of any unranked team last week after a convincing win against Iowa State.
Nebraska came out on top against Maryland in a battle between AP Top 25 hopefuls. The Cornhuskers improved to 5-1 with a 34-31 win and could see their first ranking of the season.
Whose stock is up?
No. 7 Indiana is poised to crack the top five after outscoring No. 3 Oregon 30-20 in Ducks’ territory.
Other Saturday highlights included unranked USC, Texas and Utah teams delivering big-time wins against ranked opponents.
The Trojans could return to the rankings after outplaying No. 15 Michigan, beating the Wolverines 31-13. Texas came out on top of the Red River Rivalry, beating No. 6 Oklahoma 23-6. Utah rounded out competition for the day with a dominant 42-10 win against No. 21 Arizona State.
No. 9 Texas Tech could see its highest ranking of the season after a 42-17 win against Kansas.
Hear from a voter: What potential does Alabama have for a national title bid?
Alabama’s opening season loss to FSU will weigh down its record. However, three straight Top 25 wins in SEC play have them as the frontrunner to win the conference.
Their biggest strength right now is the defense coming up big late in games and the brilliance of QB Ty Simpson as one of the best passers in the country.
Stock down
No. 3 Oregon is set to slip out of the top five after falling to No. 7 Indiana at home. The Ducks ranked in the top three for the past two weeks after beating Penn State.
No. 4 Ole Miss could fall in the poll after unexpectedly struggling against Washington State. The Rebels pulled out a 24-21 win, but could see a slight drop off in the rankings after the uninspiring outing.
No. 6 Oklahoma could drop out of the top 10 for the first time in weeks after losing to an unranked Texas team on Saturday.
Saturday results pave the way for a top 10 shakeup
Two top 10 teams lost on Saturday, paving the way for movement in Sunday’s poll.
No. 3 Oregon hopes to hang on to its top 10 status after a loss to No. 7 Indiana. And No. 6 Oklahoma has a substantial fall at stake after losing to Texas in a matchup that wasn’t particularly close.
No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 8 Alabama and No. 9 Texas Tech each racked up a win Saturday and could benefit from losses by Oklahoma and Oregon.
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, which has been doing it since 1936.
AP employees don’t vote themselves, but they do choose the voters. AP Top 25 voters are about 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.
Voting is a straight points system: A first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote is worth 24 points, down to 1 point for a 25th-place vote.
Then it’s just a summary of which teams are 1-25 based on the totals. Others receiving votes are also noted.
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