Miami jumped LSU and Penn State as the Hurricanes moved into the No. 2 spot behind reigning national champion Ohio State in The Associated Press college football poll Sunday, while Oklahoma climbed into the top 10 for the first time in two years as Indiana and Texas Tech made big moves after lopsided wins over ranked opponents.
The Hurricanes have beaten two opponents who were in the AP Top 25 at the time, and they turned in another complete performance in Saturday’s 19-point home win over nonconference rival Florida to earn their highest ranking since 2017. The 26-7 triumph over the struggling Gators of the Southeastern Conference was Miami’s last game of the regular season before eight straight in Atlantic Coast Conference play, with the Hurricanes off this week before facing Florida State in what could be a top-10 battle on Oct. 4 in Tallahassee.
“We’ve come miles, but we have miles and miles to go,” said Miami fourth-year head coach Mario Cristobal, who also led the Hurricanes to 4-0 starts the past two seasons, neither of which ended with a College Football Playoff appearance.
Big Ten member Penn State, which had been No. 2 since the preseason, was idle and slipped to No. 3. SEC member LSU fell one spot to No. 4 after an easy win over Southeastern Louisiana of NCAA Division I’s lower-tier Football Championship Subdivision.
No. 5 Georgia, which is the reigning SEC champion, and No. 6 Oregon, which is the reigning Big Ten champion, held their positions and were followed by No. 7 Oklahoma, which won at home against previously ranked Auburn in the SEC opener for both teams and returned to the top 10 for the first time since a 7-0 start for the Sooners in 2023, when they were still in the Big 12. Florida State and SEC rivals Texas A&M and Texas round out the top 10.