Skip to main content
Friday, November 13, 2026Nov 13
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

SEC upheaval opens door for Big 12 to put 3 teams in top 10 of AP poll and Miami to take over No. 1

Texas Tech quarterback Will Hammond (15) looks to throw a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona State, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Annie Rice)
Texas Tech quarterback Will Hammond (15) looks to throw a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona State, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Annie Rice) Texas Tech quarterback Will Hammond (15) looks to throw a pass during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Arizona State, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Annie Rice)

By ERIC OLSON / AP College Football Writer 5 min read

Just when you thought the SEC and Big Ten were the biggest and baddest conferences in the land, along comes the Big 12 with three teams in the top 10 of The Associated Press Top 25 and the ACC with the No. 1 team.

Five of the top seven teams lost Saturday, the most on one day in a regular season since the AP rankings started 90 years ago. In all, eight Top 25 teams lost in Week 7.

No. 2 BYU, No. 8 Texas Tech and No. 10 Utah landed in the top 10 on Sunday, largely the result of them getting out of the weekend unscathed amid the upheaval in the Southeastern Conference with Georgia, Alabama and Texas losing.

The last time the Big 12 was so well-represented in the top 10 was in the final 2021 season poll, when it was Baylor, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.

Then there is Miami of the Atlantic Coast Conference at No. 1 this week after it edged rival Florida State in double overtime. It had been almost six full seasons since a team from outside the SEC or Big Ten held the top spot. Miami’s 69 all-time appearances at No. 1 are eighth most, and Sunday’s ascension ended a 24-year drought.