Miami Claims No. 1 Ranking as 4 New Teams Enter Top 25

Q: Will the Big 12's playoff hopes survive after shocking upset losses by BYU and Texas Tech derailed their multi-bid dreams?

Yes, but likely only in a reduced form. The Big 12’s path to multiple College Football Playoff bids took a major hit when BYU lost at UCF and Texas Tech fell at Cincinnati on the same day. A week ago, the league had a realistic case for two or even three CFP teams. Now that argument is much weaker because both losses came against unranked opponents and exposed the conference’s thin margin for error. Utah’s 21-13 win over Houston kept the league’s hopes alive. The Utes are now the Big 12’s clear anchor as its lone unbeaten team, and under the 12-team format the conference champion is still in strong shape for an automatic berth. That means the Big 12 is very likely to get one team in. The real question is whether the conference can still earn an at-large bid for a second team. BYU and Texas Tech are not eliminated, but both now probably need strong finishes, quality wins and help from chaos elsewhere. BYU still has resume value from beating Notre Dame, while Texas Tech can rebuild its case by winning out. But the committee will weigh those teams against one-loss and two-loss contenders from the SEC, Big Ten and ACC, where schedule strength may compare more favorably. So the Big 12’s playoff hopes survive because Utah remains unbeaten and the auto bid is there. Its multi-bid dream, however, is no longer in its control and now looks doubtful rather than likely.

2 articles · Updated · FOX Sports · Oct 23

Miami rose to No. 1 after a 52-23 win over Pittsburgh, with Darian Mensah throwing for 387 yards and four touchdowns as the Hurricanes seized the top spot.
Three undefeated teams remain across the 138-team FBS field — Miami, Utah and UCLA — underscoring a season of repeated upsets and unusually thin margins.
Four teams joined the Top 25 this week: Minnesota after a 13-10 win over Iowa, Boise State after beating Washington State 31-10, Arizona after routing Iowa State 39-3, and Wake Forest returning on a bye.
The churn follows three straight weeks in which AP top-2 teams lost to unranked opponents for the first time since 2007, reinforcing how volatile the 2026 playoff race has become.