Thanks to its 10-point win at then-No. 3 Oregon on Saturday, Indiana has seized that No. 3 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 poll released Sunday.
It marks the Hoosiers’ highest ranking since the AP poll began in 1936.
Head coach Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers (6-0) earned three first-place votes, although it wasn’t enough to keep Ohio State (6-0) and Miami (5-0) from retaining the top two spots.
The Buckeyes, who controlled then-No. 17 Illinois 34-16 on Saturday, secured 50 of the 66 first-place votes as they maintained their place atop the poll for the seventh straight week. The Hurricanes, who did not play during Week 6, claimed the other 13 first-place nods.
The first College Football Playoff rankings, which serve as the sport’s official metric for determining the 12 CFP participants, will not be released until Nov. 4. By that point, Ohio State will have played two more games while Miami and Indiana will have played three more. The Buckeyes and Hoosiers do not play each other during the regular season.
The SEC owns the next three spots in the poll — Texas A&M (6-0), Ole Miss (6-0) and Alabama (5-1), respectively. Texas Tech (6-0), Oregon (5-1), Georgia (5-1) and LSU (5-1) round out the rest of the top 10. No. 5 Ole Miss travels to No. 9 Georgia for the marquee game on Saturday’s schedule.
The Ducks tumbled five spots after their 18-game home winning streak ended against Indiana. Ole Miss dropped one spot after it rallied to topple Washington State 24-21 in a home game the Rebels were favored to win by more than 30 points.
The SEC also maintained a large presence in the second 10 as Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, BYU, Missouri, Vanderbilt, Virginia, South Florida and Southern California comprise Nos. 11 through 20. Oklahoma dropped from sixth to 14th following a 23-6 neutral-field loss to Texas in the Red River Rivalry – while the South Florida bumped from 24th to 19th thanks to a 63-36 road win over previously unbeaten North Texas.
No. 20 USC led a quintet of schools that leaped into the poll on the strength of big wins. No. 21 Texas, No. 23 Utah, No. 24 Cincinnati and No. 25 Nebraska are new this week while No. 22 Memphis climbed one spot. This marks just the third week since 2019 Nebraska has earned a spot in the Top 25.
Michigan (which list at USC), Illinois, Arizona State (which lost at Utah), Iowa State (lost at unranked Colorado) and Florida State (lost at home to Pitt) dropped out of the poll. Only the Wolverines and Fighting Illini received votes.
The full Top 25:
1. Ohio State (6-0)
2. Miami (5-0)
3. Indiana (6-0)
4. Texas A&M (6-0)
5. Ole Miss (6-0)
6. Alabama (5-1)
7. Texas Tech (6-0)
8. Oregon (5-1)
9. Georgia (5-1)
10, LSU (5-1)
11. Tennessee (5-1)
12. Georgia Tech (6-0)
13. Notre Dame (4-2)
14. Oklahoma (5-1)
15. BYU (6-0)
16. Missouri (5-1)
17. Vanderbilt (5-1)
18. Virginia (5-1_
19. South Florida (5-1)
20. USC (5-1)
21. Texas (4-2)
22. Memphis (6-0)
23. Utah (5-1)
24. Cincinnati (5-1)
25. Nebraska (5-1)
