Sports · American Football · 2 hrs ago
College football's title race grows unpredictable as top teams fall
The 2026 college football title race has become unpredictable after six teams ranked No.
1 or No.
2 lost before November.
These rankings are from the AP poll, which orders the leading teams in US college football.
In October, top-two teams lost five times, tying the most such losses in a month since November 2007.
That season is remembered for repeated upsets, including a record five straight weeks with a top-two team losing.
The recent results suggest no team has held a clear grip on the top rankings for long.
This matters because defeats can quickly change which teams are seen as title contenders.
Next, No.
1 Miami visits No.
4 Notre Dame and No.
2 Georgia visits No.
12 Ole Miss, so the top of the rankings could shift again.
Six teams ranked No. 1 or No. 2 have lost before November, the most such losses before November since 1984.
Five AP top-two teams lost in October 2026, tying the record for most in a single month since November 2007.
The run of upsets has revived comparisons with the chaotic 2007 college football season.
No. 1 Miami and No. 2 Georgia are scheduled to play top-12 opponents on the road in Week 10.
Those games could extend the run of consecutive weeks in which a top-two team loses.
- Who
- Six teams ranked No. 1 or No. 2 have lost; Miami and Georgia are the current top two.
- What
- A series of losses by highly ranked teams has made the college football title race unpredictable.
- When
- By the start of November 2026, six top-two teams had lost; five losses came in October.
- Where
- In college football; specific venues for the reported and upcoming games are not stated.
- Why
- The losses suggest there is no clearly dominant group of teams at the top of the rankings.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Five AP top-two teams lost, tying the record for most such losses in one month since November 2007.
Six different teams ranked No. 1 or No. 2 had lost.
No. 1 Miami and No. 2 Georgia were set to face No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 12 Ole Miss on the road.
- Top-two teams beaten before November
- 6
- Top-two losses in October 2026
- 5
- Previous month with as many top-two losses
- November 2007
- Miami's Week 10 opponent
- No. 4 Notre Dame
- Georgia's Week 10 opponent
- No. 12 Ole Miss
What people are saying
the only certainty seems to be chaos at the top