Week 7 College Football Rankings: Top 25 Rankings after Week 6, Alabama Climbs

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Week 7 College Football Rankings: Top 25 Rankings after Week 6, Alabama Climbs

Week 7 College Football Rankings — David Leong-Imagn Images David Leong-Imagn Images

Matt Johnson · Sportsnaut

Sun, Oct 5, 2025 ·

11 min read

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Week 6 of the college football season delivered a pair of highly-anticipated ranked-versus-ranked matchups between conference foes, along with some other intriguing duels across the country. As Saturday's slate of games draws to a close, it's time for a new slate of rankings.

Let's dive into our latest top 25 college football rankings, evaluating the 25 best college football teams after Week 6. At the bottom, we've included what teams dropped out of the rankings this weekend.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (2)

After a quiet start by their standards in the first quarter, the Ohio State Buckeyes passing game erupted for a late-night fireworks show at The Shoe on Saturday night. Minnesota was so preoccupied with Jeremiah Smith that it allowed Carnell Tate to deliver a season-best performance in less than two quarters of work. Ohio State keeps on rolling, and we expect Julian Sayin to have a field day next Saturday in Illinois against a Fighting Illini defense that has given out points like they are Halloween candy to teams in the last three weeks.

2. Miami Hurricanes (3)

Leave it to the Miami Hurricanes to steal the attention the Florida Gators thought they might get on Saturday night. In front of a national audience at Doak Campbell Stadium, Miami looked like the best team in college football. Ohio State will get the No. 1 spot in the top 25 college football rankings because it's the reigning national champion, but this Hurricanes' defense is outstanding and the Carson Beck-Malachi Toney connection looks unstoppable. Who knows, maybe Miami could've been No. 1 if Mario Cristobal didn't let his team relax for the entire fourth quarter.

3. Oregon Ducks (1)

Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks can feel extremely confident emerging from the Week 6 bye. Dante Moore is performing like a Heisman Trophy front-runner, the Ducks' defense is allowing just 238.2 total yards per game ( 11th in FBS ), and Oregon has one of the best rushing offenses in the nation. With Indiana coming to town, Oregon has a chance to deliver consecutive wins over top-10 teams—and that would give this program the best résumé in the nation.

4. Ole Miss Rebels (4)

The quarterback change from Austin Simmons to Trinidad Chambliss looks like a pivotal point in the Ole Miss Rebels season. Without it, Mississippi might've lost to both Arkansas and LSU . Instead, Lane Kiffin's program is 5-0 coming out of the bye week as Chambliss leads an offense that averaged 36.7 points and 500 total yards over the last three games . With two weeks of preparation, Ole Miss should keep it rolling against Washington State in Week 7.

5. Oklahoma Sooners (5)

Maybe the Oklahoma Sooners can beat Texas in the Red River Rivalry, even without John Mateer . That's less about overreacting to Michael Hawkins Jr. 's performance in Week 6 and more about what this Sooners defense could do to Arch Manning and the Longhorns' offensive line. At the very least, there should be a lot more hope for Oklahoma based on what we saw on Saturday.

6. Texas A&M Aggies (6)

Both at home and on the road, the Mississippi State Bulldogs have made teams fight tooth and nail to win. So, the Texas A&M Aggies should feel relatively good about their performance at home on Saturday night. It might not have been the crispest performance by the Aggies' offense, but Mike Elko's group has delivered two defensive clinics in a row. The arrow is pointing up on this program, and we're excited to see if this defense can contain a Florida team that is riding a wave of confidence right now.

7. Alabama Crimson Tide (10)

Week 7 College Football Ranings — Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images

So much of the focus on the Alabama Crimson Tide coming out of Saturday's win will focus on quarterback Ty Simpson and what he's done over the last two games. He's certainly entered the Heisman conversation, but the return of running back Jam Miller feels like the real game-changer for the Crimson Tide offense. Against Georgia, it was his pass protection that prove crucial. In Week 6 versus Vanderbilt , it was both the explosive runs and his ease at gaining 4 to 5 yards on nearly every carry. Put it all together and you have an Alabama team that looks like a national championship threat again.

8. Texas Tech Red Raiders (7)

Behren Morton returned from injury in Week 6 and the Texas Tech Red Raiders went on the road and thumped Houston . Texas Tech's offense had the big plays on Saturday night, but it was once again a defensive clinic that rightfully stole the show. The Red Raiders still aren't necessarily receiving the recognition they probably deserve at this point with a 5-0 record, but that'll start changing as they begin stockpiling more wins.

9. Indiana Hoosiers (8)

Curt Cignetti is at it again. At the Week 6 bye, the Indiana Hoosiers ranked sixth in scoring offense ( 47.8 PPG ) and fifth in scoring defense ( 9.6 PPG allowed ). No other team in the nation is top-six in both categories. What really separates this team from last year's is quarterback Fernando Mendoza , who will give the Hoosiers a shot at beating the Ducks in Eugene.

10. Georgia Bulldogs (13)

Gunner Stockton hasn't quite been living up to his name as of late, completing just 28-of-43 passes for 326 passing yards and a 2-1 TD-INT line in the last two games, but he continues to make an impact as a runner. Stockton delivered his second multi-rushing touchdown game on Saturday, with the Bulldogs putting up 35 points in three quarters on Kentucky before taking it easy. Set to face Auburn in Week 6, this is a great opportunity for the Bulldogs' pass rush to create chaos.

11. Tennessee Volunteers (14)

The Tennessee Volunteers are a relatively easy field goal away from an undefeated record. Coming out of the bye, freshman right tackle David Sanders Jr. should be ready to make his first start of the season in Week 6 at Neyland Stadium against Arkansas. Even more important, the Volunteers' defense could get All-SEC corner Jermod McCoy (ACL tear) back in a few weeks. As long as the Vols avoid falling into the trap game against the Razorbacks, that matchup in Tuscaloosa on the Third Saturday in October will be must-see television.

12. LSU Tigers (15)

It's difficult to be optimistic about the LSU Tigers heading into the October portion of their schedule. They should be able to get past South Carolina in Death Valley, but then Brian Kelly's program has a three-game slate against Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, and Alabama, with two of those coming on the road. LSU's offense doesn't seem to have the ground game nor the explosive passing attack to lead you to believe this team comes out of the next four games with fewer than three losses.

13. Missouri Tigers (16)

How many games will the Missouri Tigers have to win before Ahmad Hardy starts receiving more Heisman buzz? The sophomore running back is averaging 146 rushing yards per game this season, with seven touchdowns in his last three games. Coming off two weeks of rest, Hardy should receive 28-plus touches in Week 7 against an Alabama defense that has allowed over 160 rushing yards per game this season.

14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (17)

A Week 6 bye is probably just what the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets needed after surviving a scare from Wake Forest to close out September. Looking ahead to Saturday's upcoming matchup against Virginia Tech, quarterback Haynes King should feast against a Virginia Tech Hokies defense that has allowed 28 points and 356.8 total yards per game this fall.

15. Michigan Wolverines (20)

While all of the focus coming into the season rightfully centered on freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood , it's running back Justice Haynes who keeps drawing more of the spotlight. Haynes put this Wolverines' offense on his back Saturday afternoon, delivering his fifth consecutive 100-yard game on fewer than 20 carries. An explosive rushing attack and excellent defense—those are the two biggest supporting elements to help out an inexperienced quarterback. Now Michigan's receivers need to just hang onto the football.

16. Illinois Fighting Illini (20)

The Illinois Fighting Illini found themselves in an early hole, trailing Purdue 7-0 on the road Saturday. Luke Altmyer and this Illinois offense came alive after that, putting up 24 unanswered points. That's going to be crucial moving forward, since this defense has allowed 1,522 total yards (507.3 total yards per game) and 122 points in the last three games. It could get ugly versus Jeremiah Smith and the Buckeyes in Week 7.

17. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (22)

The final score doesn't even tell the whole picture for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday. On four of their first-half drives, Notre Dame got inside Boise State 's 30-yard line, including a turnover on downs from the 1-yard line. The win was maybe a little too close for comfort at times, because of a pair of failed fourth-down attempts in scoring range, but Notre Dame still comes out with three consecutive wins as both C.J. Carr and Jeremiyah Love continue to play well.

18. Virginia Cavaliers (Unranked)

Tony Elliott's Virginia Cavaliers have left no doubt that they are one of the 20 best college football teams right now. A week after taking down Florida State , the Cavaliers went into Louisville and knocked out a previously unbeaten Cardinals football program. Virginia's offense is really what's standing out right now, averaging 43 points per game this season. Louisville did rally late with 13 unanswered points after the third quarter, but Chandler Morris and the Cavaliers deserve credit for staying the course on the road and winning in OT.

19. Vanderbilt Commodores (19)

The better team won on Saturday. There'll be plenty of talk about Diego Pavia needing to tone down the trash talk if he can't back it up, but the Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback is never going to change who he is. So, Vandy gets two weeks to put this game in the rearview mirror and prepare for LSU. Given how the Tigers' offense has fared this season, the Commodores can certainly take down another ranked SEC team.

20. BYU Cougars (Unranked)

It's a testament to this BYU Cougars defense that this team turned it over three times and went just 4-for-12 on third downs but still came out of Friday night with a 14-point victory. BYU also got something out of running back LJ Martin (112 scrimmage yards and 2 touchdowns), who rebounded nicely after getting bottled up by Colorado at the end of September. The Cougars' résumé still isn't particularly impressive, but that can change in a hurry with matchups against Utah (Oct. 18), Iowa State (Oct. 25), and Texas Tech (Nov. 8).

21. Iowa State Cyclones (12)

Rocco Becht , after taking a massive blow to the head, and the Iowa State Cyclones just couldn't quite dig themselves out of a first-half hole. Cincinnati put up 31 points in the first 29 minutes of the game, scoring on each of its first five drives. That's all it took. It's the type of game the Cyclones simply couldn't afford to lose given their upcoming stretch at Colorado, then versus BYU and Arizona State.

22. Arizona State Sun Devils (23)

Two weeks to prepare for a matchup against the Utah Utes should be enough for Sam Leavitt and the Arizona State Sun Devils offense to have some success. They'll likely need to put up 27-plus points because Devon Dampier has played some excellent football this season outside of that game versus Texas Tech. If the Sun Devils can escape Utah with the big road win, it'll go a long way toward getting some national respect.

23. Utah Utes (25)

The Week 7 home draw versus Arizona State will be a good litmus test for the Utah Utes . This program was clearly outmatched versus Texas Tech, but that might say a lot more about the Red Raiders. It's been a long time since Utah could have a fair amount of confidence in its quarterback against a ranked opponent, but Devon Dampier has been good enough this season for Utah to feel optimistic about its chances.

24. South Florida Bulls (Unranked)

Unlike Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns , quarterback Byrum Brown and the South Florida Bulls actually beat the Florida Gators in the Swamp. South Florida also beat Boise State much more easily than Notre Dame did in Week 6. The Miami game in September was ugly (49-12 loss), but this Bulls team seems poised to go on a long run with upcoming games against North Texas and FAU.

25. Florida State Seminoles (18)

The season-opening victory over Alabama is the main reason the Florida State Seminoles remain in the top 25 college football rankings. In their last two games, however, the defense struggled to generate stops in a 46-38 double-overtime loss to Virginia, and the offense has also underperformed recently. Mike Norvell's team should be able to rebound next week against Pitt, but if it cannot, discussions about his job security may resurface and deservedly so.

Dropped from Top 25 Rankings:Louisville (24), Texas Longhorns (11), Penn State Nittany Lions (9)

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