College football rankings saw a major shake-up following Week 1 of the 2026 season, as Oregon tumbled from No. 2 to No. 6 in the US LBM Coaches Poll after a narrow win against Boise State, while LSU vaulted five spots into the top 10 following a prime-time blowout win.
The first full weekend of the 2026 college football season delivered immediate volatility across the national polls. While Ohio State easily retains the No. 1 ranking in the US LBM Coaches Poll with 50 first-place votes on the eve of their much-anticipated trip to Texas, performances lower down the ballot forced voters to rethink their preseason assumptions. The schedule produced few actual upsets among the elite, but tight margins and lopsided results reshuffled the top tier.
Oregon Slips to No. 6 After Boise State Scare
The most immediate casualty of Week 1 voting was Oregon. After opening the season as a national title contender and holding the No. 2 spot, the Ducks dropped four positions to No. 6 following a close call against Boise State. Although Oregon did keep one first-place vote, enough voters demoted the team on their ballots to take a hit in the rankings and reflect a performance that failed to match expectations.
Georgia capitalized on the shifting landscape, improving to No. 2 with seven first-place votes. Texas moved up a spot to No. 3 with a single first-place nod, still trailing its SEC rival. Notre Dame and Indiana also moved up a spot to round out the top five. The Fighting Irish received four first-place votes, while the defending national champion Hoosiers retained 11 first-place votes. Miami (Fla.) holds steady at No. 7.
LSU Vaults Into Top 10 After Throttling Clemson
On the opposite end of the riser board, LSU vaulted into the top 10 at No. 8, marking a five-spot gain for the Bayou Bengals. The surge followed their prime-time thrashing of Clemson. The decisive performance convinced voters to adjust the standings, leaving Clemson as the lone dropout from the poll, though two new teams entered as Florida and Virginia landed in a tie for the 25th slot. Texas A&M and Oklahoma round out the top 10, with Mississippi and Alabama getting shuffled down a spot to No. 11 and No. 12 respectively.
Michigan and Other Movers in the Week 2 Poll
Michigan avoided disaster but suffered a steep fall. The Wolverines remain in the poll at No. 24 after a controversial defeat of Western Michigan, which represents an eight-position drop from their preseason ranking. The controversial Week 1 finish in Ann Arbor saw officials restore one second to the clock after Bryce Underwood’s initial Hail Mary attempt fell incomplete as time expired, giving the Wolverines one final snap on which Underwood connected with JJ Buchanan for a game-winning 47-yard touchdown.
Elsewhere in Week 1 action, Lane Kiffin led an LSU team without pro players to a 51-10 drubbing of Clemson, while Sam Leavitt threw for 230 yards and a touchdown and added 113 yards and two scores on the ground in his first start after transferring from Arizona State. Miami receiver Malachi Toney broke out the Heisman Trophy pose several times in the Hurricanes’ commanding 45-6 win over Stanford, finishing with 234 receiving yards and three touchdowns, and quarterback play was strong on Friday night between Miami’s Darian Mensah and Southern California’s Jayden Maiava.
Auburn football was one of three SEC teams to down a fellow Power Four team in Week 1, defeating Baylor in the Aflac Kickoff Game 17-16. The Tigers remain outside of the coaches poll top 25 this week but received 19 votes after their big win on Saturday, and they will get the chance to boost their stock when they host Southern Miss on Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
| Rank | Team | Record |
| 1 | Ohio State | 1-0 |
| 2 | Georgia | 1-0 |
| 3 | Texas | 1-0 |
| 4 | Notre Dame | 1-0 |
| 5 | Indiana | 1-0 |
| 6 | Oregon | 1-0 |
| 7 | Miami (Fla.) | 1-0 |
| 8 | LSU | 1-0 |
| 9 | Texas A&M | 1-0 |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 1-0 |
The SEC maintained a dominating weekend with all 14 conference teams picking up wins in Week 1, including Ole Miss narrowly avoiding an upset against Louisville by needing a game-winning field goal as time expired for a 41-38 victory. Because of this weekend success, 10 SEC members have earned a spot in Week 2’s coaches poll, with three more receiving votes. Georgia remains the highest-ranked team in the conference at No. 2, followed by Texas, LSU, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma in the top 10, while Ole Miss sits at No. 11, Alabama at No. 12, Tennessee at No. 18, Missouri at No. 23, and Florida rounding out the top 25 at No. 25 alongside tied Virginia, with South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Auburn joining the receiving votes category.