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2026 College Football Rankings Recap: Week 6
UCLA (5-0) takes over the top spot in The Davis Rankings, up from 4th after week 6 of the 2026 season, with a score of 95.0 out of 100. The rest of the top five: #2 Notre Dame, #3 Miami, #4 BYU, #5 Indiana.
Every score comes from the same published formula, explained on the methodology page.
Editor's note
When you are in a pinchey it really helps to have a Minchey! Back-to-back weeks getting the win with 2. 
Kentucky "Walk it off"
Until next week.
Just Win! Excuses and Polls are for Losers.
The top 25
SEC It just means something, when you have... Arkansas (T-117)
| Rank | Team | Record | TDR scoreTDR | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  UCLA | 5-0 | 95.0 | ▲ 3 |
| 2 |  Notre Dame | 6-0 | 94.4 | ▲ 1 |
| 3 |  Miami | 5-0 | 93.4 | ▲ 2 |
| 4 |  BYU | 5-0 | 92.3 | ▲ 2 |
| 5 |  Indiana | 6-0 | 91.6 | ▲ 9 |
| T-6 |  Georgia | 6-0 | 91.5 | ▲ 7 |
| T-6 |  James Madison | 6-0 | 91.5 | ▲ 3 |
| 8 |  Texas Tech | 5-0 | 91.3 | ▲ 2 |
| 9 |  Utah | 5-0 | 90.5 | ▲ 3 |
| 10 |  USC | 6-1 | 83.9 | ▲ 6 |
| 11 |  Wake Forest | 5-1 | 83.2 | ▲ 7 |
| 12 |  Ohio State | 5-1 | 82.6 | ▲ 5 |
| T-13 |  Missouri | 5-1 | 80.4 | ▲ 7 |
| T-13 |  Ole Miss | 4-1 | 80.4 | ▲ 44 |
| 15 |  Boise State | 5-1 | 80.1 | ▲ 8 |
| T-16 |  Houston | 5-1 | 80.0 | ▲ 6 |
| T-16 | Kentucky | 5-1 | 80.0 | ▲ 5 |
| T-18 |  Arizona | 5-1 | 79.5 | ▲ 9 |
| T-18 |  Iowa | 5-1 | 79.5 | ▲ 38 |
| 20 |  UTSA | 5-1 | 79.2 | ▲ 5 |
| 21 |  Liberty | 5-1 | 78.7 | ▲ 8 |
| 22 |  Tennessee | 5-1 | 78.6 | ▲ 13 |
| 23 |  Memphis | 5-1 | 78.5 | ▲ 10 |
| 24 |  Oklahoma State | 4-1 | 77.3 | ▲ 15 |
| 25 |  Wisconsin | 4-1 | 76.6 | ▲ 2 |
Biggest movers
25 teams jumped two or more tiers (14 up, 11 down). 53 more moved a single tier.
Risers
| Team | From | Direction | To | Tiers | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Oklahoma 3-2 | Do We Need to Talk? | → | Feeling Good | ▲ 2 | 90 → 35 | ▲ 55 |
| After a neutral-site win over #1 Texas (27-24) in a one-score game. An upset: Oklahoma entered with 45.4 TDR points to Texas's 95.6. Now 3-2. TDR score +22.4: win/loss record +5.5, road-win bonus +1.0. | ||||||
 Miami (OH) 3-3 | Sick of It | → | Character Building | ▲ 2 | 109 → T-61 | ▲ 48 |
| After a road win at #66 Massachusetts (20-19) in a one-score game. An upset: Miami (OH) entered with 31.7 TDR points to Massachusetts's 56.4. Now 3-3. TDR score +23.4: win/loss record +5.5, road-win bonus +1.7. | ||||||
 UConn 3-3 | Sick of It | → | Character Building | ▲ 2 | 114 → 66 | ▲ 48 |
| After a road win at #82 Temple (34-20). An upset: UConn entered with 31.0 TDR points to Temple's 47.7. Now 3-3. TDR score +23.0: win/loss record +5.5, road-win bonus +1.7. | ||||||
 Illinois 3-3 | Sick of It | → | Character Building | ▲ 2 | 111 → 65 | ▲ 46 |
| After a road win at #95 Michigan State (38-37) in a one-score game. An upset: Illinois entered with 31.5 TDR points to Michigan State's 38.1. Now 3-3. TDR score +22.9: win/loss record +5.5, road-win bonus +1.9. | ||||||
 Coastal Carolina 2-4 | Oh Crap | → | Do We Need to Talk? | ▲ 2 | 133 → 88 | ▲ 45 |
| After a road win at #81 Marshall (27-21) in a one-score game. An upset: Coastal Carolina entered with 16.3 TDR points to Marshall's 47.9. Now 2-4, snapped a 3-game losing streak. TDR score +25.8: win/loss record +7.3, road-win bonus +2.2. | ||||||
and 9 more tier jumpers
Ole Miss 57→T-13, North Carolina 92→48, Virginia 84→42, South Carolina 101→60, Old Dominion 127→86, Wyoming 101→T-61, Louisville 104→64, Iowa 56→T-18, California 101→63
Fallers
| Team | From | Direction | To | Tiers | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Minnesota 4-2 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 25 → T-70 | ▼ 45 |
| After a road loss at #78 Purdue (13-41) in a blowout. An upset: Minnesota entered with 76.8 TDR points to Purdue's 48.3. Now 4-2, snapped a 3-game winning streak. TDR score -24.7: win/loss record -7.3, road-win bonus -1.1. | ||||||
 Duke 4-1 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 10 → 54 | ▼ 44 |
| After a road loss at #123 Georgia Tech (25-28) in a one-score game. An upset: Duke entered with 91.2 TDR points to Georgia Tech's 19.0. Now 4-1, first loss of the season. TDR score -30.0: win/loss record -11.0, road-win bonus -2.1. | ||||||
 LSU 4-2 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 24 → T-68 | ▼ 44 |
| After a road loss at #21 Kentucky (34-35) in a one-score game. A coin flip: LSU entered with 76.9 TDR points to Kentucky's 77.7. Now 4-2. AP: #10 to #22. TDR score -24.2: win/loss record -7.3, road-win bonus -1.1. | ||||||
 NC State 3-3 | Feeling Good | → | Do We Need to Talk? | ▼ 2 | 48 → 92 | ▼ 44 |
| After a home loss to #18 Wake Forest (14-38) in a blowout. As expected: NC State entered with 62.4 TDR points to Wake Forest's 80.5. Now 3-3. TDR score -22.3: win/loss record -5.5, road-win bonus -1.2. | ||||||
 Texas A&M 3-3 | Feeling Good | → | Do We Need to Talk? | ▼ 2 | 44 → 85 | ▼ 41 |
| After a road loss at #20 Missouri (6-27) in a blowout. As expected: Texas A&M entered with 65.7 TDR points to Missouri's 78.5. Now 3-3. TDR score -21.6: win/loss record -5.5, road-win bonus -0.7. | ||||||
and 6 more tier jumpers
Fresno State 19→59, Toledo 37→76, Oregon 40→78, Tulane 64→101, Syracuse 72→T-106, Kansas 73→T-106
Weekly awards
Eight awards in four groups, each with one you want and one you don’t. The biggest poll gaps are in Polls vs the data, in detail under Mind the Gap. Season totals for every team are on the Awards page. The week’s game honors are in Games that mattered.
Kitchen
Who sits on top of the rankings, and who is stuck at the bottom.
Mountaineering
Two straight weeks of climbing, and two straight weeks of falling.
Biggest two-week rise, up both weeks
Biggest two-week fall, down both weeks
Mind the Gap
Where the polls and the data disagree most.
Data rank far better than any poll's
Poll rank far better than the data's
Polls vs the data, in detail
The biggest gaps between the TDR rank and the best rank in any poll. A team in no poll counts as just outside them, so its gap is a minimum (shown with a +). Gaps under 5 spots are not listed.
Wins don't matter
TDR counts every win.
| Team | TDR | AP | Coaches | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Madison 6-0 | T-6 | NR | NR | ▲ 20+ |
| UCLA 5-0 | 1 | 12 | 12 | ▲ 11 |
| Wake Forest 5-1 | 11 | 21 | 23 | ▲ 10 |
| Boise State 5-1 | 15 | 23 | 24 | ▲ 8 |
Moving Company
The biggest single-week moves up and down the rankings.
Games that mattered
The week’s standout games, each shown once, in the first list it qualifies for. The one exception: a close loss by a top-25 team can be in both Upset of the Week and Winnin’ ain’t easy (one is about the size of the gap, the other about how close it was). Upset of the Week, Winnin’ ain’t easy and Coin Flips are recognitions: they are not trophy-case awards, so they never go on a helmet.
The lowest-entering team to beat a better-ranked one. Ranks are from the week before.
Georgia Tech beat Duke28-25#123 vs #10113 spots- Oklahoma beat
Texas27-24#90 vs #189 spots 
North Carolina beat 
Pittsburgh21-17#92 vs #785 spots
Buffalo beat 
Toledo23-8#115 vs #3778 spots
Old Dominion beat 
App State10-3#127 vs #6760 spots
A top-25 team in a one-score game against a team ranked far below it: it survived, or it fell. Ranks are from the week before.
- UCLA beat
Oregon17-15#4 vs #40top-25 team survived by 2 - Georgia Tech beat Duke28-25#123 vs #10top-25 team fell by 3
- Oklahoma beat Texas27-24#90 vs #1top-25 team fell by 3
- James Madison beat
Georgia Southern27-24#9 vs #86top-25 team survived by 3
Teams within 3 points of each other on paper going in, closest finish first. Scores are away, then home.
One-score games involving a top-60 team that are not already above.
Louisiana Tech beat 
Louisiana32-31#49 vs #74won by 1
Jacksonville State beat 
Kennesaw State27-26T-39 vs #126won by 1
Eastern Michigan beat 
Akron25-23#57 vs #135won by 2- Georgia beat
Alabama20-17T-6 vs #34won by 3 
Virginia beat 
Syracuse28-25#42 vs T-106won by 3
The biggest margins by a team in the current top 50, the two top tiers.
Oregon State beat 
San Diego State66-14#37 vs T-117won by 52- Notre Dame beat
Stanford58-7#2 vs #104won by 51 
North Texas beat 
Charlotte50-10T-39 vs #137won by 40
Conference snapshot
Conferences by average team score, with how many of each conference's teams sit in each tier. This is a different measure from the non-conference record ranking (for this week) on the standings page.
| Conference | Avg score | Highest-ranked team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEC | 62.8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | T-6Georgia |
| Big 12 | 60.9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | - | #4BYU |
| Big Ten | 59.6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | #1UCLA |
| ACC | 55.6 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | - | #3Miami |
| American Athletic | 48.1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | #20UTSA |
| Sun Belt | 45.8 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | T-6James Madison |
| Mountain West | 44.3 | - | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | #30 Air Force |
| Pac-12 | 42.7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 4 | 1 | #15Boise State |
| Mid-American | 41.5 | - | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | #36 Ohio |
| Conference USA | 39.3 | 1 | 2 | - | 1 | 4 | 2 | #21Liberty |
Winning | Feeling Good | Character Building | Do We Need to Talk? | Sick of It | Oh Crap
The most teams in the Winning tier: Big 12 and Big Ten (6 each). The most teams in the bottom two tiers (Sick of It and Oh Crap): Conference USA (6).
Not ranked as a conference: FBS Independents (not a conference: Notre Dame #2, UConn #66).
Conference race
Who leads each conference and what the title game picture looks like. Ties are shown as ties, never broken: each conference decides them with its own rules. See the full conference standings.
| Conference | Leaders | Title game |
|---|---|---|
| SEC | Georgia 4-0 | TiedGeorgia in; Kentucky and Alabama tied for the last spot |
| Big 12 | TiedBYU, Texas Tech, Utah, Oklahoma State and Baylor tied for the top two spots | |
| Big Ten | TiedUCLA, Indiana, Ohio State and Wisconsin tied for the top two spots | |
| ACC | Miami 3-0 | SetTop two: Miami and Wake Forest |
| American Athletic | TiedUTSA, Memphis, North Texas, Florida Atlantic and East Carolina tied for the top two spots | |
| Sun Belt | DivisionsEast and West leaders meet in the title game | |
| Mountain West |  UNLV 2-0 New Mexico 1-0 | SetTop two: UNLV and New Mexico |
| Pac-12 | Boise State 2-0Oregon State 2-0 | SetTop two: Boise State and Oregon State |
| Mid-American | TiedEastern Michigan, Ohio, Western Michigan and Bowling Green tied for the top two spots | |
| Conference USA | TiedLiberty, Jacksonville State and Florida International tied for the top two spots |
Looking ahead to week 7
The biggest games between current top-25 teams, best matchup first.
Show all 59 games between ranked teams
Every game next week between two ranked FBS teams, best matchup first. The matchup score is the two ranks added together plus how far apart they are (lower is better). A coin marks a toss-up by the numbers.
#28 
#52 
#55 
#63 
#39 
#73 
#79 
#81 
#84 
#75 
#95 
#51 
#97 
#98 
#99 
#58 
#101 
#102 
#45 
#103 
#26 
#105 
#64 
#106 
#82 
#110 
#110 
#110 
#109 
#108 
#113 
#59 
#117 
#91 
#122 
#124 
#87 
#125 
#119 
#127 
#128 
#129 
#116 
#99 
#130 
#130 
#132 
#95 
#133 
#134 
#61 
#120 See the full 2026 week 6 rankings, see every team by tier, the conference standings, or browse every weekly recap.
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