You are reading the 2026 Week 7 recap. The latest recap, Week 8 of 2026, is here →
2026 College Football Rankings Recap: Week 7
UCLA (6-0) holds the top spot in The Davis Rankings after week 7 of the 2026 season, with a score of 95.0 out of 100. The rest of the top five: #2 Miami, #3 BYU, #4 James Madison, #5 Texas Tech.
Every score comes from the same published formula, explained on the methodology page.
Editor's note
This was a week the college football fan lives for, chaos! Tops teams dropping like flies and as we like to say here at TDR "Winnin’ ain’t easy".
Big welcome to the win club 
Charlotte X Instagram
Until next week.
Just Win! Excuses and Polls are for Losers.
The top 25
The Real Big 10 - trying to keep the losers out... Maryland (#120)
| Rank | Team | Record | TDR scoreTDR | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  UCLA | 6-0 | 95.0 | - |
| 2 |  Miami | 6-0 | 92.7 | ▲ 1 |
| 3 |  BYU | 6-0 | 92.6 | ▲ 1 |
| 4 |  James Madison | 7-0 | 91.6 | ▲ 2 |
| 5 |  Texas Tech | 6-0 | 91.1 | ▲ 3 |
| 6 |  Utah | 6-0 | 90.8 | ▲ 3 |
| T-7 |  Ohio State | 6-1 | 84.9 | ▲ 5 |
| T-7 |  Wake Forest | 6-1 | 84.9 | ▲ 4 |
| 9 |  USC | 6-1 | 84.0 | ▲ 1 |
| 10 |  Ole Miss | 5-1 | 82.9 | ▲ 3 |
| 11 |  Kentucky | 6-1 | 82.0 | ▲ 5 |
| 12 |  Houston | 6-1 | 81.9 | ▲ 4 |
| 13 |  North Dakota State | 6-1 | 81.0 | ▲ 32 |
| T-14 |  Tennessee | 6-1 | 80.6 | ▲ 8 |
| T-14 |  UTSA | 6-1 | 80.6 | ▲ 6 |
| 16 |  Boise State | 5-1 | 80.1 | ▼ 1 |
| 17 |  Iowa | 5-1 | 79.6 | ▲ 1 |
| 18 |  Arizona | 5-1 | 79.5 | - |
| 19 |  Northwestern | 5-1 | 79.0 | ▲ 7 |
| 20 |  SMU | 5-1 | 78.9 | ▲ 8 |
| 21 |  Liberty | 5-1 | 78.6 | - |
| 22 |  Air Force | 5-1 | 78.4 | ▲ 8 |
| 23 |  New Mexico | 5-1 | 78.1 | ▲ 8 |
| 24 |  Auburn | 4-2 | 72.1 | ▲ 49 |
| 25 |  Florida | 5-2 | 71.6 | ▲ 43 |
Biggest movers
30 teams jumped two or more tiers (15 up, 15 down). 47 more moved a single tier.
Risers
| Team | From | Direction | To | Tiers | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn 4-2 | Character Building | → | Winning | ▲ 2 | 73 → 24 | ▲ 49 |
| After a road win at T-6 Georgia (27-24) in a one-score game. An upset: Auburn entered with 51.8 TDR points to Georgia's 91.5. Now 4-2. TDR score +20.3: win/loss record +3.7, road-win bonus +1.0. | ||||||
 Tulane 3-3 | Sick of It | → | Character Building | ▲ 2 | 101 → T-53 | ▲ 48 |
| After a home win over #23 Memphis (31-17). An upset: Tulane entered with 37.6 TDR points to Memphis's 78.5. Now 3-3. TDR score +22.1: win/loss record +5.5, road-win bonus +0.8. | ||||||
 TCU 3-3 | Sick of It | → | Character Building | ▲ 2 | 110 → T-64 | ▲ 46 |
| After a road win at #27 Baylor (17-6). An upset: TCU entered with 31.8 TDR points to Baylor's 76.4. Now 3-3. TDR score +23.5: win/loss record +5.5, road-win bonus +1.8. | ||||||
| Florida 5-2 | Character Building | → | Winning | ▲ 2 | 68 → 25 | ▲ 43 |
| After a road win at #43 Texas (27-24) in a one-score game. An upset: Florida entered with 52.7 TDR points to Texas's 66.2. Now 5-2. AP: unranked to #20. TDR score +18.9: win/loss record +2.6, road-win bonus +0.9. | ||||||
 Boston College 3-3 | Sick of It | → | Character Building | ▲ 2 | 110 → 68 | ▲ 42 |
| After a home win over #46 Pittsburgh (27-21) in a one-score game. An upset: Boston College entered with 31.8 TDR points to Pittsburgh's 64.0. Now 3-3. TDR score +22.9: win/loss record +5.5, road-win bonus +1.2. | ||||||
and 10 more tier jumpers
Middle Tennessee 113→72, Toledo 76→36, Oregon 78→T-38, Texas State 109→T-69, Rutgers 129→91, Kansas State 82→45, App State 83→47, Missouri State 128→92, Texas A&M 85→50, Ball State 130→T-97
Fallers
| Team | From | Direction | To | Tiers | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 UNLV 4-3 | Feeling Good | → | Do We Need to Talk? | ▼ 2 | 33 → 87 | ▼ 54 |
| After a road loss at #30 Air Force (31-41). As expected: UNLV entered with 70.5 TDR points to Air Force's 75.7. Now 4-3, snapped a 3-game winning streak. TDR score -21.4: win/loss record -5.3, road-win bonus -0.8. | ||||||
 Oklahoma 3-3 | Feeling Good | → | Do We Need to Talk? | ▼ 2 | 35 → 89 | ▼ 54 |
| After a home loss to T-16 Kentucky (13-21) in a one-score game. As expected: Oklahoma entered with 67.8 TDR points to Kentucky's 80.0. Now 3-3. TDR score -22.4: win/loss record -5.5, road-win bonus -1.2. | ||||||
 Baylor 4-2 | Feeling Good | → | Do We Need to Talk? | ▼ 2 | 27 → 80 | ▼ 53 |
| After a home loss to T-110 TCU (6-17). An upset: Baylor entered with 76.4 TDR points to TCU's 31.8. Now 4-2, snapped a 4-game winning streak. TDR score -25.1: win/loss record -7.3, road-win bonus -1.7. | ||||||
 Oklahoma State 4-2 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 24 → 73 | ▼ 49 |
| After a road loss at T-16 Houston (32-35) in a one-score game. A coin flip: Oklahoma State entered with 77.3 TDR points to Houston's 80.0. Now 4-2, snapped a 4-game winning streak. AP: #18 to unranked. TDR score -24.2: win/loss record -7.3, road-win bonus -1.2. | ||||||
 Wisconsin 4-2 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 25 → 74 | ▼ 49 |
| After a road loss at #1 UCLA (7-17). As expected: Wisconsin entered with 76.6 TDR points to UCLA's 95.0. Now 4-2, snapped a 4-game winning streak. TDR score -24.2: win/loss record -7.3, road-win bonus -1.2. | ||||||
and 10 more tier jumpers
East Carolina 53→T-102, Florida Atlantic 29→77, Virginia 42→90, Troy 56→104, Missouri 13→60, Purdue 58→105, Georgia State 32→78, Florida International 50→96, California 63→T-107, Memphis 23→66
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 7-0 | 4 | NR | NR | ▲ 22+ |
| North Dakota State 6-1 | 13 | NR | NR | ▲ 13+ |
| UTSA 6-1 | T-14 | NR | NR | ▲ 12+ |
| Wake Forest 6-1 | T-7 | 17 | 19 | ▲ 10 |
Moving Company
The biggest single-week moves up and down the rankings.
Biggest rank rise of the week
Biggest rank fall of the week
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.
- TCU beat Baylor17-6#110 vs #2783 spots
- Tulane beat
Memphis31-17#101 vs #2378 spots - Auburn beat
Georgia27-24#73 vs #667 spots - Boston College beat
Pittsburgh27-21#110 vs #4664 spots 
San Diego State beat 
Fresno State26-23#117 vs #5958 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.
Teams within 3 points of each other on paper going in, closest finish first. Scores are away, then home.
App State at 
Coastal Carolina35-322.6 points apartwon by 3
Delaware at 
Middle Tennessee30-330.9 points apartwon by 3
Kennesaw State at 
Missouri State21-240.5 points apartwon by 3
One-score games involving a top-60 team that are not already above.
- Houston beat Oklahoma State35-32#12 vs #73won by 3
- Florida beat
Texas27-24#25 vs #61won by 3 
Oregon beat 
Nebraska17-14T-38 vs #67won by 3
West Virginia beat 
Cincinnati45-42#51 vs #75won by 3
Jacksonville State beat 
Florida International27-24T-32 vs #96won by 3
The biggest margins by a team in the current top 50, the two top tiers.
Ohio beat 
Sacramento State48-7T-29 vs #135won by 41- Wake Forest beat
California41-7T-7 vs T-107won by 34 
Army beat 
Florida Atlantic56-24#41 vs #77won by 32
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 | 62.7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | - | #10Ole Miss |
| Big Ten | 59.5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | - | #1UCLA |
| Big 12 | 59.5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | - | #3BYU |
| ACC | 55.6 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | - | #2Miami |
| American Athletic | 49.4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | T-14UTSA |
| Pac-12 | 47.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | #16Boise State |
| Sun Belt | 46.1 | 1 | 4 | - | 4 | 3 | 2 | #4James Madison |
| Mountain West | 44.5 | 3 | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | #13North Dakota State |
| Conference USA | 42.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | #21Liberty |
| Mid-American | 41.9 | - | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | #28 Western Michigan |
Winning | Feeling Good | Character Building | Do We Need to Talk? | Sick of It | Oh Crap
The most teams in the Winning tier: SEC and Big Ten and Big 12 (5 each). The most teams in the bottom two tiers (Sick of It and Oh Crap): American Athletic and Sun Belt and Mid-American (5 each).
Not ranked as a conference: FBS Independents (not a conference: Notre Dame #35, UConn #71).
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 | SetTop two: Kentucky and Georgia | |
| Big Ten | UCLA 4-0Ohio State 4-0 | SetTop two: UCLA and Ohio State |
| Big 12 | TiedBYU, Texas Tech and Utah tied for the top two spots | |
| ACC | Miami 4-0 | SetTop two: Miami and Wake Forest |
| American Athletic | UTSA 3-0 North Texas 2-0 | SetTop two: UTSA and North Texas |
| Pac-12 |  Oregon State 3-0Boise State 2-0 | SetTop two: Oregon State and Boise State |
| Sun Belt | East James Madison 4-0 | DivisionsEast and West leaders meet in the title game |
| Mountain West | New Mexico 2-0 | TiedNew Mexico in; North Dakota State, Air Force and Wyoming tied for the last spot |
| Conference USA | Jacksonville State 3-0Liberty 2-0 | SetTop two: Jacksonville State and Liberty |
| Mid-American | Western Michigan 3-0Ohio 3-0 | SetTop two: Western Michigan and Ohio |
Looking ahead to week 8
The biggest games between current top-25 teams, best matchup first.
Show all 56 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.
#26 
#36 
#27 
#38 
#50 
#49 
#53 
#58 
#64 
#69 
#76 
#78 
#86 
#59 
#90 
#91 
#93 
#94 
#95 
#83 
#97 
#99 
#45 
#99 
#99 
#71 
#102 
#107 
#109 
#110 
#69 
#111 
#114 
#115 
#117 
#118 
#121 
#119 
#127 
#52 
#128 
#31 
#130 
#131 
#132 
#133 
#121 
#97 
#62 
#125 
#104 See the full 2026 week 7 rankings, see every team by tier, the conference standings, or browse every weekly recap.
Share this week
Free to share: download any image to post it, and link back to thedavisrankings.fyi. On a phone, press and hold an image to save it.
