2026 College Football Rankings Recap: Week 9
UCLA (8-0) stays on top of The Davis Rankings after week 9 of the 2026 season, with a score of 94.1 out of 100. The rest of the top five: #2 Miami, #3 Utah, #4 Wake Forest, #5 Notre Dame.
Every score comes from the same published formula, explained on the methodology page.
The Davis Line (TDL), the average score of all FBS teams, is 51.2, down 0.3 from last week. 68 teams are at or above it and 70 are below.
Editor's note
Be a while before we have another college football Saturday on Halloween.
This year more haunts than horrors in the TDR 25.
Haunts:
Miami vs 
North Carolina, somehow walked away with a win
Indiana kicking a 60 yarder to go to OT and win but shortly before 
Minnesota kicked a 60 yarder to what they thought was going to be a win.
Boise State stayed in the locker room a little long, but came out soon enough to finish 
Texas State
New Mexico fending off 
San José State late to hold on to the victory
Florida thought the game was being played in Jacksonville this year, 
Georgia taking home the Okefenokee Oar.
Horrors:
Ohio State losing to 
USC, hard to win if you are kicking field goals and not scoring touchdowns.
Northwestern unable to stop 
Oregon late- 100 combined points between
Oklahoma State and 
Iowa State, with Iowa State pulling off the upset.
Some rivalry notes.
Wisconsin did not think much of the Heartland Trophy this year and laid down for 
Iowa to run away with.
Notre Dame only played one half to rip apart 
Navy for the Rip Miller Trophy
Ole Miss put 
Auburn in the Pine Box with complete dominance in the second half.- Deeper than Hate but not a lot of scoring
Georgia Southern defense kept 
App State in check - Battle Line Rivalry got a little foggy especially for
Arkansas and 
Missouri just had their way with them. - The Bowden Bowl had Son's team
Clemson let Dad's team 
Florida State back in the game to add some intrigue late.
Until next week.
Just Win! Excuses and Polls are for Losers.
The top 25
The Real Big 10 - trying to keep the losers out... Rutgers (#126), 2nd week running
| Rank | Team | Record | TDR scoreTDR | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  UCLA | 8-0 | 94.1 | - |
| 2 | Miami | 8-0 | 92.5 | - |
| 3 |  Utah | 8-0 | 91.4 | - |
| 4 |  Wake Forest | 7-1 | 85.9 | ▲ 1 |
| 5 | Notre Dame | 7-1 | 85.7 | ▲ 30 |
| 6 | Indiana | 8-1 | 83.6 | ▲ 1 |
| 7 |  BYU | 7-1 | 83.1 | ▲ 31 |
| 8 |  Kentucky | 7-1 | 82.9 | ▼ 2 |
| 9 | Boise State | 7-1 | 82.7 | - |
| 10 |  Texas Tech | 7-1 | 82.4 | ▲ 29 |
| T-11 | Georgia | 7-1 | 82.2 | ▲ 29 |
| T-11 |  UTSA | 7-1 | 82.2 | ▼ 3 |
| 13 | New Mexico | 7-1 | 81.8 | ▲ 1 |
| 14 |  Liberty | 7-1 | 81.6 | ▼ 3 |
| 15 | USC | 7-2 | 78.7 | ▲ 30 |
| 16 |  Alabama | 6-2 | 77.4 | ▼ 1 |
| 17 |  Texas | 6-2 | 77.1 | ▼ 1 |
| 18 | Ole Miss | 6-2 | 77.0 | ▲ 35 |
| 19 |  North Dakota State | 7-2 | 75.3 | ▲ 42 |
| 20 |  Memphis | 7-2 | 74.9 | - |
| 21 | Missouri | 6-2 | 74.3 | ▲ 42 |
| 22 |  LSU | 6-2 | 74.0 | ▼ 5 |
| 23 | Iowa | 6-2 | 73.7 | ▲ 41 |
| 24 |  Virginia Tech | 6-2 | 73.6 | ▼ 6 |
| 25 |  Louisiana Tech | 6-2 | 73.3 | ▲ 3 |
Biggest movers
34 teams jumped two or more tiers (17 up, 17 down). 44 more moved a single tier.
Risers
| Team | From | Direction | To | Tiers | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Fresno State 5-3 | Do We Need to Talk? | → | Feeling Good | ▲ 2 | 81 → 33 | ▲ 48 |
| After a home win over T-32 Oregon State (38-22). An upset: Fresno State entered with 48.9 TDR points to Oregon State's 70.0. Now 5-3. TDR score +18.9: win/loss record +3.0. | ||||||
| Oregon 5-3 | Do We Need to Talk? | → | Feeling Good | ▲ 2 | 86 → 38 | ▲ 48 |
| After a home win over T-11 Northwestern (34-26) in a one-score game. An upset: Oregon entered with 46.0 TDR points to Northwestern's 80.4. Now 5-3. TDR score +19.0: win/loss record +3.0, road-win bonus +0.5. | ||||||
| Clemson 5-3 | Do We Need to Talk? | → | Feeling Good | ▲ 2 | 88 → 40 | ▲ 48 |
| After a road win at #106 Florida State (36-24). As expected: Clemson entered with 45.7 TDR points to Florida State's 35.3. Now 5-3. TDR score +19.1: win/loss record +3.0, road-win bonus +0.9. | ||||||
 Baylor 5-3 | Do We Need to Talk? | → | Feeling Good | ▲ 2 | 92 → T-44 | ▲ 48 |
| After a road win at #46 UCF (41-9) in a blowout. An upset: Baylor entered with 44.5 TDR points to UCF's 61.4. Now 5-3. TDR score +19.4: win/loss record +3.0, road-win bonus +0.9. | ||||||
 TCU 4-4 | Sick of It | → | Character Building | ▲ 2 | 109 → T-61 | ▲ 48 |
| After a home win over T-70 Kansas (22-16) in a one-score game. An upset: TCU entered with 34.9 TDR points to Kansas's 50.1. Now 4-4. TDR score +20.1: win/loss record +3.9, road-win bonus +0.8. | ||||||
and 12 more tier jumpers
Michigan 81→34, NC State 107→T-61, Iowa State 104→59, Troy 112→67, San Diego State 113→68, UNLV 80→36, East Carolina 109→66, North Dakota State 61→19, Missouri 63→21, Iowa 64→23, Western Michigan 77→37, Ole Miss 53→18
Fallers
| Team | From | Direction | To | Tiers | Rank | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cincinnati 5-3 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 23 → 71 | ▼ 48 |
| After a home loss to #3 Utah (25-49) in a blowout. As expected: Cincinnati entered with 71.2 TDR points to Utah's 91.0. Now 5-3. TDR score -21.4: win/loss record -4.9, road-win bonus -1.1. | ||||||
| Oklahoma State 5-3 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 24 → T-72 | ▼ 48 |
| After a road loss at #104 Iowa State (49-51) in a one-score game. An upset: Oklahoma State entered with 71.1 TDR points to Iowa State's 35.6. Now 5-3. TDR score -21.4: win/loss record -4.9, road-win bonus -0.8. | ||||||
 SMU 6-2 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 11 → 58 | ▼ 47 |
| After a road loss at #74 Syracuse (27-30) in a one-score game. An upset: SMU entered with 80.4 TDR points to Syracuse's 49.8. Now 6-2, snapped a 4-game winning streak. TDR score -22.6: win/loss record -5.9, road-win bonus -1.0. | ||||||
| Florida 5-3 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 22 → 69 | ▼ 47 |
| After a neutral-site loss to #40 Georgia (8-27). An upset: Florida entered with 71.6 TDR points to Georgia's 65.8. Now 5-3. TDR score -21.4: win/loss record -4.9, road-win bonus -0.9. | ||||||
| Wisconsin 5-3 | Winning | → | Character Building | ▼ 2 | 24 → 70 | ▼ 46 |
| After a road loss at #64 Iowa (0-30) in a blowout. An upset: Wisconsin entered with 71.1 TDR points to Iowa's 56.1. Now 5-3. TDR score -21.2: win/loss record -4.9, road-win bonus -0.7. | ||||||
and 12 more tier jumpers
Western Kentucky 70→T-116, Arizona 10→55, Northwestern 11→T-56, Oklahoma 41→T-85, Florida Atlantic 34→77, Kansas 70→T-113, App State 36→T-78, UCF 46→T-88, Boston College 50→T-92, Arkansas 69→111, Arizona State 50→91, Stanford 65→103
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
No poll data this week.
Poll rank far better than the data's
No poll data this week.
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.
- Iowa State beat Oklahoma State51-49#104 vs #2480 spots
Kennesaw State beat 
Middle Tennessee44-28#129 vs #5376 spots- Oregon beat Northwestern34-26#86 vs #1175 spots
Troy beat 
James Madison24-21#112 vs #3775 spots
Syracuse beat SMU30-27#74 vs #1163 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.
- Boise State beat Texas State46-45#9 vs #57top-25 team survived by 1
- Iowa State beat Oklahoma State51-49#104 vs #24top-25 team fell by 2
- Miami beat North Carolina38-35#2 vs #87top-25 team survived by 3
- Syracuse beat SMU30-27#74 vs #11top-25 team fell by 3
Teams within 3 points of each other on paper going in, closest finish first. Scores are away, then home.
Florida Atlantic at 
North Texas41-480.3 points apartwon by 7
Delaware at 
Western Kentucky35-210.7 points apartwon by 14
Army at Memphis22-491.9 points apartwon by 27
One-score games involving a top-60 team that are not already above.
The biggest margins by a team in the current top 50, the two top tiers.
Duke beat 
Boston College47-2T-26 vs T-92won by 45- Wake Forest beat
Virginia51-7#4 vs #104won by 44 - Liberty beat
Florida International49-10#14 vs #112won by 39
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 | 59.8 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | - | #8Kentucky |
| Big 12 | 57.0 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 1 | - | #3Utah |
| Big Ten | 56.7 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | #1UCLA |
| ACC | 54.4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | - | #2Miami |
| American Athletic | 46.5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | T-11UTSA |
| Sun Belt | 46.4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | - | 2 | #25Louisiana Tech |
| Mountain West | 46.0 | 2 | 3 | - | 1 | 1 | 3 | #13New Mexico |
| Pac-12 | 45.9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | #9Boise State |
| Conference USA | 43.6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | #14Liberty |
| Mid-American | 43.6 | - | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | T-26 Ohio |
Winning | Feeling Good | Character Building | Do We Need to Talk? | Sick of It | Oh Crap
The most teams in the Winning tier: SEC (7). The most teams in the bottom two tiers (Sick of It and Oh Crap): Mid-American (7).
Not ranked as a conference: FBS Independents (not a conference: Notre Dame #5, UConn #96).
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 12 | Utah 5-0 | TiedUtah in; BYU and Texas Tech tied for the last spot |
| Big Ten | UCLA 5-0 | SetTop two: UCLA and Indiana |
| ACC | Miami 6-0 | SetTop two: Miami and Wake Forest |
| American Athletic | UTSA 4-0North Texas 4-0 | SetTop two: UTSA and North Texas |
| Sun Belt | East Georgia Southern 3-1West Louisiana Tech 4-0 | DivisionsEast and West leaders meet in the title game |
| Mountain West | New Mexico 4-0 | SetTop two: New Mexico and Wyoming |
| Pac-12 | Boise State 4-0 | SetTop two: Boise State and Oregon State |
| Conference USA | Liberty 4-0 Jacksonville State 4-0 | SetTop two: Liberty and Jacksonville State |
| Mid-American | Ohio 4-0 | SetTop two: Ohio and Western Michigan |
Looking ahead to week 10
The biggest games between current top-25 teams, best matchup first.
Show all 62 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.
| # | Score | Matchup | Date | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | #2 Miami at #5 Notre DameCatholics vs. Convicts | NBC, Peacock | Compare |
| 2 | 14 | #7 BYU at #3 UtahHoly War | ABC | Compare |
| 3 | 36 | #11 Georgia at #18 Ole Miss | ABC | Compare |
| 4 | 42 | #17 Texas at #21 Missouri | ESPN | Compare |
| 5 | 44 | #16 Alabama at #22 LSU | ABC | Compare |
| 6 | 84 |  #42 West Virginia at #10 Texas Tech | ESPN | Compare |
| 7 | 88 |  #44 Wyoming at  #36 UNLV | CBSSN | Compare |
| 8 | 98 | #38 Oregon at #49 Ohio State | CBS | Compare |
| 9 | 102 |  #51 Buffalo at  #47 Miami (OH) | ESPN | Compare |
| 10 | 108 |  #54 Penn State at  #44 Washington | Sat Nov 7, time TBD | Compare |
| 11 | 112 | #8 Kentucky at  #56 Tennessee | ESPN | Compare |
| 12 | 112 | #23 Iowa at #56 Northwestern | Sat Nov 7, time TBD | Compare |
| 13 | 116 | #24 Virginia Tech at #58 SMU | ESPN | Compare |
| 14 | 118 | #59 Iowa State at #44 Baylor | Sat Nov 7, time TBD | Compare |
| 15 | 120 | #40 Clemson at #60 Syracuse | ESPN2 | Compare |
| 16 | 122 | #26 Duke at  #61 NC StateTobacco Road | CW | Compare |
| 17 | 122 |  #41 Marshall at #61 Georgia Southern | ESPN+ | Compare |
| 18 | 122 | #61 TCU at  #55 Arizona | ESPN | Compare |
| 19 | 132 |  #30 South Florida at  #66 East Carolina | ESPN2 | Compare |
| 20 | 134 | #25 Louisiana Tech at #67 Troy | ESPN+ | Compare |
| 21 | 142 | #71 Cincinnati at  #52 Houston | Sat Nov 7, time TBD | Compare |
| 22 | 144 |  #30 Air Force at #72 ArmyCommander-in-Chief's Trophy | CBS | Compare |
| 23 | 148 | #1 UCLA at #74 Minnesota | Sat Nov 7, time TBD | Compare |
| 24 | 154 | #11 UTSA at #77 Florida Atlantic | ESPN | Compare |
| 25 | 156 |  #78 Nebraska at  #48 Illinois | FOX | Compare |
| 26 | 166 | #50 James Madison at  #83 Southern Miss | ESPN2 | Compare |
| 27 | 170 |  #85 Oklahoma at #69 Florida | SEC Network | Compare |
| 28 | 182 |  #80 Colorado at  #91 Arizona State | ESPN2 | Compare |
| 29 | 184 |  #92 Texas A&M at  #39 South Carolina | ESPN2, ESPN | Compare |
| 30 | 188 | #94 Texas State at  #75 Oregon State | CW, ESPN Unlmtd | Compare |
| 31 | 192 | #88 North Carolina at  #96 UConn | CBSSN | Compare |
| 32 | 194 |  #97 South Alabama at  #75 Louisiana | ESPN+ | Compare |
| 33 | 196 |  #98 Georgia State at #78 App State | ESPN+ | Compare |
| 34 | 198 | #72 Oklahoma State at  #99 Kansas State | TNT, HBO Max | Compare |
| 35 | 202 |  #101 Tulsa at  #52 Tulane | ESPNU | Compare |
| 36 | 204 | #61 Delaware at #102 Kennesaw State | ESPN+ | Compare |
| 37 | 214 |  #81 Ball State at  #107 Massachusetts | ESPNU | Compare |
| 38 | 216 |  #32 Toledo at  #108 Sacramento State | CBSSN | Compare |
| 39 | 218 | #33 Fresno State at  #109 Utah State | USA Network | Compare |
| 40 | 222 | #111 Arkansas at #84 Auburn | SEC Network | Compare |
| 41 | 224 |  #87 Missouri State at #112 Florida International | ESPN+ | Compare |
| 42 | 226 |  #113 Vanderbilt at  #85 Mississippi State | SEC Network | Compare |
| 43 | 226 |  #88 UCF at  #113 Kansas | ESPN2 | Compare |
| 44 | 226 | #113 Florida State at #92 Boston College | ACC Network | Compare |
| 45 | 232 | #116 Western Kentucky at #100 Middle Tennessee100 Miles of Hate | ESPN+ | Compare |
| 46 | 232 |  #116 Central Michigan vs  #105 Eastern MichiganMichigan MAC Trophy | ESPN2 | Compare |
| 47 | 236 | #9 Boise State at  #118 Colorado State | USA Network | Compare |
| 48 | 238 | #14 Liberty at  #119 New Mexico State | ESPNU | Compare |
| 49 | 244 |  #122 Michigan State at  #34 MichiganPaul Bunyan Trophy | Sat Nov 7, time TBD | Compare |
| 50 | 246 |  #123 Maryland at  #110 Purdue | BTN | Compare |
| 51 | 250 |  #42 Louisville at  #125 Georgia Tech | ACC Network | Compare |
| 52 | 252 |  #126 Rutgers at #70 Wisconsin | BTN | Compare |
| 53 | 254 |  #127 Temple at #123 Navy | CBSSN | Compare |
| 54 | 256 |  #128 Old Dominion at  #82 Coastal Carolina | ESPN+ | Compare |
| 55 | 258 | #13 New Mexico at  #129 Nevada | CBSSN | Compare |
| 56 | 260 |  #130 Rice at #29 North Texas | ESPNU | Compare |
| 57 | 262 |  #131 Sam Houston at #26 Jacksonville State | CBSSN | Compare |
| 58 | 262 |  #90 Hawai'i at  #131 UTEP | FS1 | Compare |
| 59 | 266 | #26 Ohio at  #133 Akron | ESPN2 | Compare |
| 60 | 272 |  #136 Charlotte at  #95 UAB | ESPN+ | Compare |
| 61 | 274 |  #137 UL Monroe at  #61 Arkansas State | ESPN+ | Compare |
| 62 | 276 |  #138 Northern Illinois at #106 San José State | MW+ | Compare |
See the full 2026 week 9 rankings, see every team by tier, the conference standings, or browse every weekly recap.
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Next week's rivalry game cards (7)
One card for each of week 10's rivalry games, best matchup first. Tap a card to see it full size, or download it.
