Not since program standard bearer and stadium namesake Bobby Dodd was coach has Georgia Tech opened a season like this.
The Yellow Jackets are 7-0, their best start since Dodd's 1966 team reeled off nine straight wins. The Ramblin' Wreck crashed into the top 10 in The Associated Press poll on Sunday for the first time since 2014 and, at No. 7, has its highest ranking since spending three weeks in the same spot in November 2009.
On paper, the toughest remaining games are at home against Pittsburgh on Nov. 22 and No. 5 Georgia on Nov. 28.
Tech is 4-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play for the first time since 1998, and fan chatter about making the ACC championship game and the College Football Playoff is growing louder.
“You can't let the anxiety creep in,” coach Brent Key said. “Yeah, they hear the noise, they hear the stuff. So what do they choose to give their full attention to? That’s what matters. Really, that comes back to trust. And do they trust me and what I say? Do they trust their coaches and what they say versus what they hear on the outside?"
Georgia Tech has been steeled by close games, surviving a run of turnovers to beat Colorado on the road, clipping Clemson on a field goal as time expired and edging Wake Forest in overtime after tying the game with a field goal with 2 seconds left in regulation.
The Yellow Jackets' 27-18 win at Duke was closer than it looks as well. They were tied 7-7 at half thanks to Omar Daniels' 95-yard fumble return for a touchdown, trailed 10-7 midway through the third quarter and led 13-10 with 5 minutes left.
Quarterback Haynes King is the centerpiece of an offense that relies on its running game for explosive plays and a passing game predicated on short throws. He's run for over 100 yards four times, leads the ACC with 10 rushing touchdowns and averages 93.3 yards per game to rank second.
“We have a veteran group of leaders and nobody really panics,” King said. “At times some people rip into each other, but that’s just brotherly love. Toward the end of the game, everybody almost kind of has that same goal, that same mentality of, ‘We’re going to will ourselves to win, whatever it is, and find a way to win.’”
Vanderbilt used to only dare to dream about making bowl games, and for most of its history that was pie in the sky. From 1983-2007, there were no bowls for the Commodores. Before that, there were only three.
Vandy has appeared in seven bowls since 2008, and it became eligibile to appear in another one after knocking off LSU on Saturday. It was just two years ago the Commodores won two games. Now they are 6-1 and No. 10 in the AP poll, their highest ranking since 1947.
To coach Clark Lea and his players, going to a bowl is a minimum expectation.
“And it’s not that I don’t want it to sound like I’m not excited about the fact that we’ve secured a postseason bid,” Lea said, "but we’re really interested in taking this as far as we can.”
The Commodores aren't afraid to say they are chasing what once would have been unthinkable for the program.
“We’re not hiding it. We’re trying to go win a national championship,” tight end Cole Spence said. "That’s our goal for this year. So you know this was a big win (over LSU). Another step on the road. But if we end the season with six wins, we’ll be pissed. We’re ready. We’re hungry for more.”
It's hard to believe BYU's Kalani Sitake was prominent on some of the coach hot seat lists as recently as last year. The Cougars were 5-7 in 2023, their first season in the Big 12, and there were questions whether Sitake, who took over in 2016, was the man for the job in a power conference.
Sitake is a popular guy right now in Provo, Utah. The No. 11 Cougars are 7-0 in back-to-back years for the first time, they're coming off a third straight win over rival Utah and they sit atop the Big 12 standings with No. 21 Cincinnati at 4-0. The schedule doesn't not ease up. They play back-to-back road games against Iowa State and No. 14 Texas Tech, and they have to go to Cincinnati on Nov. 22.
“The leadership and the way Kalani has been able to establish the culture here, we just know that we're going to win,” receiver Chase Roberts said. “When we rep the ‘Y,’ we have it on our helmet and our heart. We feel like we have the team to go out and win the football game.”
No. 2 Indiana did not punt in its win over Michigan State, its first game against a power-conference opponent without a punt since at least 1990 and the first against any opponent since 2024 against Western Illinois in Week 2. ... No. 3 Texas A&M is 7-0 for the first time since 1994. ... Alabama's Kalen DeBoer, with the win over Tennessee, is 15-2 as a head coach in Top 25 matchups. DeBoer’s .882 winning percentage stands as the best among active coaches who have appeared in at least 10 ranked matchups.
AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker contributed from Nashville, Tenn.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key walks the sidelines during an NCAA college football game against Duke in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
HOUSTON (AP) — The playoff-bound Houston Texans got their starters some rest on Sunday and the backups helped them get another win.
C.J. Stroud accounted for two touchdowns before sitting down at halftime and Ka’imi Fairbairn made a go-ahead field goal with 12 seconds left to lift the Texans to a 38-30 win over the Indianapolis Colts that extended their winning streak to nine games.
The victory gives the Texans (12-5) the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs and they will visit the Steelers next week.
Defensive tackle Tommy Togiai scooped up a fumble on the final play and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown to pad the lead.
The Texans clinched a third straight postseason berth last week and they had a chance to win the AFC South with a victory and a Jacksonville loss. But with the Jaguars up big over the Titans at halftime, coach DeMeco Ryans opted to rest quarterback Stroud, defensive stars Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter, Derek Stingley and several other starters after the break.
Houston is the fifth team since 1990 to open a season 0-3 and reach the playoffs and the first team to do it twice after the 2018 Texans also achieved the feat.
“Our guys were able to accomplish a lot of great things,” Ryans said. “No matter how dim it looked to start the season, I’m proud our guys for continue to battle every single week and finding a way to win games. Now we finish on a high note to win against a really good team.”
Stingley said the mindset that got them where they are now was a simple one.
“We treated every game like it was a playoff game,” he said. “So that’s how we went on our streak.”
The Colts led 30-29 after a field goal with about 2 1/2 minutes to go before Fairbairn's 43-yard kick put the Texans on top 32-30 and gave him a career-high six field goals in the game.
“We can’t be where we are right now without (Fairbairn) and what he’s been doing,” Ryans said.
Rookie Riley Leonard had 270 yards passing with two TDs and he ran for another score. But he also lost a fumble and threw an interception in his first NFL start after the 44-year-old Philip Rivers started the past three games for the Colts after coming out of retirement.
“I learned that he can definitely play in this league for a long time,” coach Shane Steichen said of Leonard. “To go out and do it against the top defense like he did was pretty impressive. He’s a competitor.”
It’s the seventh straight loss for the Colts (8-9), who were eliminated from postseason contention with Houston’s win last week.
“It was frustrating,” Steichen said. “The last half of this season, for sure. That’s what it’s been — not finding ways to finish. We’ve got to work tirelessly on getting that fixed.”
Stroud had an 11-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and added a 2-yard run in the period to put the Texans up 20-10.
The Texans trailed 27-26 early in the fourth when Alijah Huzzie picked off Leonard to give them great field position. They failed to move the ball and settled for a 44-yard field goal to take a 29-27 lead.
Jonathan Taylor had 14 carries for just 26 yards to end the season with 1,585 yards and finish second in the NFL in yards rushing behind Buffalo's James Cook.
Alec Pierce had four receptions for a season-high 132 yards with two touchdowns before being ejected late in the third quarter for making contact with an official. He was ejected when he brushed an official with his arm as he was complaining about a flag not being thrown on a pass intended for him in the end zone. He was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and disqualified.
He said he tried to apologize to the official.
“I just wanted to let him know I wasn’t trying to put hands on him or anything,” he said. “It was no malicious act.”
The Colts took a 24-23 lead on a 1-yard TD scamper by Leonard on Indy’s first drive of the second half. That score was set up by a 53-yard reception by Pierce.
Houston went back on top with a 43-yard field goal later in the third.
After the penalty on Pierce, the Colts settled for a 39-yard field goal that put them up 27-26.
Houston took a 13-10 lead when Stroud threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Higgins with about 9 ½ minutes left in the first half.
About a minute later, Danielle Hunter sacked Leonard and caused a fumble which Henry To’oTo’o recovered on the 2-yard line. Stroud ran for the score on the next play to make it 20-10.
Pierce’s second touchdown came on an 8-yard grab that capped a 92-yard drive and cut the lead to 20-17 with about 90 seconds until halftime.
Fairbairn’s 29-yard field goal extended the lead to 23-17 at halftime.
Leonard connected with Pierce on a 66-yard touchdown pass to put the Colts up 7-3 early in the first.
Fairbairn’s second field goal of the game cut the lead to 7-6 later in the first.
A 50-yard field goal by Blake Grupe pushed Indy’s lead to 10-6 near the end of the quarter.
Houston RB Jawhar Jordan injured his ankle in the second quarter and didn’t return.
The Texans will hit the road to meet the Steelers on Jan. 12 in a wild-card playoff game.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. (11) dives in an attempt to make a first down against the Houston Texans during the second half of an NFL football game in Houston, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Houston Texans place kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn, left, celebrates after a field goal against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half of an NFL football game in Houston, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Houston Texans place kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn (15) kicks a field goal against the Indianapolis Colts during the second half of an NFL football game in Houston, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Houston Texans defensive tackle Tommy Togiai, left, celebrates his touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts with head coach Demeco Ryans, right, during the second half of an NFL football game in Houston, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
