Florida rides win over Rebels to No. 8 ranking in AP Top 25; Texas, Georgia, Notre Dame top 3 again

Florida made a massive jump in The Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday and landed in the top 10 for the first time in five years while four new teams joined the rankings in a major shuffle.

The Gators' 24-point win over then-No. 4 Mississippi under first-year coach Jon Sumrall on Saturday earned them a 13-rung promotion to No. 8, their highest ranking since 2020 and first top-10 appearance since 2021.

Texas, Georgia and Notre Dame continued to hold the top three spots, Miami was a season-high No. 4 and Ohio State moved up two spots to No. 5. Indiana, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and BYU completed the top 10.

The Longhorns received 62 first-place votes from the media voting panel, four more than last week, after they held off Tennessee 20-17 in their first road game.

Georgia, coming off a convincing win over Oklahoma and outscoring opponents by an average of 41.5 points per game, got six first-place votes, double its number last week. Miami and Indiana each received one first-place vote.

Mississippi State moved up eight spots to No. 16, its highest ranking in four years, for beating Missouri at home. Oregon was up five spots to No. 15 after winning on the road against Southern California. Houston also moved up five spots to No. 20 after winning at Georgia Southern.

Iowa earned its highest ranking since 2021, at No. 14, for knocking off Michigan on the road on the final play of the game.

Seven ranked teams lost in Week 4 and four dropped out of the poll. Penn State took the biggest fall, going from No. 13 to unranked after losing to Wisconsin at home.

No. 19 Oklahoma State, which won at West Virginia for its third straight victory after losing 21 straight against Bowl Subdivision opponents, is ranked for the first time in two years.

No. 22 Boise State of the Pac-12 is the first Group of Six team to crack the Top 25 this season. The Broncos' 25-point win at Western Michigan was their third straight win after a narrow loss at Oregon. They hadn't been ranked since the 2025 preseason poll.

No. 23 UCLA is 4-0 for the first time in four years after a 51-point road win over Maryland and is ranked for the first time in three years.

No. 24 Kentucky followed its win at Texas A&M with an easy victory at South Alabama to earn its first ranking since 2023.

In addition to Penn State, Michigan, Louisville and Texas A&M fell out of the Top 25.

— Florida’s rise was the biggest since LSU leapt 14 spots, from No. 25 to No. 11, on Sept. 4, 2018.

— The Big 12's five ranked teams are the most since the conference had the same number ranked Oct. 26, 2025. It's just the sixth time in the 2020s the Big 12 has had that many in the Top 25.

— Georgia is in the Top 25 for the 700th time, which is 10th-most all-time.

— Alabama made its 300th straight appearance in the Top 25, the longest active streak and nearly double that of the next team (Georgia, 153).

SEC (10 ranked teams): No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Georgia, No. 7 Alabama, No. 8 Florida, No. 9 Mississippi, No. 11 LSU, No. 16 Mississippi State, No. 17 Tennessee, No. 24 Kentucky, No. 25 Missouri.

Big Ten (6): No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Indiana, No. 14 Iowa, No. 15 Oregon, No. 18 USC, No. 23 UCLA).

Big 12 (5): No. 10 BYU, No. 12 Texas Tech, No. 13 Utah, No. 19 Oklahoma State, No. 20 Houston.

ACC (2): No. 4 Miami, No. 21 SMU.

Pac-12 (1): No. 22 Boise State.

Independent (1): No. 3 Notre Dame.

No. 5 Ohio State at No. 14 Iowa: Buckeyes were ranked No. 3 when they last visited Kinnick Stadium, in 2017, and the 55-24 loss killed their playoff hopes.

No. 7 Alabama at No. 16 Mississippi State: Crimson Tide have won 16 straight in the series, and most of the games haven't been close.

No. 8 Florida at No. 25 Missouri: Tigers have won last two meetings in Columbia, on a field goal with 5 seconds left in 2023 and on a 2-point conversion pass in overtime in 2021.

Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here

Florida running back Jadan Baugh (13) jumps in celebration after rushing for a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Mississippi, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/Noah Lantor)

Nolo strengthened into a major hurricane Saturday in the remote Pacific Ocean, far to the west of Hawaii's main islands and population centers.

The storm's maximum sustained winds rapidly intensified to 115 mph (185 kph), the Miami-based National Hurricane Center reported, meaning it was a Category 3 hurricane.

As of the evening, Nolo was located about 200 miles (320 kilometers) south-southwest of Lisianski Island and moving westward at 20 mph (31 kph).

A tropical storm warning was issued for the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument — a massive and remote federally protected area with islands, atolls, seamounts, shoals and coral reefs — from Maro Reef to Lisianski Island.

The hurricane center said large surf associated with Nolo “will likely inundate some of the low-lying atolls.”

No threat was in the forecast for any populated islands, however.

The hurricane center said Nolo was expected to cross the international date line Sunday.

Nolo skirted Hawaii as a hurricane a week ago. It then lost some of its punch and became a tropical storm, before regaining hurricane strength Friday.

Meanwhile another Pacific hurricane, Category 1 Rachel, continued heading westward on a path away from the west coast of Mexico.

Dangerous swells were forecast through the weekend for the coast of west-central Mexico and through Monday for the Baja California Peninsula, according to the hurricane center.

This satellite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Hurricane Nolo in the Pacific Ocean, west of Hawaii on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration via AP)