Ole Miss Makes the Biggest Move in the Top 10

The official AP Top 25 released Monday night moved Ole Miss from No. 8 to No. 4 following the Rebels' 32-24 victory over LSU in Lane Kiffin's return to Oxford. It is the program's highest AP placing since the 2021 season.

Quarterback Sam Leavitt, cleared to play after being listed as doubtful earlier in the week, completed 24 of 36 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns and added 43 rushing yards. Running back Kewan Lacy left the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury but later avoided significant damage.

Texas A&M Suffers the Poll's Steepest Fall

Nothing in the Week 4 poll moved further than Texas A&M, which dropped 14 spots from No. 9 to No. 23 after losing 31-21 at home to Kentucky. The Aggies scored just 21 points and were outscored 21-0 in the third quarter.

LSU, beaten by Ole Miss, slipped three spots from No. 7 to No. 10. The Tigers opened the season 2-1 and sit as the lowest-ranked of the poll's former top-10 teams.

Texas Tech Climbs to No. 11 — Not the Top 10

A common assumption after Friday's 28-26 thriller over Houston was that Texas Tech would enter the top 10. The official ballot placed the Red Raiders at No. 11, up two spots from No. 13. Texas Tech's 3-0 start and one-run victory over a ranked opponent still represent the program's strongest positioning in well over a decade.

Two Teams Enter the Poll

Florida entered the AP Top 25 at No. 21 after its 52-3 victory over Campbell, while Mississippi State cracked the poll at No. 24. Both were unranked the previous week.

Houston, despite losing to Texas Tech, remained in the poll at No. 25, dropping three spots from No. 22. Virginia, upset 38-27 by West Virginia, fell out of the top 25 entirely.

The Top of the Poll Is Unchanged

Texas (3-0), Georgia (3-0) and Notre Dame (3-0) hold the first three spots for a second straight week. Indiana slips from No. 4 to No. 5, Miami moves from No. 5 to No. 6, and Ohio State holds at No. 7. Alabama climbed two spots to No. 8 after a 50-36 win over Florida State.

Elsewhere in the top 25: BYU rose to No. 9, USC held at No. 12, Louisville jumped seven spots to No. 16 after beating SMU, and Oregon edged up from No. 21 to No. 20 despite its 84-0 shutout of Portland State.

What This Means for CFB 27

Rank volatility like this is the reason CFB 27's Dynasty mode ties bowl and playoff eligibility to your actual schedule rather than your win total. A one-loss team that beat a ranked nonconference opponent and held serve in a nine-game league slate sits ahead of an undefeated Group of Five program, and the in-game committee applies the same strength-of-schedule logic that moved Ole Miss up four spots and pushed Texas A&M down fourteen.

For Ultimate Team, poll position drives spotlight player releases. Programs that climb into the top five typically receive upgraded card variants in the following weekly drop, so tracking the AP ballot is a practical way to anticipate which players get a ratings bump before the market reprices them.