ESPN shakes up Top 25 Power Rankings after Week 9 of College Football

Week 9 of the 2025 college football season is in the books. By now, there’s a pretty clear picture of the field of teams nationally. Still, that didn’t prevent ESPN from shaking up its Top 25 Power Rankings for college football.

There were three notable games between Top 25 teams in Week 8, meaning there were also three AP-ranked teams to lose. Another three were upset by unranked opponents. In other cases, teams may have won but struggled or didn’t look as dominant as they were expected to in the process. All of that is what contributes to the shuffle of teams in Power Rankings.

Ultimately, these ESPN Power Rankings are a glimpse into a moment within the season. They’re not a prediction of the future, and they’re liable to go through some major changes once the calendar turns to the month of November. Keeping that in mind, here’s a look at the ESPN Power Rankings following Week 9.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes are coming off a bye week. At the same time, not playing a game didn’t seem to hurt their reputation at all. The Buckeyes are still first in the ESPN Power Rankings.

Now, Ohio State is getting ready for a game that looked like a much bigger deal before the season began. Penn State is coming to town, reeling following a coach firing. At the same time, the Nittany Lions are still a talented team that Ohio State needs to take seriously.

2. Indiana Hoosiers

The wagon that has been Indiana kept on rolling over the weekend. This time, the Hoosiers added a 56-6 win over UCLA. It was also their third straight win by double digits and has positioned them firmly toward the top of the ESPN Power Rankings.

The Hoosiers now have an interesting four-game stretch to wrap up the season. All four of those will be against Big Ten teams. However, none are currently ranked. Among those is the talented but struggling Penn State team too. First, however, the focus needs to be on a road trip to Maryland.

3. Texas A&M Aggies

The Texas A&M Aggies stayed steady in the ESPN Power Rankings and continue to be the top-ranked SEC team. This comes after going into Death Valley and dominating LSU on the back of an excellent second-half effort.

The Aggies are now sitting at 8-0 overall and 5-0 in SEC play. That makes Texas A&M the only unbeaten SEC team and one of just two who are unbeaten in conference play. Now, going into the bye week, it seems as though the SEC Championship and College Football Playoff are well within reach.

4. Alabama Crimson Tide

The Alabama Crimson Tide completely turned their season around from the opening loss to Florida State. Of course, that didn’t keep them from getting a scare at the hands of South Carolina over the weekend. Still, they survived it and maintained their place in ESPN’s Power Rankings.

Alabama is one of two SEC teams without a loss in conference play so far. That has them in excellent shape going into November. There, the Crimson Tide will be on a bye week before hitting the ground running again against LSU.

5. Georgia Bulldogs

The Georgia Bulldogs were able to reset after their thrilling win over Ole Miss in Week 8 with a bye week in Week 9. Still clearly one of the best teams in all of college football, the Bulldogs want to use that to lock in for this final month of the season and prove they belong among the national championship contenders.

With their loss to Alabama and no game against Texas A&M in the final month, the Bulldogs will need some help to make the SEC Championship Game. At the same time, focus on winning and the College Football Payoff is well within reach. That starts with Florida this weekend.

6. Ole Miss Rebels (+3)

Ole Miss had no chance to rest after the Georgia game. Immediately, they were back on the road, taking on an elite Oklahoma defense. There, the Rebels did what no one else has and put up 34 points in a winning effort. Now, Ole Miss has jumped up the ESPN Power Rankings.

The trick for Lane Kiffin is to stay focused. The head coach is heavily involved in coaching rumors. So, with a trip to the College Football Playoff well within reach, avoiding a letdown game in the month of November is vital.

7. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech took care of business over the weekend, beating Syracuse 41-16. It was a convincing win and, at this point, Georgia Tech clearly isn’t going away. They’ve earned their spot in the Power Rankings, ACC race, and College Football Playoff race.

Now the only unbeaten ACC team at 8-0 and one of two unbeaten teams in ACC play, the Yellow Jackets control their own destiny. That means avoiding an upset in their final three regular season conference matchups.

8. Oregon Ducks (-2)

The Oregon Ducks have slipped two spots in the ESPN Power Rankings despite earning a win. That’s probably because they weren’t able to dominate Wisconsin like other teams have. In the end, however, it was still a 21-7 win with starting quarterback Dante Moore dealing with a nose injury.

The trick for Oregon is that they don’t control their own destiny thanks to the earlier loss to Indiana. Add to that a tricky final month of the season and the Ducks look to be in a good position to make the College Football Playoff, but absolutely nothing is guaranteed.

9. Miami Hurricanes (-1)

The Miami Hurricanes, like the Oregon Ducks, slipped in the ESPN Power Rankings despite earning. That was partially because Ole Miss needed to bump someone with their impressive win. It was also partially because the Hurricanes had a relatively weak opponent this past week, Stanford.

Miami now has five games to play in the month of November, all of which are ACC games. Already with one loss in conference play, another loss could be devastating, given there are seven ACC teams currently sitting with one or fewer losses. That includes SMU and Pitt, who Miami still has to play.

10. BYU Cougars

BYU got a fight on Saturday from Iowa State. In the end, 14 unanswered fourth quarter points were enough to break what had been a tie going into the quarter. With that, the Cougars remained the only unbeaten Big 12 team and the top-ranked team in the ESPN Power Rankings.

The Cougars are one of two Big 12 teams without a loss in conference play yet. The other is Cincinnati, who BYU will see later in the season. That, along with Texas Tech following next week’s bye, makes for a difficult November. At the same time, it means BYU controls its own destiny.

11. Vanderbilt Commodores (+1)
12. Texas Tech Red Raiders (-1)
13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+1)
14. Virginia Cavaliers (+2)
15. Tennessee Volunteers (+3)
16. Louisville Cardinals (+4)
17. Cincinnati Bearcats (+2)
18. Missouri Tigers (-3)
19. Oklahoma Sooners (-6)
20. Navy Midshipmen (+5)
21. Michigan Wolverines (+3)
22. Texas Longhorns (-1)
23. Houston Cougars (NR)
24. Utah Utes (NR)
25. USC Trojans (-3)