Greg McElroy resets Top 25 following multiple Week 9 upsets

The 2025 college football season has been completely unpredictable as we head near the end of the regular season.

The preseason No. 1 and No. 2 teams in Texas and Penn State have already almost completely fallen out of College Football Playoff contention (in Texas‘ case), while programs such as Indiana, Georgia Tech and BYU have shocked the country by how good they’ve been.

Heading into week 10 of the college football season, ESPN‘s Greg McElroy revealed his new Top 25 Rankings on the latest edition of the ‘Always College Football Podcast‘.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (7-0, 4-0)

Although Ohio State‘s resume doesn’t look as good as we all thought it once would, the Buckeyes have completely dominated teams this season. Through seven games, they are outscoring teams 255-41. Just one of their seven opponents this season has scored multiple touchdowns in a game (Illinois) and they have won every game by at least two possessions since their season-opening 14-7 win over the Longhorns.

“They remain undefeated with great wins against Washington and Texas,” McElroy said. “Those two wins have strengthened. The Illinois and Minnesota wins not so much this week, but that doesn’t matter. It’s more about how Ohio State has looked than their resume at this point. They can strengthen this weekend against Penn State.”

2. Indiana Hoosiers (8-0, 5-0)

Although many doubters believed that Indiana would come back down to earth this season, that simply hasn’t been the case. A now extended Curt Cignetti has completely changed the culture in Bloomington, as the Hoosiers are 8-0 with quality wins over Illinois, Oregon and Iowa. Under Cignetti, Indiana is 19-2 since the beginning of the 2024 season and have showed no signs of stopping.

“Indiana remains undefeated as well,” McElroy said. “That win at Oregon continues to be one of the best wins in college football this year. Oregon is 7-1. The win against Iowa on the road continues to get better as well. Indiana goes to Maryland this week and should still be undefeated when we revisit this conversation a week from today.”

3. Texas A&M Aggies (8-0, 5-0)

Texas A&M has been one of the biggest surprises of the entire college football season, as not many saw the Aggies as the SEC’s top team through nine weeks. Mike Elko has done wonders in College Station, as they hold strong victories over Notre Dame and LSU this season. With a final four slate of No. 19 Missouri, South Carolina, Samford and No. 20 Texas, A&M could punch its first ever CFP ticket if it can land the plane.

“I thought for a moment about moving them up,” McElroy said. “After all, the win against Notre Dame continues to look really, really impressive. And the win at LSU, especially in the second half, was very much a dominant performance. However, I still think that win against Oregon (by Indiana) is better than Texas A&M‘s win at Notre Dame. Therefore, Indiana at 2. Texas A&M at 3.”

4. Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1, 5-0)

Since dropping its season opener to Florida State, Alabama has been a wrecking crew in the Southeastern Conference. Prior to this weekend’s 29-22 win over South Carolina, the Tide knocked off four consecutive ranked SEC foes. It looked as if Kalen DeBoer‘s team would suffer yet another upset road loss in Columbia, but a late push moved Alabama to 7-1 (5-0) on the season.

“Alabama is the best one-loss team,” McElroy said. “They’ve beaten two teams whose only loss have come to Alabama. At Georgia and against Vanderbilt in consecutive weeks mind you. Vanderbilt 7-1, Georgia 6-1. They also went to Missouri and beat a 6-2 Tiger team, and also beat Tennessee, who is also 6-2. The loss of course came on the road against Florida State in week one. They’ll get a bye, a much-needed bye, after a five-game slate that was a gauntlet.”

5. Georgia Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1)

Georgia might have a case to be ranked No. 1 in the country had it not dropped yet another game to Alabama 24-21 just a few weeks ago. The Bulldogs hold strong victories over Ole Miss and Tennessee and could improve their resume even more with wins over No. 20 Texas and No. 8 Georgia Tech in the coming weeks. The program is seeking its fifth College Football Playoff appearance under head coach Kirby Smart.

“I’m just like the AP Poll frankly,” McElroy said. “These first five to me make a lot of sense. Don’t have any issues with them at all. Georgia is 6-1. They beat Ole Miss (7-1) and beat Tennessee, who is 6-2. Their loss of course came to Alabama. They’ll play Florida in Jacksonville this week and that, to me, is a little bit of a dangerous game. Not saying they’re gonna lose. Just saying it’s a little dangerous.”

6. Ole Miss Rebels (7-1, 4-1)

Amid all the rumors linking head coach Lane Kiffin to job openings at Florida and LSU, Ole Miss just keeps on winning. Over the weekend, the Rebels went on the road and knocked off No. 13 Oklahoma 34-26. They now hold quality wins over LSU, Tulane and Oklahoma and have an extremely favorable schedule over the final four weeks. The ‘Rebs are seeking their first CFP appearance in program history.

“Ole Miss is 6-1,” McElroy said. “They have a win against a 5-3 LSU team. They also went on the road and got their best win of the season this weekend at Oklahoma, who is now 6-2. They of course lost at Georgia but should be a heavy favorite in every game going forward. They’ll get South Carolina at home and then a couple other tricky ones (Florida and The Citadel) before they go on the road for the Egg Bowl.”

7. Miami Hurricanes (6-1, 2-1)

Miami opened its season extremely strong with three ranked victories over its first five games, but just one of those teams (Notre Dame) remains in the polls. It bounced back from its 24-21 loss to Louisville with a 42-7 win over Stanford on Saturday, but something still smells a bit fishy about the Hurricanes. They will need stronger play from quarterback Carson Beck if they want to punch their ticket to the Playoff for the first time ever.

“Miami is 6-1 and has a really good win against Notre Dame,” McElroy said. “The Notre Dame win is the difference maker between them and the team ranked No. 8 and No. 9. That’s why Miami currently sits where they sit. They’re 6-1 overall, but the win against South Florida took a hit this past week. Their one loss came against Louisville. They got Stanford last week and they’re in a good spot. The Notre Dame win is the feather in the cap. That’s what is keeping them where they are at in the top-seven. They’ll go to SMU this week, and that’s a tad tricky.”

8. BYU Cougars (8-0, 5-0)

Through nine weeks, BYU may be the most underrated team in the country. The Cougars have downed No. 23 Utah and Iowa State over the past few weeks and could really cement their Playoff resume with a road victory at Texas Tech on Nov. 8. Their exciting offense has scored at least 30 points in five of eight games this season and could be a thorn in someone’s side come CFP time.

“At number eight this week is a big mover for us in BYU,” McElroy said. “They’re 8-0 and got a win at Iowa State against a quality football team. It was very impressive and they also have a win against Utah, who is 6-2. Then they’ll go on the road, where their gauntlet continues to be very difficult. BYU gets Texas Tech in one week time. I look forward to that, as it might be one of the biggest games of the college football weekend.”

9. Oregon Ducks (7-1, 4-1)

Oregon once again is off to a strong start, but it does not boast one impressive win. The win over then-No. 3 Penn State looked great, but the Nittany Lions have now lost four consecutive games and fired their head coach. They still have an opportunity to improve their resume with wins against Iowa, USC and Washington, but the resume just isn’t there right now for a program that will not face Ohio State or Indiana.

“You’re probably sitting there saying ‘how is Oregon number nine?'” McElroy said. “It’s because they have one win against a team with a winning record. That’s the problem. I like a lot from Oregon and think they’re a high quality team, but the resume does not reflect greatness yet. The eye test does, but you’ve got to have both if you’re gonna be moved in from of teams from not just the eye test but the resume barometer. They get a bye and go to Iowa. They’re a good team. If you can get a win there, that’s a feather in the cap game.”

10. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-0, 5-0)

Georgia Tech rounds out McElroy’s top-10 with an unblemished 8-0 record. The Yellow Jackets are enjoying one of the best seasons in program history, although they don’t have a win over a team currently ranked inside the Top-25. They finish against NC State, Boston College and Pittsburgh before their monstrous clash against Georgia in their regular season finale.

“Georgia Tech is 8-0 and their best win came against Wake Forest,” McElroy said. “They’re a surprising 5-2. They’ve done a nice job there at Wake Forest. They also have a win on the road at Duke, who is 5-3. They’ll go on the road to NC State, and that will be one of the more trickier games on their schedule. If they can get through that one, they should be undefeated and be headed to the ACC Championship Game.”

Teams 11-25

11. Vanderbilt Commodores (7-1, 3-1)
12. Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-1, 4-1)
13. Virginia Cavaliers (7-1, 4-0)
14. Louisville Cardinals (6-1, 3-1)
15. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-2)
16. Texas Longhorns (6-2, 3-1)
17. Oklahoma Sooners (6-2, 2-2)
18. USC Trojans (5-2, 3-1)
19. Michigan Wolverines (6-2, 4-1)
20. Washington Huskies (6-2, 3-2)
21. Tennessee Volunteers (6-2, 3-2)
22. Missouri Tigers (6-2, 2-2)
23. Cincinnati Bearcats (7-1, 5-0)
24. Houston Cougars (7-1, 4-1)
25. Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-2, 3-2)

Just missed

• Iowa Hawkeyes (6-2, 4-1)
• Utah Utes (6-2, 3-2)
• Navy Midshipmen (7-0, 5-0)
• Memphis Tigers (7-1, 3-1)