Georgia projected to take over No. 1 as Florida and LSU face poll trouble

Georgia is expected to move to No. 1 in Sunday's AP Top 25 after beating Alabama 20-17 in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night. Texas lost to Oklahoma earlier in the day, and that left the top spot open for whoever won the late game.

That's the projection from CBS Sports' Chip Patterson in his weekly Tomorrow's Top 25 Today. He has Georgia moving up from No. 2 to the top spot after its first win in Tuscaloosa since 2007. If the poll follows, the Bulldogs will be No. 1 for the first time since September 2024. Patterson wrote that the win also makes the back-to-back SEC champions "the team to beat in college football."

Texas had held No. 1 since beating then-No. 1 Ohio State in Week 2. CBS projects the Longhorns to fall to No. 4 after losing the Red River game to Oklahoma as touchdown favorites. Patterson's view is that the result says more about Texas than about the Sooners, and that the Ohio State win should keep the Longhorns in the top 10. Notre Dame and Miami are projected at Nos. 2 and 3.

Alabama is projected to slip just one spot, from No. 6 to No. 7. Patterson pointed to the three-point margin and some calls that frustrated Crimson Tide fans, and he expects voters to keep Alabama ahead of some unbeaten power-conference teams.

The bigger SEC drops could come further down. Florida is projected to fall out of the poll from No. 16 after losing at home to South Carolina as a double-digit favorite. That's the Gators' second loss, and Oregon is in the same position after losing to UCLA. LSU is projected to hang on at No. 25 after falling from No. 10 with an overtime loss at Kentucky. Patterson noted that a drop that big is rare, but he called the Tigers' resume thin, with Texas A&M and Clemson as their best wins. Kentucky is projected to enter the poll at No. 19 after Will Stein went for two to win in overtime.

CBS also projects Ole Miss at No. 9, Missouri at No. 13, Tennessee at No. 14 and Mississippi State at No. 15. Oklahoma does not appear in the projected top 25 despite the upset.

What's next

Georgia's first week at No. 1 would come at home against Auburn (game page). The Bulldogs are favored at -900 on Novig, one of the venues pricing the game, and the spread is Georgia -18.5.

Alabama goes to Tennessee in the week's biggest SEC game (game page). The Crimson Tide are favored at -292 on Novig. Tennessee is a 6.5-point underdog, and the total is 55.5. A second straight loss would test how much patience voters showed Alabama this week.

Oklahoma hosts Kentucky in a game that could shape how voters view both teams' wins this week (game page). The Sooners are favored at -233 on Novig, with a total of 42.5. LSU, if it stays ranked, hosts Mississippi State.