Miami Hurricanes are No. 1 in AP poll for first time since 2002

The Miami Hurricanes are on top of the college football world halfway through the season.

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UM checked in at No. 1 in the latest AP top 25 poll, released Sunday afternoon, after holding off in-state rival Florida State for a thrilling 43-35 double-overtime win at Hard Rock Stadium.

That win, coupled with losses by then-No. 1 Georgia to unranked Auburn and then-No. 2 Notre Dame to then-No. 8 BYU, was enough to catapult the Hurricanes (6-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) from No. 3 to the top spot in the poll.

Miami received 40 of 70 first-place votes.

It’s the first time Miami has been No. 1 in the AP poll since Dec. 8, 2002 — the final poll before that season’s BCS National Championship Game when UM lost to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. The Hurricanes have been ranked as high as No. 2 in three seasons since then: 2003 (eight weeks), 2017 (two weeks) and 2025 (four weeks, including the final ranking after losing in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game).

It’s also the first time an ACC team has been ranked No. 1 since Clemson in 2020.

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Miami was the benefactor of a second consecutive crazy week of college football. Five of the top seven teams (No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Alabama and No. 7 Texas) lost in the same week for the first time in the history of the AP top 25 poll (since 1936). Only Miami and then-No. 4 Ohio State (which played Indiana) held on to win.

The Nos. 1 and 2 teams both lost on the same day for the first time since 2012.

The new top 10 as a result: No. 1 Miami, No. 2 BYU, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 5 Georgia, No. 6 Indiana, No. 7 Ole Miss, No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 9 UCLA and No. 10 Utah.

The Hurricanes are one of six remaining undefeated teams at the FBS level, along with UCLA of the Big Ten; BYU, Texas Tech and Utah of the Big 12; and James Madison of the Sun Belt. There are no remaining undefeated teams in the SEC.

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This story was originally published October 18, 2026 at 2:01 PM.