AP Top 25 Poll Responds to USC, Alabama Escaping Upsets

Sports admin September 20, 2026 0 Comments

AP Top 25 Poll Responds to USC, Alabama Escaping Upsets

The No. 12 USC Trojans survived a brief upset scare against Rutgers on the road as quarterback Jayden Maiava and the offense ultimately led the team to a 42-35 win over the Scarlet Knights on Saturday. A win is a win, and USC now has four of them heading into a pivotal home game against No. 21 Oregon to begin Big Ten conference play.

In the AP Top 25, USC was seemingly punished for the close win, staying put at No. 12 in the country.

Then-ranked No. 7 LSU lost to then-ranked No. 8 Ole Miss while then-ranked No. 9 Texas A&M was upset by an unranked Kentucky team. LSU stayed inside the top 10, but No. 8 Alabama and No. 9 BYU climbed up the rankings while leaving the Trojans behind.

Ole Miss climbed into the top five up after the resume-boosting victory. Then-ranked No. 13 Texas Tech struggled to put away then-ranked No. 22 Houston, but the Red Raiders leap frogged USC in the latest rankings. No. 16 SMU lost to No. 23 Louisville, but both SMU and Houston remained ranked.

Alabama had a close call at home against Florida State before pulling away in the second half, and then-ranked No. 24 Oklahoma nearly fell to New Mexico at home, and West Virginia beat No. 25 Virginia.

AP Top 25 Poll Week 3

1. Texas

2. Georgia

3. Notre Dame

4. Ole Miss

5. Indiana

6. Miami

7. Ohio State

8. Alabama

9. BYU

10. LSU

11. Texas Tech

12. USC

13. Penn State

14. Tennessee

15. Utah

16. Louisville

17. Iowa

18. Michigan

19. Missouri

20. Oregon

21. Florida

22. SMU

23. Texas A&M

24. Mississippi State

25. Houston

AP Top 25 Poll Implications

Conference play has already started for some teams, but the schedule only continues to ramp up in week 4.

No. 12 USC hosts No. 20 Oregon in a key Big Ten matchup, and No. 17 Iowa travels to No. 28 Michigan in week 4 in another ranked conference game. Can the Wolverines stay undefeated and continue climbing up the AP Poll, or will the Hawkeyes stamp themselves as one of the top teams in the Big Ten?

As for USC vs. Oregon, the old Pac-12 rivalry could answer a lot of questions about both teams. The Trojans defense struggled to keep Rutgers off the field as the Scarlet Knights finished 6/11 on third down, 3/4 on fourth down, and gained 460 total yards on the day. The Ducks, on the other hand, already have a loss to unranked Oklahoma State with questions on both sides of the ball after losing both coordinators.

Can the Trojans defense disrupt Oregon quarterback Dante Moore, and can USC have success running the ball and protecting quarterback Jayden Maiava?

In the SEC, Texas A&M and LSU are set to square off, a contest that has lost some luster after both teams lost in week 3. However, now both the Aggies and the Tigers will be fighting to keep their seasons alive and stay in postseason contention with only one loss.

Staying in the SEC, No. 2 Georgia vs. Oklahoma and No. 1 Texas vs. No. 14 Tennessee round out the ranked conference games in week 4 in what should be an entertaining slate.