Notre Dame took advantage of chaos at the top of the rankings to slide into the top 10 of the Coaches Poll at No. 9 after Week 3. The Fighting Irish previously moved into the top 10 of the AP Top 25, but Coaches Poll voters have been more skeptical, keeping them at No. 11. However, moving to 4-0 with a 41-17 win over Central Michigan while many other top teams struggled was enough to push through.
On the flipside, Alabama slid out of the top 10 and fell to No. 12, the lowest ranking the Crimson Tide have faced since hitting No. 13 in September 2015. Alabama needed a last-minute effort to survive 17-3 against South Florida, which hasn't beaten an FBS team since 2021. Of course, Alabama ultimately won the national championship in 2015, the last time it ranked this low.
Despite a shocking 30-27 win over Kansas State, Missouri remained two spots outside of the Coaches Poll. Kansas State still ranked one spot ahead, despite the loss. Washington State slid into the poll at No. 24 after a handful of impressive victories. Colorado also moved into the top 20 after outlasting Colorado State 43-35 in double-overtime.
Below is the full Coaches Poll top 25 from the 66 coaches who vote weekly (first-place votes in parentheses).
Coaches Poll top 25
- Georgia (62)
- Michigan (1)
- Florida State
- Ohio State (1)
- USC
- Texas
- Penn State
- Washington
- Notre Dame
- Utah
- Oregon
- Alabama
- LSU
- Oklahoma
- Oregon State
- Ole Miss
- North Carolina
- Duke
- Colorado
- Tennessee
- Miami
- Iowa
- Clemson
- Washington State
- UCLA
Others receiving votes: Kansas State 114; Missouri 44; Fresno State 43; Florida 41; Kentucky 28; TCU 26; Maryland 19; Kansas 17; Auburn 16; Texas A&M 11; Syracuse 10; Air Force 9; Tulane 7; UCF 5; Wyoming 3; Ohio 3; James Madison 3; Wake Forest 2; Louisville 2; Memphis 1; BYU 1; Arkansas 1
