2026 Week 3 AP Top 25 Football Poll

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Reported Analysis · Football · Week 3

BYU’s Missing Vote and the Gap to No. 8

Jerry Humphrey said he meant to rank BYU ninth. That vote was worth 17 points, well short of the 92 separating the Cougars from Alabama.

By Poll Behavior · Sep 26, 2026

68 of 69Voters Ranked BYU

Read the Analysis

In the Numbers

68 of 69

Voters Ranked BYU

BYU1,090

0 first-place votes

Alabama1,182

0 first-place votes

2026-09-20 AP points · Bars start at zero; 1,725 is the maximum.

AP Top 25 Week 3

2026 · 2026-09-20 · Changes Since Week 2

69 Complete Ballots

My Teams

AP Top 25 — 2026 Week 3 · Compact Rankings
Rank	Team	Points	1st	Ranked By	Change
1	Texas	1,706	58	69/69	Unchanged at No. 1 since Week 2
2	Georgia	1,580	3	69/69	Unchanged at No. 2 since Week 2
3	Notre Dame	1,517	—	69/69	Unchanged at No. 3 since Week 2
4	Ole Miss	1,488	3	69/69	Up 4 spots since Week 2, from No. 8 to No. 4
5	Indiana	1,467	4	69/69	Down 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 4 to No. 5
6	Miami	1,445	1	69/69	Down 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 5 to No. 6
7	Ohio State	1,415	—	69/69	Down 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 6 to No. 7
8	Alabama	1,182	—	69/69	Up 2 spots since Week 2, from No. 10 to No. 8
9	BYU	1,090	—	68/69	Up 2 spots since Week 2, from No. 11 to No. 9
10	LSU	1,078	—	69/69	Down 3 spots since Week 2, from No. 7 to No. 10
11	Texas Tech	1,067	—	69/69	Up 2 spots since Week 2, from No. 13 to No. 11
12	USC	907	—	69/69	Unchanged at No. 12 since Week 2
13	Penn State	850	—	69/69	Up 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 14 to No. 13
14	Tennessee	826	—	68/69	Up 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 15 to No. 14
15	Utah	752	—	69/69	Up 2 spots since Week 2, from No. 17 to No. 15
16	Louisville	692	—	69/69	Up 7 spots since Week 2, from No. 23 to No. 16
17	Iowa	561	—	65/69	Up 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 18 to No. 17
18	Michigan	432	—	62/69	Up 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 19 to No. 18
19	Missouri	369	—	57/69	Up 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 20 to No. 19
20	Oregon	364	—	55/69	Up 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 21 to No. 20
21	Florida	269	—	55/69	New to the Top 25 since Week 2
22	SMU	212	—	46/69	Down 6 spots since Week 2, from No. 16 to No. 22
23	Texas A&M	202	—	44/69	Down 14 spots since Week 2, from No. 9 to No. 23
24	Mississippi State	179	—	40/69	New to the Top 25 since Week 2
25	Houston	127	—	29/69	Down 3 spots since Week 2, from No. 22 to No. 25

AP Top 25 — 2026 Week 3
Rank	Team		1st		Ranked High / Low
Rank 1	TexasUnchanged at No. 1 since Week 2	1,706	1st Votes58	100%69/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low1 / 4	0.7
Rank 2	GeorgiaUnchanged at No. 2 since Week 2	1,580	1st Votes3	100%69/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low1 / 7	1.6
Rank 3	Notre DameUnchanged at No. 3 since Week 2	1,517	1st Votes—	100%69/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low2 / 8	1.6
Rank 4	Ole MissUp 4 spots since Week 2, from No. 8 to No. 4	1,488	1st Votes3	100%69/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low1 / 7	1.6
Rank 5	IndianaDown 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 4 to No. 5	1,467	1st Votes4	100%69/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low1 / 8	1.7
Rank 6	MiamiDown 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 5 to No. 6	1,445	1st Votes1	100%69/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low1 / 8	1.7
Rank 7	Ohio StateDown 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 6 to No. 7	1,415	1st Votes—	100%69/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low2 / 8	1.6
Rank 8	AlabamaUp 2 spots since Week 2, from No. 10 to No. 8	1,182	1st Votes—	100%69/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low6 / 19	1.7
Rank 9	BYUUp 2 spots since Week 2, from No. 11 to No. 9	1,090	1st Votes—	99%68/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low7 / 14	1.5
Rank 10	LSUDown 3 spots since Week 2, from No. 7 to No. 10	1,078	1st Votes—	100%69/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low6 / 18	2.2
Rank 11	Texas TechUp 2 spots since Week 2, from No. 13 to No. 11	1,067	1st Votes—	100%69/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low7 / 16	2.1
Rank 12	USCUnchanged at No. 12 since Week 2	907	1st Votes—	100%69/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low9 / 21	2.4
Rank 13	Penn StateUp 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 14 to No. 13	850	1st Votes—	100%69/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low9 / 20	2.0
Rank 14	TennesseeUp 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 15 to No. 14	826	1st Votes—	99%68/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low10 / 23	2.2
Rank 15	UtahUp 2 spots since Week 2, from No. 17 to No. 15	752	1st Votes—	100%69/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low10 / 22	2.6
Rank 16	LouisvilleUp 7 spots since Week 2, from No. 23 to No. 16	692	1st Votes—	100%69/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low10 / 24	2.8
Rank 17	IowaUp 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 18 to No. 17	561	1st Votes—	94%65/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low12 / 23	2.4
Rank 18	MichiganUp 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 19 to No. 18	432	1st Votes—	90%62/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low13 / 25	3.1
Rank 19	MissouriUp 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 20 to No. 19	369	1st Votes—	83%57/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low12 / 25	2.7
Rank 20	OregonUp 1 spot since Week 2, from No. 21 to No. 20	364	1st Votes—	80%55/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low11 / 25	3.0
Rank 21	FloridaNew to the Top 25 since Week 2	269	1st Votes—	80%55/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low13 / 25	3.2
Rank 22	SMUDown 6 spots since Week 2, from No. 16 to No. 22	212	1st Votes—	67%46/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low16 / 25	2.3
Rank 23	Texas A&MDown 14 spots since Week 2, from No. 9 to No. 23	202	1st Votes—	64%44/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low14 / 25	2.6
Rank 24	Mississippi StateNew to the Top 25 since Week 2	179	1st Votes—	58%40/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low14 / 25	2.8
Rank 25	HoustonDown 3 spots since Week 2, from No. 22 to No. 25	127	1st Votes—	42%29/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low15 / 25	2.9

Other Teams Receiving Votes (17)

Other Teams Receiving Votes — 2026 Week 3
Rank	Team		1st		Ranked High / Low
Rank NR	Washington	107	1st Votes—	38%26/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low18 / 25	2.3
Rank NR	Kentucky	98	1st Votes—	30%21/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low17 / 25	2.1
Rank NR	West Virginia	93	1st Votes—	41%28/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low18 / 25	2.0
Rank NR	OklahomaOut of the Top 25; ranked No. 24 in Week 2	91	1st Votes—	33%23/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low17 / 25	2.3
Rank NR	Oklahoma State	50	1st Votes—	16%11/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low17 / 25	2.5
Rank NR	Boise State	48	1st Votes—	19%13/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low17 / 25	2.8
Rank NR	Virginia Tech	46	1st Votes—	19%13/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low16 / 25	2.6
Rank NR	Western Michigan	27	1st Votes—	12%8/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low19 / 25	1.8
Rank NR	Duke	20	1st Votes—	6%4/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low16 / 25	3.2
Rank NR	Tulsa	18	1st Votes—	9%6/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low20 / 25	1.8
Rank NR	Arizona	12	1st Votes—	3%2/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low18 / 22	2.0
Rank NR	Pittsburgh	10	1st Votes—	6%4/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low20 / 25	2.1
Rank NR	UCLA	10	1st Votes—	4%3/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low19 / 25	2.6
Rank NR	James Madison	7	1st Votes—	3%2/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low21 / 24	1.5
Rank NR	North Dakota State	6	1st Votes—	4%3/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low22 / 25	1.4
Rank NR	Kansas State	3	1st Votes—	3%2/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low24 / 25	0.5
Rank NR	Nebraska	2	1st Votes—	1%1/69 Voters	Ranked High / Low24 / 24	0.0

Coverage and Sources

The 2026 Week 3 AP Football poll was published on 2026-09-20. 42 teams received votes.

Browse All 2026 Polls →

Biggest Ballot Outliers

Voters whose rankings differ most from the AP Top 25, comparing teams both rank.

Voter

Koki Riley22 Compared · 3 Added / 3 Omitted3.23 Ralph Russo22 Compared · 3 Added / 3 Omitted3.18 Bob Ballou23 Compared · 2 Added / 2 Omitted2.91 Stephen Means22 Compared · 3 Added / 3 Omitted2.86 Dylan Sinn19 Compared · 6 Added / 6 Omitted2.79

Minimum 10 shared ranked teams.

Explore All Voters →

Biggest Inclusion Differences

Voters with the most additions and omissions compared with the AP Top 25.

Voter
Dylan Sinn	6 / 6
Jon Wilner	5 / 5
David Jablonski	5 / 5
Murray Evans	5 / 5
Brian Fonseca	4 / 4

Ballot Distribution

Choose a team to see how its votes are distributed.

Team

Florida3.2

80% · 55 of 69 Voters
Average When Ranked: #21.11 · 14 Unranked

Ranked High #13 · Low #2514 / 69 Ballots

View Exact Distribution

Florida votes by rank, including zero counts
Rank	Voters
1	0
2	0
3	0
4	0
5	0
6	0
7	0
8	0
9	0
10	0
11	0
12	0
13	1
14	2
15	1
16	2
17	1
18	3
19	8
20	2
21	7
22	4
23	9
24	7
25	8
NR	14

69Complete Ballots

42Teams Receiving Votes

1.70

3.18Florida · 55 Ranked Votes

Read the Numbers

Hover, focus, or tap an underlined term for a quick explanation.

How We Calculate This →

Biggest Individual Outliers

The largest gaps between a voter’s rank and the AP rank for the same team.

Voter	Team	Vote
Stephen Means	Alabama	#19	#8	-11
Jon Wilner	Houston	#15	#25	+10
Ralph Russo	Mississippi State	#14	#24	+10
Jon Wilner	Tennessee	#23	#14	-9
Bob Asmussen	Oregon	#11	#20	+9
Dylan Sinn	Houston	#16	#25	+9
Murray Evans	USC	#21	#12	-9
Andy Kendeigh	Texas A&M	#14	#23	+9

Who’s In, Who’s Out

Teams voters included outside the AP Top 25, and Top 25 teams they left out.

View All Added and Omitted Teams

2026 · Week 3 · 2026-09-20 · 69/69 complete ballots.

Rank	Voters
1	0
2	0
3	0
4	0
5	0
6	0
7	0
8	0
9	0
10	0
11	0
12	0
13	1
14	2
15	1
16	2
17	1
18	3
19	8
20	2
21	7
22	4
23	9
24	7
25	8
NR	14

Rank	Voters
1	0
2	0
3	0
4	0
5	0
6	0
7	0
8	0
9	0
10	0
11	0
12	0
13	1
14	2
15	1
16	2
17	1
18	3
19	8
20	2
21	7
22	4
23	9
24	7
25	8
NR	14

AP Rankings and Voter Ballots