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Five of the top 25 teams in the Coaches Poll lost their games over the weekend, introducing a little more chaos in the new college football rankings as we head into the final month of the 2026 regular season.
Most of that change resulted in the coaches reorganizing their ballots near the bottom of the poll, but one surprising result in the Big Ten forced a decision in the top-two.
What did the coaches make of what happened on the field? Here is how the new Coaches Poll ballot looks going into Week 10 action.
First-place votes in parentheses
Welcome aboard, New Mexico. The Lobos improved to 7-1 on the season after beating San Jose State, sitting in first place in the Mountain West and playing the No. 1 scoring defense in the country. And potentially in position to take advantage in the Group of Six pecking order if Boise State slips.
So long, Florida. Again. The Gators failed to generate much of anything from an otherwise decent rushing attack in an ugly loss to rival Georgia. That makes three losses and the likely obliteration of any lingering hopes Jon Sumrall would make the College Football Playoff in Year 1.
USC (Up 8) was predictably the biggest positive mover in the Coaches Poll after resurrecting the Lincoln Riley tenure with a signature win against Ohio State. Now comes the real test. Can the Trojans keep doing it?
Missouri and Iowa (Up 4) saw incremental movement up the rankings after wins against conference rivals Arkansas and Wisconsin, respectively.
The coaches like what Missouri has done more, which includes key wins against SEC foes, but the Hawkeyes shut out a ranked Wisconsin this weekend to improve to 6-2.
Predictably, Ohio State (Down 8) took the biggest dive. There are real questions around what to do at quarterback after Luke Fahey laid an egg in relief of injured Julian Sayin, and whether the Buckeyes can realistically get back to the playoff now.
SMU (Down 8) looked worse, dropping a surprise three-point decision at Syracuse that could have doomed the ACC into getting multiple teams in the College Football Playoff.
Another hopeful from the Big Ten, Northwestern (Down 5) lost some of its luster after building, then losing, an impressive lead at Oregon.
Coaches lent these teams some votes, but not enough to make the poll this week
South Carolina 91; Florida 81; UTSA 76; Duke 76; Virginia Tech 53; Oregon 41; Minnesota 10; Oklahoma State 9; Liberty 6; North Texas 4; Wisconsin 3; Memphis 2; North Dakota State 1; Nebraska 1; Cincinnati 1.