College Sports
Miami returns to No. 1—but the AP poll is not the playoff bracket
Sunday’s ranking ends a wait stretching back to 2002. The next major selection milestone comes in November.
What to know
- Miami rose from third to first in the October 18 AP poll.
- The leading three teams are separated by 48 poll points; first place is not unanimous.
- The College Football Playoff committee starts releasing its own rankings on November 3.
Miami is back atop the Associated Press college-football poll for the first time since 2002. The October 18 ranking puts the unbeaten Hurricanes ahead of BYU and Ohio State, restoring a familiar program to a position it had not occupied for almost 24 years.
A lead with competition behind it
NCAA.com’s published poll table gives Miami 1,697 points and 40 first-place votes. BYU has 1,675 points and 20 first-place votes; Ohio State has 1,649 points and nine first-place votes. Miami and BYU are both 6–0, while Ohio State is 6–1.
Subtracting those totals shows a 22-point margin between first and second, and a 48-point spread across the top three. Those are poll-point differences, not predicted scoring margins or probabilities of winning a championship. They show why the headline position and the degree of agreement behind it are separate facts.
What the ranking does—and does not—decide
The AP ranking is a current poll result. The playoff selection committee separately ranks teams and assigns the 12-team bracket. Its published schedule begins November 3 and ends with Selection Day on December 6.
For readers following Miami’s title prospects, that distinction matters: being No. 1 in October is an achievement, but it is not a playoff invitation, a final seed or a guaranteed bye. Future committee decisions remain ahead.
What to watch next
Follow changes in the poll alongside the games and the committee’s November rankings. Comparing those two rankings will show whether their assessments align. This story reports Sunday’s new ranking rather than predicting an unplayed game.
Sources and image notes
Poll reporting: The Associated Press and Mia Fishman, NCAA.com, October 18. Playoff process and dates: College Football Playoff. The archival photograph shows the Miami sideline at Hard Rock Stadium on January 19, 2026; it is archival and does not depict October’s poll announcement.
Image treatment: the website image is resized; social covers use a crop, a contrast gradient and added headlines. Photo: Bobak Ha’Eri, CC BY 3.0; the adapted social covers are also offered under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Sources, credits & editorial notes
- Associated Press — Miami returns to No. 1
- Mia Fishman / NCAA.com — October 18 AP poll table
- College Football Playoff — selection committee and 2026 rankings schedule
- Photo — Bobak Ha’Eri, Miami sideline at Hard Rock Stadium, January 19, 2026
- Image license — CC BY 3.0
- Social cover adaptation license — CC BY-SA 3.0
