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Mike's top 25 college football teams heading into Week 9 of the 2025 season. His complete top 25 rankings, including Ohio State Oregon, Indiana, and more.
Week 9 College Football Power Rankings
Week 7 was chaotic. Week 8 was carnage. Friday night had two ranked teams in action. Both lost. Saturday wasn’t much kinder to those with a number to the left of the team name. We’re going to have a lot of movers this week because I pay attention to who teams lose to, as well as who they beat. You’ll see a lot of people on X asking why Navy isn’t ranked. Look at the schedule! A couple more teams were exposed by sleeping giants. Let’s explore what happened this week!
25. Michigan (5-2)
Last week: 27 (⇑2)
Result: W 24-7 vs. (31) Washington
Michigan has wins over Nebraska and Washington, who are solid middle-tier Big Ten (18) teams. Losses at Oklahoma and at USC are good losses. If Tennessee’s losses weren’t to what counts for elite teams in 2025, Michigan would be above the Vols.
24. USC (5-2)
Last week: 20 (⇓4)
Result: L 24-34 at (16) Notre Dame
Both of USC’s losses are to ranked teams, and they beat Michigan. That’s better than anything LSU has done. Hey, someone needs to say it!
23. Cincinnati (6-1)
Last week: 23 ⇔
Result: W 49-17 at Oklahoma State
I see a lot of Oklahoma fans hating on Oklahoma State for having fun in the stadium while watching a bad team. There’s really no reason for that. I will never knock a fan base for showing up and supporting the team, no matter how bad they are. I love that the fans are still going to the stadium. We need more of that.
As for Cincinnati, the Iowa State win loses luster, and the Nebraska loss is getting worse.
22. Illinois (4-2)
Last week: 22 ⇔
Result: BYE
Both losses are to teams in the top five. The wins over USC and Duke are good. Illinois may not be what many thought at the start of the season, but this is still a good team. Luke Altmyer didn’t throw his first interception of the season until last week.
21. Arizona State (5-2)
Last week: 25 (⇑4)
Result: W 26-22 vs. (7) Texas Tech
With the way that Arizona State played in this game, I’m not sure that Behren Morton would have made the difference for Tech. That Mississippi State loss is going to be a massive black mark on the resumé by the time the end of the season hits, but the Sun Devils have arguably the best win of any two-loss team.
20. Tennessee (5-2)
Last week: 11 (⇓9)
Result: L 20-37 at (4) Alabama
Both of Tennessee’s losses are great. Alabama and Georgia are both in my top six teams. Where’s the good win? Keep looking because there isn’t one. The Vols struggled with Mississippi State and Arkansas, two of the bottom teams in the conference. Beating Syracuse means almost nothing right now as well.
19. Utah (5-2)
Last week: 19 ⇔
Result: L 21-24 at (28) BYU
Utah didn’t slide even with a loss because we are in the territory of counting “good” losses. Most teams with two or more “good” losses haven’t beaten anyone. The Utes have a win over Arizona State, and most will forget that Sam Leavitt missed that game. As far as good losses go, losing to Texas Tech and BYU isn’t bad.
18. Missouri (6-1)
Last week: 18 ⇔
Result: W 23-17 at (50) Auburn
Missouri’s best win might be against Auburn, and they struggled to get it. Wins over Kansas and South Carolina look very weak right now.
17. Louisville ($5-1)
Last week: 33 (⇑15)
Result: W 24-21 at (1) Miami (FL)
This was a master class in game planning by Jeff Brohm. The Louisville defense picked off Carson Beck four times and ran right at the teeth of the vaunted Miami defense. Chris Bell is likely the best receiver in the ACC and will finally get some national attention since all eyes were on the Cardinals on Friday night.
16. Virginia (6-1)
Last week: 17 (⇑1)
Result: W 22-20 vs. Washington State
Virginia escaped at home. The Wahoos beat Louisville at Louisville, so it’s only right that they are ranked ahead of the Cardinals. Struggling with Washington State doesn’t look so bad since big, bad Ole Miss did the same last week. Is that how we do this? Am I doing it right?
The Wahoos are going to throw a wrench into the ACC. Their one loss is a loss to North Carolina State, but that wasn’t considered a conference game because of asinine ACC rules. You reap what you sow, you boneheads. The ACC wants no part of Virginia in the ACC Championship game, but their bylaws may allow it.
15. Mississippi (6-1)
Last week: 8 (⇓7)
Result: L 35-43 at (7) Georgia
This isn’t so much about the Georgia loss. It’s about struggling with Kentucky, and the LSU win not holding weight anymore. Tulane is likely Mississippi’s best win. Call me back when you beat a good team. Like…one that has proven a little bit of anything. These unbalanced schedules are unbearable.
In the old days, at least everyone had roughly the same conference schedules. Some teams have woefully easy regular-season schedules in what are alleged to be “power” conferences.
14. Georgia Tech (7-0)
Last week: 15 (⇑1)
Result: W 27-18 at (41) Duke
This is by far Georgia Tech’s best win. Tech’s schedule isn’t backloaded like Navy’s is either. It’s not loaded at all. There is a very real possibility that Georgia will be the only ranked team Tech plays by the end of the season. Only four will likely be bowl-eligible. This is weaker than Indiana’s 2024 run. Georgia Tech is 7-0 for the first time since 1966, and the run should continue for a while.
13. BYU (7-0)
Last week: 28 (⇑15)
Result: W 24-21 vs. (19) Utah
BYU finally played a worthy opponent and still came away with a win. The Cougars survived a fourth-quarter flurry by the Utes to win their third straight Holy War. Utah hasn’t beaten the Cougars since 2019.
12. Notre Dame (6-1)
Last week: 16 (⇑4)
Result: W 34-24 vs. (20) USC
This is all Notre Dame needed to put them into the playoff. Both losses are to top 10 teams. Two losses should disqualify you from championship talks. The Irish lost the first two games and will still get in without having to play a conference championship game. It’s not a bad gig if you can get it. The bad news is that no one aside from Notre Dame would get this treatment.
11. Oklahoma (6-1)
Last week: 14 (⇑3)
Result: W 26-7 at South Carolina
It was payback for last year’s embarrassment in Norman. The Oklahoma defense continues to shine. John Mateer wasn’t a huge factor in this one, but Oklahoma wanted to get the run game going. They needed to get the run game going. Mission accomplished.
10. South Florida (6-1)
Last week: 9 (⇓1)
Result: W 48-13 vs. Florida Atlantic
The win over Boise keeps looking better. The win over Florida? Not so much. The good loss to Miami took a hit this week as well.
9. Texas Tech (6-1)
Last week: 6(⇓3)
Result: L 22-26 at (25) Arizona State
I didn’t punish the Sun Devils much last week for losing without Sam Leavitt. I can’t penalize Tech much for losing on the road without Behren Morton. The weaker SOS isn’t helping Tech here. The win in Salt Lake City is still good. It’s better than many teams have.
8. Oregon (6-1)
Last week: 13 (⇑5)
Result: W 56-10 at Rutgers
It’s not that Oregon won; it’s how they won. A 46-point road win (in which the Ducks didn’t score in the fourth quarter) is a statement that Duck U isn’t going anywhere. Not every team wins like this, especially after a tough loss at home.
7. Vanderbilt (6-1)
Last week: 10 (⇑3)
Result: W 31-24 vs. (12) LSU
Vanderbilt beat LSU for the first time since 1990, and is ranked in the top 10 for the first time since 1941. This is the first 6-1 start for the Commodores since 1950. We’re talking things that fans in Nashville haven’t seen in three generations. Virginia Tech, South Carolina, and LSU likely aren’t as good as we thought, but hey, Vandy hasn’t played SEC bottom-feeders. They’re roughing up the middle of the conference. Let them have this one. They’ll be gone soon enough.
6. Miami (FL) (6-1)
Last week: 1 (⇓5)
Result: L 21-24 vs. (33) Louisville
I may have undervalued Louisville a little. Maybe Miami just had an off game. We likely won’t see Carson Beck throw four interceptions in a game again this year. Louisville had an excellent game plan for this. Miami couldn’t stop Chris Bell. This defense locked down good Notre Dame and South Florida teams. What Louisville did was very impressive. Therefore, I’m not knocking Miami too much. I’m leaning in the direction that I just undervalued Louisville. If a win over the Irish is bolstering the Aggies, it’s only fair that it should do the same for Miami.
5. Georgia (6-1)
Last week: 7 (⇑2)
Result: W 43-35 vs. (8) Mississippi
There’s a reason I didn’t have Mississippi ranked as high as the AP. LSU is inflated by a lousy schedule. Tulane may be Mississippi’s best win. Georgia needed a couple of big fourth-quarter stands to hold off the Rebels. Ole Miss scored a touchdown on its first five drives of the game. Georgia deserves credit for figuring it out, but it was not a dominant win like Ohio State’s was over Texas or Illinois.
4. Ohio State (7-0)
Last week: 5 (⇑1)
Result: W 34-0 at Wisconsin
This would be impressive had Iowa not shut out Wisconsin at Camp Randall last week by a score of 37-0. Is Ohio State worse than Iowa? Of course not. I’m giving Ohio State credit for a dominant win over an iffy Texas team and a win over Illinois. The fact is, we can’t definitively say that Mississippi is better than Illinois. The big wins over Tulane and LSU are about the same as Illinois beating Duke and USC, except USC was on the road. The eye test favors Ohio State over Georgia right now.
3. Alabama (6-1)
Last week: 4 (⇑1)
Result: W 37-20 vs. (11) Tennessee
Right now, I would say that Alabama is one of the top two teams in the country. It’s hard to reconcile this team with the one that lost to a feeling Florida State team in the opener. That’s an aberration. With fewer undefeated teams left, it’s time to start rewarding teams with big wins. Alabama has taken out Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Tennessee in the last four weeks. No other team has successfully navigated a stretch like that so far.
2. Texas A&M (7-0)
Last week: 2 ⇔
Result: W 45-42 at Arkansas
The Aggies aren’t the first team to struggle with Arkansas, but it is mildly concerning that they gave up more than 40 points again. The win over Notre Dame in South Bend is carrying the Aggies. As long as Notre Dame keeps winning, the Aggies will have coattails to ride.
1. Indiana (7-0)
Last week: 3 (⇑2)
Result: W 38-13 at Michigan State
Sparty blew the cover with a field goal with 30 seconds left. It doesn’t change the fact that Indiana dominated this game. Oregon went on the road and looked dominant, so we’ll give Indiana more credit for beating Oregon in Eugene than Ohio State for beating Texas at the Shoe. Indiana might be the most complete team that I’ve seen this year. The defense is nasty, and the offense borders on elite.
