Missouri rose 11 spots to No. 14 in the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll released Sunday, October 4, 2026. The move followed the Tigers' 45-17 victory over Florida on Saturday, October 3, at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium.
Florida, which entered the game ranked in the top 10, fell eight spots to No. 16 in the poll. The loss was the first for the Gators under head coach Jon Sumrall. In the previous week's poll, Florida had climbed 13 spots following a win against Ole Miss.
Texas remained at No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week, receiving 61 first-place votes. Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami, and Ohio State rounded out the top five. In the Southeastern Conference (SEC) rankings, Missouri moved ahead of Florida, while LSU replaced the Gators in the top 10 at No. 10. Florida received 691 points in this week’s voting, a decrease from the 1,272 points it held the prior week.
The specific shift in the SEC "pecking order" involves eight ranked teams, impacting the travel schedules and ticket sales for thousands of fans across states including Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, and Tennessee. A team's ranking often dictates the kickoff time and television network for its games; for example, top-tier matchups frequently air in prime-time slots with higher advertising rates. Students and local business owners in college towns like Columbia, Missouri, and Gainesville, Florida, notice these changes through fluctuations in hotel bookings, restaurant traffic, and local tax revenue during home game weekends.
What happens next: Teams will look toward the next set of matchups to stabilize or improve their standing. Florida is scheduled to return home to face South Carolina on Saturday, October 10. Alabama, which moved up one spot to No. 6, is scheduled to host No. 2 Georgia in the coming week. The next Associated Press Top 25 poll is expected to be released on Sunday, October 11, following the conclusion of Week 6 games.