2026 College Football Power Rankings Week 6: Texas Holds No. 1, Ohio State and Alabama Surge
Week 5 did not knock Texas off the top of college football, but it made the argument underneath the Longhorns considerably more interesting.
Ohio State went into Iowa City and comfortably handled a ranked Iowa team. Alabama demolished previously unbeaten Mississippi State. Miami embarrassed Clemson in Death Valley. Missouri delivered the weekend’s biggest upset, crushing Florida 45-17 just one week after the Gators looked like one of the hottest teams in the country.
The new AP Top 25 still has Texas at No. 1, followed by Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami and Ohio State. Alabama moved to No. 6, Missouri rocketed from No. 25 to No. 14 and Florida fell eight spots to No. 16.
Our power rankings take a different approach.
Rather than simply rewarding undefeated records or reproducing the AP poll, the goal is to answer a more useful question:
Who are the best college football teams in the country right now?
Week 5 receives the greatest weight, while quality of wins, schedule, underlying performance, quarterback play, injuries and the context surrounding losses all matter.
Here is the TFE Times Power 25 entering Week 6.
1. Texas
AP ranking: No. 1
Texas was idle, but there still is not enough evidence to knock the Longhorns from the top spot.
The résumé remains the separator. Texas owns victories over Ohio State and Tennessee, and Ohio State’s 31-14 road win over Iowa made the Longhorns’ one-point victory over the Buckeyes look even better. Until somebody builds a better collection of high-end results, Texas stays No. 1.
2. Ohio State
AP ranking: No. 5
Ohio State moves up after producing one of Week 5’s most impressive performances.
Julian Sayin threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-14 win at No. 14 Iowa, while Jeremiah Smith caught two more touchdowns and became Ohio State’s career leader in both receptions and receiving scores. Smith’s Heisman case is becoming impossible to ignore. The Buckeyes’ only loss remains 24-23 at Texas.
3. Georgia
AP ranking: No. 2
Georgia remains undefeated and continues to look like one of the country’s most complete teams.
Vanderbilt made the Bulldogs work early, but Georgia pulled away 38-14 behind 295 passing yards and three touchdowns from Gunner Stockton. Georgia has yet to suffer anything resembling a bad performance, though Ohio State’s résumé now gives the Buckeyes the slight edge here.
4. Miami
AP ranking: No. 4
Miami finally got the type of result that makes its early dominance considerably easier to trust.
The Hurricanes went into Clemson and won 41-13. Darian Mensah threw for 227 yards and a touchdown while adding a 34-yard rushing score. Miami is 5-0, and a four-touchdown road victory at Clemson is its strongest evidence yet that the Hurricanes belong with the national elite.
5. Alabama
AP ranking: No. 6
No team strengthened its case more dramatically this week than Alabama.
The Crimson Tide walked into Starkville against undefeated No. 16 Mississippi State and won 56-23. Keelon Russell threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns and added another score on the ground. Alabama has now scored at least 45 points in every game and looks increasingly capable of beating anyone in the country.
6. Notre Dame
AP ranking: No. 3
Notre Dame is still unbeaten, but the Irish slide slightly because Ohio State, Miami and Alabama made stronger Week 5 statements.
CJ Carr was excellent, throwing four touchdown passes and running for another in a 37-26 win at North Carolina. The Irish have now won 15 straight games, but North Carolina kept Saturday competitive long enough to leave Notre Dame just outside our Power Five.
7. Indiana
AP ranking: No. 7
The defending national champions answered their shaky win over Northwestern with a much cleaner performance.
Indiana crushed Rutgers 47-15 on the road and improved to 5-0. The Hoosiers remain remarkably consistent, and they are closer to the teams above them than the ranking suggests. What they still lack is the signature victory that Ohio State, Texas and Alabama already possess.
8. Missouri
AP ranking: No. 14
This is the largest TFE jump of the week.
Missouri obliterated Florida 45-17 only seven days after the Gators had destroyed Ole Miss. Austin Simmons threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns, while Jamal Roberts ran for 211 yards and three scores. The earlier seven-point loss at Mississippi State prevents an even bigger leap, but Missouri just delivered an elite-level performance.
9. Ole Miss
AP ranking: No. 9
Ole Miss was idle, giving the Rebels a week to absorb the damage from their 52-28 loss at Florida.
That result looks worse after Missouri dismantled the Gators, but Ole Miss still owns victories over LSU and Louisville. The résumé remains strong enough to keep the Rebels inside the top 10, although the margin for error is disappearing.
10. LSU
AP ranking: No. 10
LSU did exactly what a contender should do against overmatched competition, destroying McNeese 63-14.
Sam Leavitt threw three touchdown passes, and the Tigers have responded well since losing at Ole Miss. The head-to-head defeat keeps LSU behind the Rebels for now, but the gap is narrow.
11. BYU
AP ranking: No. 8
BYU’s 17-10 victory at TCU was not spectacular, but it was valuable.
Bear Bachmeier ran for two touchdowns, including the clinching score late in the fourth quarter, as the Cougars improved to 4-0. BYU continues to win without giving opponents much assistance, though the résumé still lacks the type of marquee victory needed to crack our top 10.
12. Texas Tech
AP ranking: No. 11
Texas Tech continues to quietly eliminate opponents.
The Red Raiders went to Boulder and beat Colorado 29-7, improving to 5-0. Their résumé still does not carry the high-end win of the teams near the top, but repeatedly controlling conference opponents has Texas Tech moving closer.
13. Utah
AP ranking: No. 12
Utah was idle after an impressive opening month.
The Utes remain unbeaten, and their 31-17 road win at Iowa State from the previous week continues to carry weight. They hold their position because nothing from Week 5 meaningfully weakened the underlying profile.
14. Oregon
AP ranking: No. 13
Oregon also had the week off.
The Ducks remain difficult to evaluate because the Oklahoma State loss cannot be ignored, but their 41-27 victory at USC showed the ceiling remains extremely high. Oregon stays ahead of several one-loss teams because its best football still looks like top-10 football.
15. Tennessee
AP ranking: No. 15
Tennessee bounced back from its narrow loss to Texas, but the win created a new question at quarterback.
DeSean Bishop carried the offense with a career-high 220 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a 24-14 win over Auburn. Freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon was benched in the first half for George MacIntyre, making the position worth watching despite the victory.
16. Mississippi State
AP ranking: No. 17
Mississippi State’s perfect start ended decisively against Alabama.
The Bulldogs lost 56-23 at home, but their résumé still includes a victory over Missouri — a result that suddenly looks much stronger after Missouri demolished Florida. Alabama exposed the gap between Mississippi State and the national elite, but the Bulldogs still belong comfortably in the Power 25.
17. Florida
AP ranking: No. 16
College football can change quickly.
One week after Florida surged to No. 7 in our rankings following a 52-28 destruction of Ole Miss, the Gators were beaten 45-17 at Missouri. Florida still owns that excellent Ole Miss victory, which prevents a complete collapse, but Week 5 exposed just how volatile this team remains.
18. Iowa
AP ranking: No. 20
Iowa drops, but losing to Ohio State is hardly disqualifying.
The Hawkeyes were beaten 31-14 at home, and their offense again showed why there is a ceiling on this team. Still, the earlier road victory at Michigan remains useful evidence, and Ohio State may simply be one of the two best teams in America.
19. USC
AP ranking: No. 19
USC showed some resilience after its loss to Oregon.
The Trojans trailed Washington 21-10 before scoring 15 unanswered points and escaping with a 25-21 victory. A defensive scoop-and-score ultimately provided the turning point. USC still needs greater defensive consistency, but Saturday was a meaningful response.
20. Oklahoma State
AP ranking: No. 18
Oklahoma State was idle, leaving the Cowboys at 3-1.
Their victory over Oregon remains the cornerstone of the résumé and is strong enough to keep them ahead of several teams with better records. The question now is whether Oklahoma State can begin stacking quality results around it.
21. Houston
AP ranking: No. 22
Houston survived an early scare against UCF and turned a 17-point deficit into a 27-17 victory.
That comeback matters. The Cougars’ only loss remains a two-point defeat against undefeated Texas Tech, and Houston continues to look stronger than its position near the bottom of the AP poll suggests.
22. UCLA
AP ranking: No. 21
UCLA was idle and remains undefeated at 4-0.
The Bruins have done enough to belong in the Power 25, but their résumé still needs a defining win. That opportunity arrives immediately: UCLA travels to No. 13 Oregon in Week 6.
23. Boise State
AP ranking: No. 23
Boise State handled Utah State 37-18 and improved to 4-1.
The Broncos’ only loss remains a narrow defeat at Oregon, and their profile has held up well as the Ducks have recovered. Boise lacks the résumé depth to climb much further yet, but this remains a dangerous team.
24. SMU
AP ranking: No. 24
SMU won again, but Saturday did little to strengthen its case.
The Mustangs beat Boston College 25-16 in a game that included an extraordinary fourth-and-51 after a series of penalties and a sack. SMU is 4-1, but the Louisville loss and consecutive uneven performances keep the Mustangs near the bottom of the rankings.
25. Pittsburgh
AP ranking: No. 25
Pittsburgh enters the TFE Power 25 at 5-0 after surviving Virginia Tech 35-33.
Unfortunately, the bigger story is quarterback Mason Heintschel, who suffered a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the season. Power rankings are forward-looking as well as résumé-based, and losing the starting quarterback makes Pittsburgh considerably harder to place despite the unbeaten record.
The Power Five
Five teams currently appear slightly separated from the rest of college football:
Texas. Ohio State. Georgia. Miami. Alabama.
Texas remains No. 1 because the Longhorns own the best combination of elite victories, including the one-point win over the Ohio State team now sitting directly behind them.
Ohio State may be playing the best football in the country right now. Julian Sayin has emerged as one of the sport’s most dangerous quarterbacks, Jeremiah Smith has moved squarely into the Heisman conversation, and the Buckeyes just handled a ranked Iowa team in Kinnick Stadium.
Georgia remains relentlessly consistent. Miami finally supplied a major road statement by destroying Clemson. And Alabama’s 56-23 demolition of previously unbeaten Mississippi State was enough to move the Crimson Tide into the group at Notre Dame’s expense.
The beauty of Week 6 is that the argument will immediately change.
Georgia travels to Alabama.
One of the five best teams in the country will have the opportunity to make perhaps the strongest statement of the season.
For now, though, Texas remains No. 1.
