the seventh week of the 2026 college football season

published october 18, 2026

the rankings

  1. james madison (7-0, +188)
  2. miami (6-0, +207)
  3. utah (6-0, +152)
  4. texas tech (6-0, +121)
  5. ucla (6-0, +116)
  6. byu (6-0, +110)
  7. notre dame (6-1, +194)
  8. georgia (6-1, +190)
  9. ohio state (6-1, +181)
  10. indiana (6-1, +166)
  11. tennessee (6-1, +131)
  12. houston (6-1, +128)
  13. north dakota state (6-1, +127)
  14. wake forest (6-1, +126)
  15. usc (6-1, +79)
  16. kentucky (6-1, +48)
  17. utsa (6-1, +37)
  18. new mexico (5-1, +175)
  19. arizona (5-1, +100)
  20. northwestern (5-1, +99, 201 pf)
  21. iowa (5-1, +99, 186 pf)
  22. liberty (5-1, +95)
  23. ole miss (5-1, +82)
  24. boise state (5-1, +76)
  25. smu (5-1, +68)
  26. air force (5-1, +67)
  27. lsu (5-2, +172)
  28. nebraska (5-2, +141)
  29. oregon state (5-2, +137)
  30. alabama (5-2, +125)
  31. pittsburgh (5-2, +115)
  32. virginia tech (5-2, +112)
  33. memphis (5-2, +92)
  34. toledo (5-2, +89)
  35. missouri (5-2, +81)
  36. south florida (5-2, +80)
  37. florida (5-2, +79)
  38. louisiana (5-2, +75)
  39. ohio (5-2, +58)
  40. western michigan (5-2, +57)
  41. jacksonville state (5-2, +32)
  42. oregon (4-2, +98)
  43. duke (4-2, +94)
  44. kansas state (4-2, +93)
  45. baylor (4-2, +92)
  46. army (4-2, +89)
  47. oklahoma state (4-2, +81)
  48. north texas (4-2, +78)
  49. georgia state (4-2, +75)
  50. texas (4-2, +74)
  51. wisconsin (4-2, +65)
  52. louisiana tech (4-2, +53)
  53. cincinnati (4-2, +50)
  54. appalachian state (4-2, +46)
  55. minnesota (4-2, +42)
  56. michigan (4-2, +39)
  57. auburn (4-2, +30)
  58. south alabama (4-2, +26, 233 pf)
  59. north carolina (4-2, +26, 141 pf)
  60. mississippi state (4-2, +24)
  61. florida atlantic (4-2, +21)
  62. clemson (4-2, +5)
  63. texas a&m (4-3, +86)
  64. louisville (4-3, +79)
  65. virginia (4-3, +72)
  66. umass (4-3, +62)
  67. fresno state (4-3, +47)
  68. tulsa (4-3, +46)
  69. washington (4-3, +36)
  70. west virginia (4-3, +25)
  71. miami ohio (4-3, +9)
  72. unlv (4-3, +3)
  73. san jose state (4-3, -2)
  74. uab (4-3, -9)
  75. wyoming (4-3, -18)
  76. buffalo (4-3, -29)
  77. eastern michigan (4-4, -35)
  78. south carolina (3-3, +73)
  79. tcu (3-3, +71)
  80. uconn (3-3, +63)
  81. ucf (3-3, +60)
  82. iowa state (3-3, +48)
  83. texas state (3-3, +47)
  84. nc state (3-3, +32)
  85. florida international (3-3, +30)
  86. illinois (3-3, +24)
  87. oklahoma (3-3, +19)
  88. east carolina (3-3, -2)
  89. arizona state (3-3, -4)
  90. troy (3-3, -7, 146 pf)
  91. tulane (3-3, -7, 123 pf)
  92. boston college (3-3, -16)
  93. middle tennessee (3-3, -33)
  94. marshall (3-3, -70)
  95. penn state (3-4, +69)
  96. florida state (3-4, +26)
  97. georgia southern (3-4, +10)
  98. arkansas state (3-4, +6)
  99. purdue (3-4, -7)
  100. california (3-4, -27)
  101. arkansas (3-4, -40)
  102. vanderbilt (3-4, -43)
  103. central michigan (3-4, -63)
  104. western kentucky (3-4, -65)
  105. san diego state (3-4, -70)
  106. stanford (3-4, -128)
  107. kansas (2-4, +48)
  108. syracuse (2-4, +36)
  109. nevada (2-4, +15)
  110. navy (2-4, +14)
  111. georgia tech (2-4, -3)
  112. rutgers (2-4, -4)
  113. new mexico state (2-4, -12)
  114. delaware (2-4, -24)
  115. colorado (2-4, -37)
  116. colorado state (2-4, -45)
  117. missouri state (2-4, -50)
  118. utah state (2-4, -54)
  119. coastal carolina (2-5, +2)
  120. temple (2-5, -16)
  121. michigan state (2-5, -29)
  122. maryland (2-5, -35)
  123. old dominion (2-5, -64)
  124. bowling green (2-5, -81)
  125. ball state (2-5, -123)
  126. kent state (2-5, -140)
  127. kennesaw state (1-5, -7)
  128. sam houston (1-5, -30)
  129. southern miss (1-5, -51)
  130. washington state (1-6, -49)
  131. hawaii (1-6, -65)
  132. rice (1-6, -84)
  133. akron (1-6, -95)
  134. sacramento state (1-6, -124)
  135. charlotte (1-6, -150)
  136. utep (1-6, -155)
  137. louisiana monroe (0-6, -127)
  138. northern illinois (0-6, -129)

bowl qualification

the sixth win is always the hardest to get, but these 12 teams pulled through this week when many top teams could not, and 11 of them are now officially qualified for bowl play. congratulations to:

*north dakota state is in their first year of fbs play and will therefore be considered for a bowl only after all other 6-6 or better teams.

the belt

amidst the chaos, byu has taken the belt. at the second-to-last second, they batted down an end zone pass from notre dame to seal their place as new champions, generously donating the remaining game time to the big house. they begin their defense next week against ucf.