Week 7 Wipes Out the Top: No. 1 Georgia Falls to Auburn, Ohio State Escapes Indiana — but Loses Sayin
What changed (Oct 17): The most chaotic Saturday of the 2026 season knocked out the No. 1 team and may have injured the sport's best QB story. Per FOX Sports: "a late fourth-quarter fumble by quarterback Gunnar Stockton set up Auburn for a game-winning field goal to secure a 27-24 win" over No. 1 Georgia — Auburn's "first win over the No. 1 ranked team since 2017" and first top-25 win under head coach Alex Golesh. Georgia had trailed nearly the whole second half before tying it 24-24.
At Bloomington, No. 4 Ohio State beat No. 5 Indiana 19-15 — per Yahoo, "ending the Hoosiers' 22-game win streak" (Indiana hadn't lost since Dec. 20, 2024) — but QB Julian Sayin left with seven minutes remaining and "returned from the locker room minutes later with a sling around his right arm (throwing arm)" (FOX). Jeremiah Smith's 38-yard TD catch tied Braylon Edwards' Big Ten record of 39 touchdown receptions.
No. 7 Texas fell at home to Florida 27-24: redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr., making his first collegiate start, erased a 14-point deficit after Ryan Niblett's 63-yard punt-return TD had Texas up 17-3; Arch Manning was "sacked and stripped" on Texas' final chance, and Jadan Baugh's 11-yard TD gave Florida the lead. No. 6 Alabama lost its second straight — "the Crimson Tide fell to No. 14 Tennessee" (FOX; box score shows 26-10) in Knoxville. Elsewhere: No. 9 Ole Miss 31, No. 13 Missouri 3 (Trinidad Chambliss accounted for four TDs); No. 22 LSU 31, No. 16 Mississippi State 0 (Sam Leavitt, four TD passes); Michigan benched Bryce Underwood (5-of-11, 43 yards, two INTs) for true freshman Tommy Carr vs. Penn State; Northwestern won 24-21 on a 34-yard field goal with five seconds left.
With Georgia, Texas and Alabama all losing, a new No. 1 arrives in Sunday's AP poll — likely Ohio State (6-1) or No. 2 Notre Dame, which faced No. 8 BYU in the evening's final marquee game. The first CFP committee rankings land in early November (Week 7 Wipes Out the Top: No. 1 Georgia Falls to Auburn, Ohio State Escapes Indiana — but Loses Sayin watch).