On the heels of another blowout win, Miami's new AP ranking put them in the driver's seat in the ACC

The Miami Hurricanes moved up two spots in the latest AP poll, jumping Indiana and sliding into the No. 4 spot on the list. This is the highest in-season ranking for the Hurricanes in nearly a year, when they were No. 2 on October 17, 2025.

Miami looked solid in a 52-3 win over Central Michigan — it's third win of 39 or more points this season. Things should get considerably tougher in Week 5 when the Hurricanes take on Clemson in a primetime game at Death Valley.

Miami is No. 4 in the latest AP poll, while Indiana drops a spot

The Hurricanes enter October as the clear favorites in the ACC and there are a few teams behind them that may or may not be alright. It's so hard to say in the ACC where consistency from week-to-week is lacking. This puts a lot more pressure on Miami to continue to stay ahead of this pack because any loss in the conference is going to be considered a bad one. 

Miami's move shows the fickle nature of the earlier polls and how little it feels like the voters actually follow the sport or look at the games. This isn't a knock on the Hurricanes — they are probably where they should be, but dropping an Hoosiers team for a 29-23 win over a previously undefeated Northwestern team, one that had beaten Colorado 41-7 the week before.

It's similar to the criticism Miami faced for its 13-point win over Wake Forest in Week 3. Anyone with two eyes could see that Wake Forest was a pretty good team, and the Demon Deacons showed that by knocking off previously ranked Louisville on the road. And speaking of the Cardinals ... thanks for nothing. You're supposed to be one of the "good" teams in this conference.

Louisville's loss knocked it out of the top 25, and the voters didn't see a reason to replace the Cardinals with another ACC team despite undefeated and defending conference champion Duke staring them right in the face.

The Blue Devils beat down FCS opponent William & Mary in Week 4, but already had a road win over Illinois on the resume — the same Illinois team that Ohio State beat Saturday and jumped past the Hoosiers. Someone make it make sense.

Week 4 AP Top 25 Poll

1. Texas
2. Georgia
3. Notre Dame
4. Miami
5. Ohio State
6. Indiana
7. Alabama
8. Florida
9. Ole Miss
10. BYU
11. LSU
12. Texas Tech
13. Utah
14. Iowa
15. Oregon
16. Mississippi State
17. Tennessee
18. USC
19. Oklahoma State
20. Houston
21. SMU
22. Boise State
23. UCLA
24. Kentucky
25. Missouri

AP voters will make you take all the SEC teams

Michigan, Penn State, and Texas A&M also dropped out of the poll to be replaced by Oklahoma State, UCLA, Kentucky, and Boise State. If you're wondering why a defeated Missouri team didn't drop out of the top 25 as well, you aren't alone. And if you choose to defend the Tigers, I will leave this here:

Of the top five teams that were also receiving votes, three of them (Duke, Wake Forest, and Virginia Tech) were ACC teams, and all of them were behind Wisconsin, which lost by 28 points to Notre Dame less than a month ago. 

The big riser was No. 8 Florida, who jumped 13 spots after beating Ole Miss by 24. Still, the Rebels only slid five places to No. 9. Mississippi State moved up eight slots to No. 16 after beating Missouri, who only dropped a single place becawhich jumped 13 spots after beating Ole Miss by 24, while the Rebels slid only 5 places to No. 9. Mississippi State moved up 8 spots to No. 16 after beating Missouri, which dropped only 1use SEC losses don't really count. 

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