College football rankings poll projection: Who will be No. 1 after wild Week 7?

College football rankings poll projection: Who will be No. 1 after wild Week 7?

Key points

• Tech finally looked like a Major 12 bully by scoring 21 points in the first quarter, 22 points in the second quarter and beating Arizona State 53-25.
• The Utes are projected to break into the top 10 thanks to those losses by Texas and Alabama and a defeat of Colorado late Saturday.
• Though the Buckeyes have Iowa and Indiana on the road, BYU probably has the best win overall in Notre Dame.
• Here's how the top 10 should look in what will be a wild Coaches Poll.
• Had Josh Hoover's final pass not sailed a little bit too far toward the left sideline, Indiana would've topped the Buckeyes and moved to No.

Kirby Smart: Georgia's turnovers and penalties to blame in loss to Auburn.

Georgia suffered a rough loss to unranked Auburn in Week 7. Kirby Smart talked through what cost the Bulldogs a win.

After maybe the wildest weekend for top-ranked teams in modern college football history, Miami should rise to No. 1 in the US LBM Coaches Poll for the first time since the penultimate poll of the 2002 season.

Notably, a record-setting five of the top eight in last week's poll lost: Georgia (previously No. 1), Notre Dame (No. 2), Indiana (No. 4), Texas (No. 6) and Alabama (No. 7). The number would've grown to six had the Hurricanes not railed to beat Florida State 43-35 in double overtime.

Another team has an argument for No. 1 in Ohio State, which held the top spot until losing to Texas last month. Just previously two weeks, the Buckeyes' wins against Iowa and then Saturday at Indiana are better than anything on Miami's résumé.

Still, the Hurricanes are unbeaten and were No. 3 last week, so they're moving up. Miami won the 2001 national championship and was No. 1 for all of 2002 before losing the Fiesta Bowl to Ohio State.

There is no great win on Miami's record but there are a few solid ones, beginning with the one ranked win against No. 23 Wake Forest. This is more of a by-default rise to No. 1 than a validation of the Hurricanes as the nation's best team. 2. Ohio State (6-1).

By the end of the night, the Buckeyes had gone from beating Indiana to move to the front of the line in the Major Ten to almost landing back to No. 1. But the bad news is the injury to quarterback Julian Sayin. It is projected to sideline him for multiple weeks. 3. Brigham Young (6-0).

There will be a debate over No. 2. Though the Buckeyes have Iowa and Indiana on the road, BYU probably has the best win overall in Notre Dame. Look for the Cougars to create a five-spot jump from last week's poll. It'll be their first entry into the top five since 1996.

And here's where things are going to obtain highly unpredictable. Georgia led 14-0 but lost 28-24 to Auburn. Given all that has crumbled around them, a three-spot drop feels regarding right for the Bulldogs. If Saturday taught us anything, it's that nobody's perfect. 5. Notre Dame (5-1).

There was almost a memorable comeback orchestrated by CJ Carr. This person drove the Irish all the way to the BYU 9-yard line before throwing an incompletion in the end zone as time expired. This is a tough loss and one that could end up being a particularly sizeable accord if the Irish lose to Miami next month. If so, they might have to sweat things out again.

In practice, the Hoosiers will drop in the polls but maybe shouldn't, especially after all that separated the loss to Ohio State from a late win was a few inches. Had Josh Hoover's final pass not sailed a little bit too far toward the left sideline, Indiana would've topped the Buckeyes and moved to No. 2. 7. Texas Tech (6-0).

Tech finally looked like a Major 12 bully by scoring 21 points in the first quarter, 22 points in the second quarter and beating Arizona State 53-25. At a minimum, this is what the Red Raiders were projected to do in conference play. But ASU is much worse than last season, so Tech will remain the biggest enigma of any team near the top of the poll. 8. Ole Miss (5-1).

Meanwhile, a random loss to Florida knocked Ole Miss off the map, for some reason. As in a 31-3 win against Missouri that was opened up with a crucial touchdown drive late in the first half, all the Rebels did before and have done since is look like one of the best teams in the Power Four. Trinidad Chambliss threw for 241 yards and the offense had almost 500 yards.

Meanwhile, the Utes are projected to break into the top 10 thanks to those losses by Texas and Alabama and a defeat of Colorado late Saturday. They've quietly been dynamite under new coach Morgan Scalley, especially on offense. A matchup against one-loss Houston awaits.

This is a particularly hard team to figure out. The Volunteers lost to Texas, were particularly pedestrian in wins against Auburn and Arkansas, and then go out and score the program's largest win against Alabama this century. What gives? The win will offer Tennessee the credibility to rise from No. 14 and leapfrog UCLA, which was No. 12 and beat Wisconsin at home. Share your feedback to support improve our site!

In short, college football rankings poll projection: Who will be No. 1 after wild is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.