Virginia football ranked No. 25 in AP Poll
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After their season-opening 34-8 rout of NC State in Week 0, the Virginia Cavaliers (1-0, 1-0 ACC) jumped into the Week 1 AP Poll, released Tuesday afternoon, coming in at No. 25. It’s the earliest in a season that UVA has been ranked since 2005, when the ’Hoos appeared at No. 25 in the preseason poll.
Virginia, which received just one vote in the 2026 AP preseason poll, used its experienced offensive line to control the line of scrimmage against the Wolfpack. The ’Hoos rushed for 258 yards and outgained NC State 413-168 in total yards, sending a message to the college football world that led to their leap in the rankings.
Elsewhere in the ACC, Miami (No. 7), SMU (No. 17), and Louisville (No. 24), round out the conference’s group of ranked teams. Pittsburgh (11) and Virginia Tech (6) also received votes.
At the top of the rankings, No. 1 Ohio State held onto the top spot while No. 6 Oregon fell four spots after getting a scare at home against Boise State. No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Texas, and No. 5 Indiana each rose one spot apiece to fill in the rest of the top five.
For Virginia, No. 17 SMU is the only currently ranked team on the schedule. The ’Hoos will travel to face the Mustangs in Dallas on October 17. SMU got its season underway on Monday night in a wacky 27-24 win over Florida State in Tallahassee. The game was delayed by more than two hours because of power outages in the stadium and was ultimately played without helmet communications, sideline tablets, or scoreboards.
After their week off, the freshly ranked ’Hoos will return to action on Friday night at home against Norfolk State. The Spartans, who will enter Scott Stadium with a 0-1 record, began their season with a 31-10 loss to fellow in-state foe Old Dominion on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 P.M., with coverage available on ACCNX.
Full AP Top-25:
- Ohio State
- Georgia
- Notre Dame
- Texas
- Indiana
- Oregon
- Miami (FL)
- LSU
- Ole Miss
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma
- Alabama
- Texas Tech
- USC
- BYU
- Penn State
- SMU
- Tennessee
- Washington
- Utah
- Iowa
- Houston
- Missouri
- Louisville
- Virginia
Others receiving votes: Boise State 86, Florida 83, Michigan 69, Arizona 33, Memphis 23, South Carolina 19, Western Michigan 12, Pittsburgh 11, Navy 10, UCLA 7, Virginia Tech 6, Illinois 6, James Madison 4, Minnesota 4, Colorado 3, Auburn 2, Arizona State 2, Vanderbilt 2
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