Miami stays No. 1 in new AP Top 25 after Week 9, with Tennessee at No. 16

Miami held onto the top spot in the latest Associated Press Top 25 released after Week 9, surviving a much closer game than expected to remain unbeaten. The Hurricanes won 38-35 at North Carolina in Chapel Hill, improving to 8-0 after their defense held on at the end of a shootout. Darian Mensah threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns, and Malachi Toney caught seven passes for 75 yards and two scores.

Georgia moved in behind Miami at No. 2 after routing rival Florida 27-8. The Bulldogs led 24-0 at halftime and improved to 7-1, with their defense limiting Florida to 252 yards, forcing four turnovers and holding the Gators to four conversions in 12 third-down tries. Utah is No. 3 after a 49-25 win over Cincinnati that kept the Utes at 8-0, followed by Notre Dame at No. 4 and unbeaten UCLA at No. 5 after a 27-0 shutout of Nevada.

The rest of the top 10 has Indiana at No. 6 after a 23-16 overtime win over Minnesota, BYU at No. 7 after edging Arizona State 27-20, Kentucky at No. 8 after a bye week, Alabama at No. 9 after a week off, and Texas at No. 10 after a 31-3 win over Mississippi State. Ohio State fell to No. 11 after a 30-18 loss at USC, a result that came with the Buckeyes playing without quarterback Julian Sayin.

For Tennessee, the poll places the Volunteers at No. 16, in a stretch of the rankings that runs from Ole Miss at No. 12 and Texas Tech at No. 13 through LSU at No. 15 just ahead of them and Houston and USC just behind. That positioning keeps Tennessee in the national picture heading into its meeting with No. 8 Kentucky, a game that now carries added weight because the Wildcats sit several spots ahead in the same poll.