South Florida returned to The Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday after its 54-26 win over American Conference foe Charlotte on Friday,
The Bulls (4-1) are ranked 24th after earning 150 points from AP's panel of reporters and broadcasters who cover college football.
South Florida has won two straight since a lopsided loss at Miami and is back in the top 25 after a one-month absence.
USF plays Friday night against North Texas (5-0, 1-0 American) in Denton, Texas. The game is set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN2.
ALSO READ: USF rolls past Charlotte 54-26 in the Bulls' American Conference opener
Meantime, Miami moved back to No. 2, and Penn State and Texas fell out of the Top 25 for the first time since 2022 after the two top-10 teams lost to unranked opponents. The Longhorns lost at Florida, 29-21, and the Nittany Lions were stunned by previously winless UCLA, 42-37.
No. 1 Ohio State was dominant in its win over Minnesota, but its 40 first-place votes were its fewest since ascending to the top five weeks ago.
The Hurricanes, who moved ahead of idle Oregon, went from receiving four first-place votes last week to 21 this week after winning at Florida State, which dropped seven spots to No. 25.
Miami also had been No. 2 two weeks ago following an open date and gave up that spot last week after Oregon's overtime win at Penn State.
Oregon, which received the other five first-place votes, was followed by idle No. 4 Mississippi and No. 5 Texas A&M. The Aggies hammered Mississippi State and earned their highest ranking since Jimbo Fisher's 2021 team was No. 5 in early September.
Oklahoma slipped from No. 5 to No. 6 despite its 44-0 shutout of Kent State. Indiana, which had an open date, is No. 7 and No. 8 Alabama got a two-spot promotion for its 16-point win over Vanderbilt.
No. 9 Texas Tech, which won 35-11 at previously unbeaten Houston, cracked the top 10 for the first time since it was No. 8 in the final regular-season poll in 2008. Georgia moved up two spots to No. 10 after its win over Kentucky.
Texas was the AP's presesason No. 1 team and Penn State was No. 2. Both are now out of the rankings.
Penn State took one of the biggest falls in the 89-year history of the poll for its loss at UCLA a week after the Bruins fired their coach. The Nittany Lions had slipped from No. 2 to No. 7 following their loss to Oregon. They went to UCLA as 24.5-point favorites, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, and lost 42-37. Penn State is unranked for the first time since September 2022.
The plunge out of the Top 25 matched 1959 Oklahoma for second-biggest drop out of the rankings, not counting preseason polls or the 2020 pandemic season. The '59 Sooners went from No. 2 to out of the Top 20 after losing their opener to Northwestern.
Texas lost at Ohio State as the preseason No. 1 and was No. 9 entering its game at Florida. The Longhorns hadn't been unranked since November 2022.
Before Sunday, the last time two top 10 teams fell out of the poll the same week was Sept. 16, 1986, when it happened to No. 8 Tennessee and No. 10 Ohio State.
No. 23 Memphis, another American Conference team, was four spots out of the Top 25 a week ago, but is in for the first time since it was No. 24 in the final poll last season. The Tigers are out to their best start since 2015 and the first team to be 6-0, making them bowl-eligible for the 12th straight year.
Conference call
SEC (9) — Nos. 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 20.
Big Ten (5) — Nos. 1, 3, 7, 15, 17.
Big 12 (4) — Nos. 9, 18, 21, 22.
ACC (4) — Nos. 2, 13, 19, 25.
American (2) — Nos. 23, 24.
Independent (1) — No. 16.
Ahead: ranked vs. ranked
No. 1 Ohio State (5-0) at No. 17 Illinois (5-1): This is the first meeting since 2017 and first Top 25 matchup since 2001. The Buckeyes have won nine straight in the series and haven’t lost in Champaign since 1991. The lone blemish for the Illini was a blowout loss at Indiana.
No. 7 Indiana (5-0) at No. 3 Oregon (5-0): The Hoosiers didn’t have to play Oregon last year, the Ducks’ first in the Big Ten. Indiana is 0-2 against top-five opponents under second-year coach Curt Cignetti.
No. 8 Alabama (4-1) at No. 14 Missouri (5-0): The Crimson Tide beat the Tigers 34-0 in Tuscaloosa last year, are on a four-game win streak and looking to knock off a third straight ranked opponent. Huge opportunity here for Missouri for a marquee win in the chase for the SEC title and College Football Playoff seeding.
WUSF's Mark Schreiner contributed to this report.
