NEW YORK (AP) — Texas A&M made a big jump into the top 10 of The Associated Press college football poll Sunday after its dramatic win at Notre Dame, and the Irish became the first team since 1988 to stay in the Top 25 with an 0-2 record.
Ohio State, Penn State and LSU remained the top three teams, with Miami moving up to No. 4 and Georgia to No. 5 even after a close call at No. 15 Tennessee.
Oregon slipped two spots to No. 6 despite a 20-point road win against Northwestern and was followed by Florida State, Texas, Illinois and the Aggies.
Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and Southern California made their season debuts in the Top 25.
Ohio State tussled with Ohio into the middle of the third quarter of a 37-9 win and received 55 first-place votes, two fewer than last week. Penn State got five first-place votes, LSU got two, Miami got three and Oregon got one. The Hurricanes’ first-place votes are their first since getting three on Nov. 19, 2017.
Alabama was rewarded for its 24-point home win against Wisconsin and moved up five spots to No. 14. Voters didn’t punish Tennessee for its overtime home loss to Georgia and kept the Volunteers No. 15.
Texas A&M was promoted six spots after it overcame a scary injury to safety Bryce Anderson, a blocked punt returned for a touchdown and 13 penalties to win 41-40 on Marcel Reed’s fourth-and-goal pass to Nate Boerkircher with 11 seconds left.
The Aggies, who opened with solid wins over UTSA and Utah State, are 3-0 for the first time since 2021 and have their highest ranking since they were No. 10 entering November last season.
Notre Dame has lost its first two games, both against ranked opponents, by a total of four points. The Irish lost 27-24 at Miami and had an open date before Texas A&M visited. They fell from No. 8 to No. 24.
The 1988 Michigan Wolverines, the previous team to start 0-2 and remain ranked, also had an extremely tough first two games. They entered the season No. 9 and lost to No. 13 Notre Dame 19-17, dropped to No. 15 and lost 31-30 at No. 1 Miami. Michigan was No. 19 the following week and went 9-0-1 the rest of the way.
Other teams that started 0-2 and stayed in the rankings were 1984 Auburn, 1958 SMU, 1949 Missouri and 1948 Purdue.
In and out
Georgia Tech, coming off its win over Clemson, is 3-0 for the first time since 2016, and its No. 18 ranking is its highest since 2015.
No. 20 Vanderbilt’s 24-point win at South Carolina earned the Commodores their highest ranking since they started 5-0 in 2008.
No. 25 USC has its first ranking since the first week of last October.
South Carolina (11), Clemson (12) and South Florida (18) are out.
The Gamecocks were down 14-7 late in the first half when quarterback LaNorris Sellers was knocked out of the game with a concussion. Clemson, ranked No. 4 in the preseason, hasn’t been 1-2 since 2014.
South Florida’s weeklong stay in the Top 25 ended with its 49-12 loss at Miami.
Poll points
1. Texas and Texas A&M are in the top 10 together for the first time since Sept. 20, 2020. Excluding the pandemic season, it’s the first time since Oct. 2, 1978.
2. USC has been ranked at least once in 24 straight seasons, the sixth-longest streak in the nation.
3. No. 17 Texas Tech’s ranking is its highest since it was No. 15 entering November 2013.
Conference call
SEC (11) — Nos. 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 20, 22, 23.
Big Ten (7) — Nos. 1, 2, 6, 9, 19, 21, 25.
ACC (3) — Nos. 4, 7, 18.
Big 12 (3) — Nos. 12, 16, 17.
Independent (1) — No. 24.
Ranked vs. ranked
No. 17 Texas Tech at No. 16 Utah: The Red Raiders’ 58 points per game lead the nation, but now the Behren Morton-led 600-yards-per-game offense gets its first real test on the road. Utah has limited each of its first three opponents to under 250 yards.
No. 22 Auburn at No. 11 Oklahoma: Tigers QB Jackson Arnold started 10 games for the Sooners over the previous two seasons. His replacement at OU, John Mateer, is one of the leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy.
No. 9 Illinois at No. 19 Indiana: A matchup of top-10 offenses and defenses. Indiana has scored 156 points against three weak opponents. The Illini have played a light, but better, schedule and have allowed just 22 points over three games.
MIAMI WOULD JOIN OHIO ST, PENN ST AND LSU AS A TOP-FOUR SEED IN AP TOP 25-BASED CFP BRACKET
Miami would join Ohio State, Penn State and LSU as a top-four seed in the College Football Playoff based on The Associated Press Top 25 poll released Sunday while Georgia, Oregon, Florida State and Texas would host first-round games.
Ohio State, Penn State and LSU remain the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 seeds. Miami moved into the No. 4 seed after moving up a spot in the AP poll. The top four receive first-round byes.
The Big Ten and Southeastern Conference each would have four teams in the 12-team field, the Atlantic Coast Conference two and the Big 12 and American one each. South Florida would be in as the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion based on having the most points of any unranked G5 team.
Based on the AP Top 25, the CFP would open like this:
— No. 9 seed Illinois at No. 8 Texas. Winner vs. No. 1 Ohio State.
— No. 12 seed South Florida at No. 5 seed Georgia. Winner vs. No. 4 Miami.
— No. 10 seed Texas A&M at No. 7 seed Florida State. Winner vs. No. 2 Penn State.
— No. 11 seed Iowa State at No. 6 Oregon. Winner vs. No. 3 LSU.
The first three teams outside the bracket: Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama.
The Sooners are ranked No. 11 by the AP but would get bumped by automatically qualifying conference champions, in this case Iowa State of the Big 12 and South Florida of the American.
The five highest-ranked conference champions automatically qualify for the CFP, but no longer do the four highest-ranked champions receive a first-round bye. The 12-team bracket is now seeded directly based on the CFP’s final rankings in early December.
The top four seeds will be assigned to quarterfinals in ranking order and in consideration of current bowl relationships. This year, quarterfinal winners advance to the semifinals at the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl. The No. 1 seed would receive preferential placement based on geography.
Teams ranked Nos. 5-12 by the CFP will play in the first round, with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or at other sites designated by the higher-seeded school. First-round games are Dec. 19 and 20, quarterfinals Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, semifinals Jan. 8 and 9 and the championship game is Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The AP will publish brackets based on the weekly Top 25 until the CFP selection committee unveils its initial rankings Nov. 4.
FLORIDA QB DJ LAGWAY WANTS TO GET THE ‘TASTE OUT OF MY MOUTH’ AFTER PLAYING ‘HORRIBLE FOOTBALL’
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway has gone from appearing rusty to looking lost. It’s not what anyone envisioned even though he missed nearly nine months dealing with various injuries.
He is dancing in the pocket, leading to off-balance throws that end up sailing over receivers or spinning into the ground. He is failing to get through his progressions, allowing defenders to lock onto his first read. He is lacking situational awareness — when to audible, when to run and when to slide — and showing little feel for the game.
He is still coach Billy Napier’s guy, and that is unlikely to change.
Napier is sticking with his turnover-prone starter despite a five-interception performance in a 20-10 loss at No. 3 LSU on Saturday night.
“DJ’s our quarterback,” said Napier, now 20-21 in four seasons at Florida. “He’s one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He made some good decisions, but he also made some bad decisions.”
Lots of them. The sophomore threw an interception in every quarter in Death Valley, including back-to-back picks on Florida’s final two drives while trailing by 10. The fourth one came with the Gators in field-goal range and prompted a lengthy sideline discussion with Napier.
“I’m just excited to get back to work,” said Lagway, who was making his first road start in Southeastern Conference play. “I got to get this taste out of my mouth. I played horrible football, and I got to do better.”
Lagway couldn’t recall ever turning over the ball five times in a game before Saturday. Not in high school. Not in peewee football. Not in his backyard.
“I’ve never had a performance like that in my life, so it’s kind of hard to process it,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s all about how you bounce back and how you respond. And I’m planning on doing so.”
The Gators, who have now lost consecutive games in each of Napier’s four seasons, play at rival and fourth-ranked Miami (3-0) on Saturday night. Florida is winless in eight road games against ranked teams during Napier’s tenure.
Florida (1-2) faces seven more ranked opponents this season, including three in a row against the Hurricanes, Texas and Texas A&M over the next month. No one should be surprised to see Lagway start all of them, even though promising freshman Tramell Jones Jr. waits on the bench.
Napier has shown unwavering loyalty to his players and coaches. He kept defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong, special teams coordinator Chris Couch and strength and conditioning coach Marc Hocke despite essentially demoting them. And he continues to rotate backups into games even though there’s an obvious drop-off.
It is hard to argue with his Lagway decision. After all, Lagway went 6-1 as a starter as a freshman and showed glimpses of greatness. But he has experienced setback after setback since.
He missed the majority of two games last season because of a left hamstring injury. He was slowed to start 2025 following surgery to repair a core-muscle injury. He missed all of spring practice because of a sore throwing shoulder that team doctors believe stems from a lingering high school injury. And then he strained his left calf while running with teammates days before training camp began in late July.
He has fully practiced just four weeks since January, although his popularity continued to soar. The 20-year-old Lagway has name, image and likeness deals with Gatorade, Jordan Brand, Mercedes-Benz, Lamborghini Orlando, T-Mobile, Beats by Dre, Chipotle and others.
His value as a brand ambassador seemingly took a hit in Baton Rouge. Lagway completed 33 of 49 passes — both career highs — for 287 yards and a touchdown against the Tigers. He was sacked three times and finished with 19 yards rushing on nine carries.
Those modest numbers probably would have been enough to win, but his turnovers were the difference. His second pick set up a field goal and his third was returned 58 yards for a score.
“It’s not just on one person,” linebacker Myles Graham said. “It’s on all of us, and we’ve got to all-around play better. The game slipped out of our hands two weeks in a row, so that’s a problem that we’re going to fix.”
TEXAS QB MANNING SAYS ‘I’VE GOT TO PLAY BETTER’ AFTER ANOTHER RAGGED OUTING FOR THE LONGHORNS
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Arch Manning admits he has to play better than he has so far.
The Texas quarterback is playing far below what was expected when he started the season as an early Heisman Trophy favorite and leader of what was then the No. 1 team in the country.
Manning struggled through a season-opening road loss at Ohio State that started a wave of national criticism and questions of whether he was overrated and was anointed too soon.
Saturday’s poor outing in a 27-10 win over UTEP will only bring more.
Manning was 11 of 25 passing for 114 yards and a touchdown against the Miners in a game Texas (2-1) was heavily favored. He had a string of misfires with 10 consecutive incompletions in the second quarter, tossed an end zone interception and never looked comfortable as he side-armed some throws and missed open receivers on others.
Texas’ wasn’t in danger of losing the game, but Manning’s recurring struggles in the offense are enough to concern Texas fans about the upcoming SEC schedule and whether the Longhorns really are title contenders.
Through the first three games, Manning is completing just 55% of passes.
“I’ve got to play better,” Manning said. “A lot of quarterbacks, a lot of players, want to be great. I know I’m better than this.”
Greatness was expected from his first days on campus, and certainly from the first minute on the field this season. After all, he’s the latest big, strong-armed quarterback from America’s most famous football family.
He was one of the top recruits in the country coming out of high school. He waited the last two seasons behind Quinn Ewers, but flashed enough moments of brilliance in two starts when Ewers was hurt to further intensify already intense expectations.
Off the field, he has raked in millions in endorsements. Some of his product television ads have aired during Texas games this season.
Certainly more was expected of a quarterback in his third season in coach Steve Sarkisian’s offense. And yet Manning often looks rushed or confused or just simply misses open receivers.
“All my life I’ve been an accurate passer,” Manning said. “I’ve just got to get back to it.”
Sarkisian believes he can bring Manning to the level of play that was expected. Sarkisian at various times has pleaded for patience from fans and pundits.
“I feel like we’ve done enough with him to have a pretty good understanding of who he is as a player and what he’s capable of. I know there’s a lot of football in him that’s high-level football,” Sarkisian said.
“Our job as coaches is to work him towards that,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve righted the ship before, we’ll get there.”
Manning’s teammates say they’re still confident in him as their leader.
“He’s still a great quarterback,” offensive lineman Trevor Goosby said. “I tell him that every day.”
BRIAN KELLY COMBATS SCRUTINY OF NO. 3 LSU’S OFFENSE WITH A RANT AFTER A WIN OVER FLORIDA
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — LSU coach Brian Kelly went on the offensive.
The No. 3 Tigers had just beaten Florida, 20-10 on Saturday night. But during Kelly’s postgame meeting with reporters, a question quickly came up about an LSU offense that produced one touchdown, had seven drives end with punts and one with an interception.
“Stop,” Kelly said. “Really? Is that the first question? We won the game 20-10. Try another question.
“You are looking at this from the wrong perspective,” Kelly continued. “LSU won the football game. Won the game. I don’t know what you want from me. What do you want? You want us to win 70-0 against Florida to keep you happy?
Kelly tends to have a dry, ironic sense of humor, making it difficult to discern if he was genuinely angry about the question or merely making fun of it in a dramatic, incredulous way.
“Those are ridiculous questions. And I am getting tired of it,” Kelly said. “That football team just worked their tail off to get an SEC win and you want to know what’s wrong. You know what? You’re spoiled.
“I see it so differently than you guys. You want to immediately attack it,” Kelly said. “They found a way to win. If you guys don’t like that, I really don’t care. Because I am so happy for those guys. … They are in (the locker room) singing because they worked their tails off tonight. And that’s the point. I’m not trying to embarrass you, but it was a stupid question.”
Soon after, another reporter brought up defensive back Dashawn Spears, who had his first two career interceptions and returned one 58 yards for a touchdown in the second half.
“That’s a great question,” Kelly exclaimed, raising his outstretched arms. “You’re my favorite reporter now.”
In the hallway afterward, Kelly was smiling as he explained that it was more the timing of the question that set him off than the substance of it.
Had it been the 10th question, it “would have been fine,” Kelly said.
Indeed, his offense has not met his expectations, particularly during its past two games, which included a 23-7 victory over Louisiana Tech in which LSU’s offense reached the end zone just twice.
Senior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier came into the season with plenty of preseason Heisman Trophy hype, having thrown for 4,052 yards last season. Kelly raved during August camp about how deep, talented and fast his receiving corps was.
So Kelly, who has repeatedly said he wants Nussmeier to understand when “zero is a good play,” clearly was disgusted with his interception on a throw across the middle after LSU had driven into field goal range.
As Nussmeier came off the field, Kelly was scolding him and followed his QB to the bench.
“Obviously, the interception can’t happen,” Kelly said. “I’m not going to beat him up here. He knows. We’ve got to take care of the football.”
Kelly also mentioned that the offensive line remains a work in progress after losing four 2024 starters to the NFL draft.
“These guys are working hard to get better. I’m with them every single day,” Kelly said. “They’re going to have to get better, there’s no doubt. But they’re committed.”
