TEXAS RISES TO NO. 1 IN AP POLL, OHIO STATE AND OREGON TUMBLE AND MICHIGAN RETURNS TO THE TOP 25
The unprecedented comeback by Texas to knock off Ohio State moved the Longhorns to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll Sunday and pushed the Buckeyes out of the top five for the first time in two seasons.
Oregon, meanwhile, plummeted 15 spots to No. 21, its lowest ranking in four years, after its 39-31 road loss to an Oklahoma State team that had lost 21 straight against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents.
Michigan, which fell out of the Top 25 after needing an extra second and second-chance Hail Mary try to beat Western Michigan a week ago, returned to the poll at No. 19 following its 17-10 win over No. 11 Oklahoma. The Sooners dropped 13 spots to No. 24.
Texas’ comeback from 20 points down in the fourth quarter to win 24-23 was the largest fourth-quarter rally ever for a win against an AP No. 1 team, according to Sportradar, and avenged a season-opening loss to the Buckeyes a year ago that knocked the Longhorns out of the No. 1 spot.
Texas received 56 first-place votes from the voting panel of writers and broadcasters and holds down the No. 1 spot in the regular season for the first time since Oct. 13, 2024.
No. 2 Georgia and No. 3 Notre Dame held their places, Indiana moved up one spot to No. 4 and Miami was bumped up two to No. 5. Ohio State, LSU, Mississippi, Texas A&M and Alabama rounded out the top 10.
Five teams besides Texas received at least one first-place vote. Miami got four, Georgia and Indiana three apiece and Notre Dame and LSU one each.
Ohio State had been No. 1 in 17 of the previous 20 polls since winning the 2024 national championship. The Buckeyes held the top spot in every regular-season poll last year, slipping to No. 3 after losing to Indiana in the Big Ten championship game and ending at No. 5.
They were back to No. 1 in the preseason poll and stayed there until the loss at Texas dropped them to lowest ranking since they were No. 6 entering the 2024 College Football Playoff. Ohio State is 1-3 in its last four games, though each loss came to a top 10 team.
Oregon’s fall is the biggest surprise of the season to date. The Ducks came in with a cast of returning stars and a transfer class that raised the program’s hopes of winning its first national championship. But they struggled to beat Boise State at home in the opener and then allowed 554 yards and generated just 281 in their first loss to an unranked opponent since 2021.
The Southeastern Conference has nine ranked teams, including the top two and six of the top 10, and the Big Ten has seven. The Big 12 and Atlantic Coast conferences have four each.
In and out
Michigan rebounded from its controversial win over Western Michigan to beat Oklahoma as a 4.5-point home underdog and returned at No. 19.
A second straight uninspired performance sent Washington out of the rankings. A week after the Huskies beat Washington State 24-10, they won 16-14 over Utah State as a 26.5-point home favorite. Washington became the first 2-0 team to win and drop out of the rankings since 2014.
Poll points
— Texas hasn’t been ranked No. 1 so early in a regular season since 1965.
— Ohio State’s drop from No. 1 to No. 6 was the biggest since Texas fell to No. 7 after losing to the Buckeyes last year.
— Oklahoma’s drop was its biggest in a non-pandemic year since it went from No. 5 to out of the rankings (then the Top 20) after losing its 1968 opener 45-21 to Notre Dame.
— The SEC’s six top-10 teams ties the record it set and matched in two straight September polls in 2024. The SEC also had six top-10 teams in the 2020 pandemic season but the Big Ten was not playing at the time of those polls.
Conference call
SEC (9 ranked teams): No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Georgia, No. 7 LSU, No. 8 Mississippi, No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 10 Alabama, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 20 Missouri, No. 24 Oklahoma.
Big Ten (7): No. 4 Indiana, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 12 USC, No. 14 Penn State, No. 18 Iowa, No. 19 Michigan, No. 21 Oregon.
ACC (4): No. 5 Miami, No. 16 SMU, No. 23 Louisville, No. 25 Virginia.
Big 12 (4): No. 11 BYU, No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 17 Utah, No. 22 Houston.
Independent (1): No. 3 Notre Dame.
Ranked vs. ranked
No. 7 LSU at No. 8 Mississippi: It’s the first top-10 matchup of these teams since 1962 and, in a delicious scheduling quirk, LSU is playing in Oxford a second straight year. No doubt, Rebels fans will emerge from tailgating in The Grove juiced up and ready to give Lane Kiffin a not-so-warm welcome in his return after his somewhat awkward departure last December.
No. 22 Houston at No. 13 Texas Tech: The teams have a common opponent, Oregon State. Houston beat the Beavers at home and Tech came from behind to win in Corvallis. Red Raiders have won 12 of the last 13 meetings and haven’t lost to the Cougars at home since 1990.
No. 16 SMU at No. 23 Louisville: Both are coming off easy wins over FCS opponents. Kevin Jennings had a hand in four touchdowns in a 32-point win over an injury-plagued Cardinals team last year.
About The Author
