Texas is No. 1 again

The Longhorns beat Ohio State 24-23 in Austin and took over the top spot in the AP Top 25 released Sunday. It is their first regular-season No. 1 since Oct. 13, 2024.

A comeback with no precedent

Texas trailed by 20 points entering the fourth quarter. Per Sportradar, it is the largest fourth-quarter rally ever to beat an AP No. 1 team.

“the largest fourth-quarter rally ever for a win against an AP No. 1 team”

Revenge a year in the making

Ohio State beat Texas in last season's opener and knocked the Longhorns out of the No. 1 spot. This win settled that account.

56 first-place votes

Texas pulled 56 first-place ballots from the panel of writers and broadcasters. Miami took four, Georgia and Indiana three each, Notre Dame and LSU one apiece.

Ohio State falls to sixth

The Buckeyes dropped out of the top five for the first time in two seasons. They had been No. 1 in 17 of the previous 20 polls since winning the 2024 title.

Losing only to the best

Ohio State is 1-3 over its last four games, but every loss came against a top 10 team. This is its lowest ranking since entering the 2024 playoff at No. 6.

Oregon plunges 15 spots

The Ducks fell to No. 21, their worst ranking in four years, after losing 39-31 at Oklahoma State. The Cowboys had lost 21 straight to FBS opponents.

The Ducks got outgained badly

Oregon gave up 554 yards and managed only 281. It is their first loss to an unranked team since 2021, after a preseason built on returning stars and a loaded transfer class.

“Oregon's fall is the biggest surprise of the season to date.”

Michigan climbs back in

A week after dropping out of the poll, Michigan beat No. 11 Oklahoma 17-10 as a 4.5-point home underdog and returned at No. 19.

Oklahoma's historic slide

The Sooners fell 13 spots to No. 24. Outside pandemic years, that is their steepest drop since a 45-21 loss to Notre Dame opened the 1968 season.

Washington wins and vanishes

The Huskies squeaked past Utah State 16-14 as 26.5-point home favorites and fell out of the rankings. They are the first 2-0 team to win and drop out since 2014.

The top five behind Texas

Georgia held at No. 2 and Notre Dame at No. 3. Indiana moved up one to No. 4 and Miami jumped two to No. 5.

The rest of the top 10

Ohio State sits sixth, followed by LSU, Mississippi, Texas A&M and Alabama. Nine of the top 10 are unbeaten.

The SEC owns the poll

Nine SEC teams are ranked, including the top two and six of the top 10. The Big Ten has seven ranked, the Big 12 and ACC four each, plus independent Notre Dame.

A record the SEC keeps matching

Six top-10 teams ties the mark the conference set and matched in back-to-back September polls in 2024. It also had six in 2020, when the Big Ten was not playing.

Kiffin returns to Oxford

No. 7 LSU visits No. 8 Mississippi in the first top-10 meeting between them since 1962. Lane Kiffin faces the fans he left in December.

“Rebels fans will emerge from tailgating in The Grove juiced up and ready to give Lane Kiffin a not-so-warm welcome”

Two more ranked matchups

No. 22 Houston travels to No. 13 Texas Tech, which has won 12 of the last 13 and not lost at home to the Cougars since 1990. No. 16 SMU visits No. 23 Louisville.

Texas is early in a way it hasn't been since 1965

The Longhorns have not held No. 1 this early in a regular season in 61 years. Ohio State's fall from first to sixth is the biggest since Texas slid to No. 7 last year.