Texas is number 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 College Football Poll for the first time in 16 years, replacing Georgia on Sunday after the Bulldogs struggled to remain undefeated.
The Longhorns moved up one spot from No. 2, receiving 35 first-place finishes and 1,540 points. The Bulldogs, who have been No. 1 since the preseason poll, received 23 first-place finishes and 1,518 points.
Ohio State received five first-place votes and remained at No. 3 during a week of no rankings. No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Mississippi State held on to their spots and Tennessee moved up one spot to No. 6, trading spots with its Southeastern Conference rival Missouri.
The last time the Longhorns were No. 1 was midway through the 2008 season, when they topped the polls for three weeks before losing a memorable game at Texas Tech in early November. The Longhorns will likely hold on to the top spot for at least another week, as they next have a home game against Louisiana-Monroe, possibly with Arch Manning as the starting quarterback.
Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, played against UTSA on Saturday night when Quinn Ewers was out with an abdominal injury that coach Steve Sarkisian said was not serious.
“There’s nothing better than being in the game. Playing in front of 105,000 people is not the easiest thing. I’m really proud of Arch,” Sarkisian said.
A week after the SEC became the first conference to hold six of the top seven spots, the league repeated the feat.
There were some changes at the bottom of the top 10: Oregon (No. 8) and Miami (No. 9) each moved up one spot, while Penn State fell back to No. 10.
Survey points
It’s not uncommon for polls to win and then fall out of first place. This is the 94th time since polling began in 1936 and the first time since Georgia and Alabama swapped first place back and forth for a few weeks in 2022.
The Bulldogs needed a comeback in the second half to narrowly lost 13-12 in Kentucky — the same Kentucky team that was crushed at home by South Carolina a week earlier. That was the fewest points scored by a No. 1 team in a win since Alabama beat LSU 10-0 in 2016.
“I don’t know much about this team, but I found out more tonight than I ever knew before,” coach Kirby Smart told reporters after the game.
Georgia has dominated the top spot in the AP poll since 2021 with 39 appearances.
In its first season as a member of the SEC, Texas remains ranked No. 1 in the conference, where it has been in 50 of the last 52 polls since the start of the 2021 season. Only Michigan of the Big Ten has broken the SEC’s streak of No. 1 rankings in the final two polls of last season, which also includes 10 appearances by Alabama.
Looking ahead, both the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs have next week off to prepare for a likely top-5 matchup on Sept. 28 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where voters should once again consider who is No. 1.
In and out
Boston College and fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Georgia Tech are now in the short-lived club after a long drought. The Eagles lost in Missouri and fell out of the rankings after being drafted last week for the first time since 2018.
Arizona is also eliminated for the first time this season after losing to Kansas State.
Illinois made it to 24th place for the first time this season. Texas A&M jumped back into the rankings at 25th place.
Conference call
The 18-team Big Ten set a conference record with seven seeded teams (previously achieved 11 times).
SEC – 9 (Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 15, 16, 25).
Big Ten – 7 (Nos. 3, 9, 10, 11, 18, 22, 24).
Big 12 – 4 (Nos. 12, 13, 14, 20).
ACC — 3 (No. 8, 19, 21).
MAC — 1 (No. 23).
Independent – 1 (No. 17).
Ranking vs. Ranking
No. 24 Illinois vs. No. 22 Nebraska, Friday. The last time the Cornhuskers hosted a game where both teams were ranked was in 2013, when No. 16 UCLA beat No. 23 Nebraska, 41-21.
No. 6 Tennessee at No. 15 Oklahoma Saturday. The Volunteers welcome the Sooners to the SEC.
No. 11 USC vs. No. 18 Michigan, Saturday. The Trojans’ first Big Ten game is exactly what Fox officials hoped it would be.
No. 12 Utah vs. No. 14 Oklahoma State, Saturday. The first big game between Big 12 teams that actually counts toward the conference standings.
___
Follow Ralph D. Russo on https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP
___
Get poll alerts and AP Top 25 updates throughout the season. Sign up Here. AP College Football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll And https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
