Longhorns Surge to No. 1 in AP Poll as Buckeyes, Ducks, and Sooners Slide

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The college football landscape has a new team at the summit. Following a thriller in Austin that shook the national championship race, the Texas Longhorns vaulted to No. 1 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Longhorns’ ascension comes at the direct expense of the Ohio State Buckeyes, while brutal Week 2 stumbles sent perennial heavyweights Oregon and Oklahoma tumbling down the rankings.

Statement Win Propels Longhorns to No. 1

Texas’ dramatic 24–23 triumph over Ohio State delivered the ultimate resume-builder for head coach Steve Sarkisian. Quarterback Arch Manning began his Heisman frontrunner status by engineering a 78-yard fourth-quarter game-winning drive, allowing the Longhorns to garner 56 of the 68 total first-place votes. Ohio State fell to No. 6, representing a soft landing after losing a true toss-up road game against an elite opponent.

High-Profile Crashes: Ducks and Sooners Freefall

Oregon Plummets to No. 21: Dan Lanning’s Ducks suffered the weekend’s most damaging loss, coughing up three costly second-half turnovers in a 39–31 defeat at Oklahoma State. The fall from No. 6 to No. 21 completely resets Oregon’s margin for error in the Big Ten title race.
Oklahoma Slides to No. 24: The Sooners plummeted 13 spots following a lifeless 17–10 offensive display against Michigan. With a brutal SEC slate looming, Brent Venables’ unit must fix its passing game quickly to avoid dropping out of the Top 25 altogether.

Looking Ahead: Calming the Waters in Week 3

After the volatility of Week 2, the top-ranked Longhorns shift focus to a home tune-up against UTEP before SEC play ramps up. Meanwhile, Oregon and Oklahoma face immediate bounce-back spots against non-conference foes, desperately needing high-scoring performances to restore voter confidence before October hits.

AP Top 25

Rank	Team (Record)	First-Place Votes	Previous Rank
1	Texas (2–0)	56	4
2	Georgia (2–0)	3	2
3	Notre Dame (2–0)	1	3
4	Indiana (2–0)	3	5
5	Miami (FL) (2–0)	4	7
6	Ohio State (1–1)	—	1
7	LSU (2–0)	1	8
8	Ole Miss (2–0)	—	9
9	Texas A&M (2–0)	—	10
10	Alabama (2–0)	—	12
11	BYU (2–0)	—	15
12	USC (3–0)	—	14
13	Texas Tech (2–0)	—	13
14	Penn State (2–0)	—	16
15	Tennessee (2–0)	—	18
16	SMU (2–0)	—	17
17	Utah (2–0)	—	20
18	Iowa (2–0)	—	21
19	Michigan (2–0)	—	NR
20	Missouri (2–0)	—	23
21	Oregon (1–1)	—	6
22	Houston (2–0)	—	22
23	Louisville (0–1)	—	24
24	Oklahoma (1–1)	—	11
25	Virginia (2–0)	—	25