The Longhorns, the preseason No. 1 team, are ranked No. 10 in advance of its visit to No. 5 Georgia this week. They had been in the top 10 for the first six polls before their loss at Florida knocked them out of the Top 25 for a week.
Four straight wins elevated them to No. 13 last week, and they jumped three spots ahead of BYU and Virginia and an idle Oklahoma, which they beat 23-6 on Oct. 11. Texas did not play over the weekend.
BYU, which was unbeaten before its 29-7 loss at Texas Tech, dropped four spots to No. 12 to end its two-week stay in the top 10.
Ohio State was No. 1 for the 11th week in a row with 55 first-place votes. Indiana remained No. 2 after its narrow escape at Penn State, but the Hoosiers’ six first-place votes were five fewer than last week.
No. 3 Texas A&M got four first-place votes, three more than a week ago, and was 31 points behind Indiana. Alabama and Georgia rounded out the top five. Ole Miss, Oregon, Texas Tech, Notre Dame and Texas rounded out the top 10.
In all, 19 spots in the Top 25 changed hands.
The ACC has five teams with one loss in conference play and two others with two losses. That’s reflected in the closely bunched group of ACC teams in the poll — No. 14 Georgia Tech, No. 16 Miami, No. 19 Louisville, No. 20 Virginia and No. 23 Pittsburgh. The last time the ACC had as many ranked teams was Nov. 3, 2024.
Pittsburgh, No. 24 in the initial CFP rankings, is in the AP poll for the first time since last November.
The race for the Group of Five’s automatic bid in the College Football Playoff got more interesting with Memphis‘ loss to Tulane on Friday. The CFP committee did not have a G5 team in its top 25 but said Memphis was first in line. That will almost certainly change when the committee’s next rankings come out Tuesday.
No. 24 James Madison of the Sun Belt Conference made its first AP poll appearance since 2023, when Curt Cignetti’s last Dukes team was in the final seven regular-season polls. The Dukes are 8-1, their only loss to Louisville, and are the highest-ranked G5 team.
No. 25 South Florida of the American Conference is right behind after the Bulls’ 32-point win over UTSA, and Tulane of the American received the most votes among the unranked.
The last time there were teams from two G5 conferences ranked at the same time was last year, when Boise State and UNLV of the Mountain West and Army and Memphis of the American were in the final two polls of the season.
Virginia and James Madison give the commonwealth two ranked teams for the first time since the final 2023 regular-season poll (Liberty, James Madison).
Missouri (19), Memphis (22) and Washington (24) dropped out this week.
CONFERENCE CALL
SEC (8): Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 13, 21.
ACC (5): Nos. 14, 16, 19, 20, 23.
Big Ten (5): Nos. 1, 2, 7, 17, 18.
Big 12 (4): Nos. 8, 12, 15, 22.
Independent (1): No. 9.
Sun Belt (1): No. 24.
American (1): No. 25.
RANKED VS. RANKED
No. 10 Texas (7-2, 4-1 SEC, No. 11 CFP) at No. 5 Georgia (8-1, 6-1, No. 5 CFP): The Bulldogs won the regular-season meeting and SEC Championship Game against the Longhorns last year. It is the third straight time that this is a top-10 matchup.
No. 9 Notre Dame (6-2, No. 10 CFP) at No. 23 Pittsburgh (7-2, No. 24 CFP): Huge playoff implications for both, as the Irish and Panthers are both ranked at time of their meeting for the first time since 1991.
No. 11 Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2, No. 12 CFP) at No. 4 Alabama (8-1, 6-0, No. 4 CFP): Last year’s embarrassing loss in Norman killed the Crimson Tide’s playoff hopes.