Texas has ascended to the No. 1 position in the Associated Press college football poll following a dramatic Week 2 victory over then-top-ranked Ohio State. The Longhorns, who were ranked fourth last week, overcame a 20-point deficit to defeat the Buckeyes 24-23.
Texas trailed Ohio State 23-3 entering the final quarter before scoring three unanswered touchdowns to secure the win. This marks a significant shift in the national rankings after a week that saw multiple top-five teams falter.
Following Texas, No. 2 Georgia and No. 3 Notre Dame maintained their positions after dominant wins against Western Kentucky and Rice, respectively. The top five is rounded out by Indiana at No. 4 and Miami at No. 5.
Ohio State, suffering a surprising defeat, dropped five spots to No. 6 in the new poll. The rest of the top 10 includes No. 7 LSU, No. 8 Mississippi, No. 9 Texas A&M, and No. 10 Alabama.
BYU saw a considerable rise in the rankings, moving up after a close contest against Arizona. No. 12 USC also climbed following a high-scoring victory over Louisiana-Lafayette. Penn State and Tennessee made advancements to secure spots within the top 15.
Oregon, a preseason favorite for the national championship, experienced the most significant drop, falling 15 spots to No. 21 after a 39-31 loss to unranked Oklahoma State. The Ducks' performance against Boise State was also noted as being closer than anticipated.
Oklahoma tumbled 13 spots from No. 11 to No. 24 after their loss to Michigan. Michigan itself re-entered the top 25 at No. 19 after a strong performance against Oklahoma, having fallen out of the rankings in Week 2.
Looking ahead to Week 3, several ranked matchups are scheduled. No. 22 Houston will face No. 13 Texas Tech. No. 16 SMU and No. 23 Louisville are set to compete in a game with potential ACC title implications. The week's marquee game will feature No. 7 LSU against No. 8 Ole Miss, marking Lane Kiffin's return to Mississippi.
