College football has a new No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 poll, as Texas jumped past Georgia for the top spot on Sunday. The move comes after the Longhorns demolished UTSA 56-7 and the Bulldogs barely escaped Kentucky 13-12.
Texas made an early-season statement last week with its blowout win at Michigan, and now it’s No. 1 for the first time since 2008. The Longhorns picked up an easy win against the Roadrunners, a game in which quarterback Quinn Ewers was injured with a strained oblique and replaced by Arch Manning. Texas received 35 first-place votes to No. 2 Georgia’s 23 and No. 3 Ohio State’s five.
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Why Texas is the right No. 1 over Georgia: Behind the AP Top 25 ballot
The last time Texas appeared at No. 1, it lost a thriller at Texas Tech on Nov. 1, 2008. The Longhorns are the first team outside of Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, LSU and Michigan to appear at No. 1 in the AP poll since Ohio State in 2015.
Alabama and Ole Miss held steady to round out the top five, followed by Tennessee, Missouri, Miami, Oregon and Penn State. The SEC holds six of the top seven spots for the second consecutive week.
Others receiving votes: Memphis 77, Boise State 62, Syracuse 62, UNLV 54, Boston College 47, Washington State 30, Arizona 15, Iowa 15, Indiana 13, California 11, Liberty 10, Toledo 9, UCF 6, South Carolina 3, North Carolina 3, Arizona State 3, BYU 2, Pittsburgh 1
How Week 3 impacted the rankings
Though there were a few close calls, only two ranked teams lost, both to ranked opponents: No. 20 Arizona at No. 14 Kansas State on Friday and No. 24 Boston College at No. 6 Missouri on Saturday. Arizona and Boston College both tumbled from the poll and were replaced by No. 24 Illinois, which is quietly 3-0, and No. 25 Texas A&M, which easily won at Florida. Memphis just missed the cut, trailing Texas A&M by five voting points.
There was little movement in the poll, as nobody moved more than two spots up or down within the rankings, but Week 3 still created drama at the top with Texas claiming first place. And Texas’ move creates a new look for the College Football Playoff bracket based on the AP poll, as Georgia would now be hosting Northern Illinois in the first round:
What’s next?
Week 4 has four matchups of teams ranked in the AP Top 25, three of which are products of this year’s conference realignment. In the Big Ten, No. 11 USC visits No. 18 Michigan. In the SEC, No. 6 Tennessee visits No. 15 Oklahoma. And in the Big 12, No. 12 Utah visits No. 14 Oklahoma State. All of those games offer early chances to make statements in the races for both conference titles and College Football Playoff bids.
Friday night offers a surprise ranked matchup, as No. 22 Nebraska hosts No. 24 Illinois. It will be Nebraska’s first time playing in a matchup of two AP-ranked teams since a 62-3 loss to Ohio State on Nov. 5, 2016.
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(Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images)