Rece Davis isn’t ready to hand Texas the top spot in college football, even after the Longhorns pulled off one of the biggest comeback wins of the young season.
Texas stunned Ohio State 24-23 in Austin after digging out of a 20-point hole in the fourth quarter, and that was enough for the Longhorns to take over No. 1 in the AP poll. But Davis, who votes in that poll, made it clear Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show that he still has Notre Dame at the top.
"I still have Notre Dame ranked No. 1," Davis said. "I put Texas No. 2 because I wanted to honor the victory."
He doubled down on that stance while acknowledging what Texas accomplished.
"If you watch the entire game, and I realize Ohio State is a far greater opponent than anybody Notre Dame's faced so far, it was really hard to get to the place where I think about Texas, 'This is the best team in the country,'" Davis said. "They certainly have the best win and the best moment, but I think they have the potential to be right there."
Texas had to fight through a rough start to get there. Ohio State led 23-3 after three quarters, and Arch Manning managed just 60 passing yards and an interception in the first half.
Then the Longhorns flipped the game completely, closing with a 21-0 fourth quarter. Hollywood Smothers punched in the tying score on a 1-yard run with 25 seconds left, and Gianni Spetic’s extra point put Texas in front for good.
The rally made history, too. Texas became the first team in 22 seasons to erase a 20-point deficit against a No. 1 team in the AP poll.
The Longhorns collected 56 first-place votes and are No. 1 in a regular-season poll for the first time since Oct. 13, 2024.
Georgia sits at No. 2, with Notre Dame at No. 3.
Not everyone is resisting the move. Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt pushed Texas to No. 1 and dropped Notre Dame to No. 7, pointing to an Irish running game that ranks 117th nationally at 3.6 yards per carry.
"I'm giving them full credit for playing that game and winning it," Klatt said of Texas.
Davis still sees reasons to wait. Texas has a heavy stretch ahead with road games against Tennessee, Oklahoma, Missouri, LSU and Texas A&M, plus home dates with Florida, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
"They've got other great opportunities, like a trip to Tennessee coming up. I think Tennessee is really good, maybe even better than I anticipated," Davis said.
"But I don't have Texas on top right now just because, for the entire game, they didn't always look like No. 1."
Texas gets UTSA at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday before opening Southeastern Conference play at Tennessee on Sept. 26 at noon ET. The Volunteers are 2-0 and ranked No. 15 after a 45-24 win at Georgia Tech.
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LSUs defensive line is still sorting itself out, with a group that includes multiple transfers and freshmen, so the path for Tuihalamaka is hardly fixed. For now, the role looks more like depth and support than a full-time defensive assignment, but that can change quickly over the course of a season as the Tigers keep reshaping their front. [Read more 🡒]