Week 8 didn’t just shake up the AP Top 25 - it rattled it from top to bottom. Seven ranked teams lost, and that kind of mess always sends pollsters back to the drawing board with a pile of tough calls.
Texas gave them one of the biggest ones to sort through. The Longhorns were staring at a third straight loss and another collapse after Ole Miss ripped off 21 unanswered points to wipe out an early 24-3 Texas lead.
Arch Manning had been a problem for the Rebels early, but then came a rough stretch that included a fumble that helped spark the comeback. Still, Texas found enough answers to hang on.
Manning put together a defining 80-yard touchdown drive, finished it with a rushing score, and a late field goal gave the Longhorns some needed breathing room in the win over Ole Miss.
For all the criticism Steve Sarkisian gets, his teams keep showing up in big games. Since last season, Texas is 5-2 in the regular season against AP top-ten opponents, the most wins of any FBS team in that span.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, had chances and didn’t cash them in. Trinidad Chambliss never found a rhythm, the run game never got going, and early on the defense couldn’t contain Arch Manning, which helped Texas build that three-touchdown cushion.
Even after the Rebels climbed back and tied the game in the second half, they couldn’t turn a late takeaway into points and couldn’t really slow the run when it mattered most. The fight was there.
The finishing touch wasn’t. At 3-2 in SEC play, their playoff picture is suddenly a lot shakier.
The same kind of slide is coming for BYU after the Cougars walked into a trap and lost at UCF. Coming off an emotional win over Notre Dame, they had a chance to strengthen their grip near the top of the rankings. Instead, the cross-country trip produced a marquee upset and left AP voters with another mess to clean up.
That leaves a tricky question: what do you do with BYU after Notre Dame was only dropped to No. 4 last week? Miami should stay at No. 1, while idle Ohio State is set to rise to No.
- Notre Dame, also idle, could help cushion BYU’s fall, with the Cougars sliding just one spot to No. 3 despite the loss to unranked UCF.
The Big 12 wasn’t done causing headaches there, either. Texas Tech, which had picked up one first-place vote in last week’s poll, lost on the road at Cincinnati and is headed out of the top ten.
The Red Raiders were beaten up badly, especially on the ground, by a Bearcats team that punched through the nation’s fifth-ranked run defense. Texas Tech hadn’t allowed a rushing touchdown all season before giving up a 58-yarder that sealed the upset and added even more chaos to the conference race.
South Carolina also got into the act, delivering another “Cocktober” twist by edging Tennessee on a last-second field goal. The Vols actually rallied after falling behind by two touchdowns early, leaning on defense and the ground game to fight back on the road. But the Gamecocks’ pass rush finally broke through, forcing and recovering a George MacIntyre fumble that set up the winning kick.
Tennessee may not tumble too hard because the loss came by a razor-thin margin away from home, and that kind of result tends to be easier on SEC teams in pollsters’ eyes. Still, it’s another setback for a playoff hopeful already under pressure, and the Vols will need better showings against Kentucky and LSU to recover.
Meanwhile, LSU kept its own momentum going with a 38-17 win at Auburn, powered by a huge night from Sam Leavitt, who threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns. After taking next Saturday off, the Tigers head into a brutal stretch with Alabama, Texas and Tennessee on deck.
In Other News...
Texas Escaped Ole Miss But A Bigger Arch Manning Concern Remains
Texas kept finding trouble early and resilience late, turning another shaky outing into a 34-27 win over Ole Miss after once again coughing up a double-digit lead. For the third straight game, the Longhorns watched an advantage slip away, only to answer in the fourth quarter with a touchdown drive that steadied things just enough to leave Austin with a victory.
Arch Manning did enough to keep Texas in front, throwing for 171 yards and scoring twice on the ground, including the go-ahead run. Even with the win, the broader concern lingers for Texas: the offense still has to prove it can sustain control for four quarters, and Ole Miss nearly forced the issue at the end before an interception in the end zone preserved the result. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Coach Is Still Explaining The Choices Texas Made Hurt
Ole Miss coach Pete Golding spent the aftermath of the Texas game doing what coaches often have to do after a close loss: explaining the calls that looked bold in the moment and costly in hindsight. A late 58-yard field goal attempt was his choice because he believed the game was still within reach, even with the risk attached, and the kick was blocked before Texas answered with a field goal of its own to widen the gap.
Golding also revisited an earlier fourth-down decision late in the second quarter, saying he regretted passing up a short field goal there instead of chasing the conversion. For Texas, those two moments helped shape a win that never really let Ole Miss off the hook, while Golding is left weighing whether the aggressive approach helped his team or handed the Longhorns extra breathing room. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Kept Its CFP Hopes Alive But Exposed A Bigger Problem
Texas kept its College Football Playoff hopes alive with a 34-27 win over Ole Miss, but the game also laid bare how much cleaning up remains. The Longhorns had to fight through turnovers, penalties and injuries to key players Cam Coleman and Trevor Goosby, then lean on a defense that picked off Trinidad Chambliss three times to survive a volatile night.
Raleek Brown gave Texas the kind of ground production it needed with 157 rushing yards, and Arch Manning helped steady things by accounting for both a passing touchdown and a rushing score. Even with the win in hand, the bigger picture lingers for Texas: this was the sort of performance that can keep a postseason path open while also reminding everyone how fragile it still looks. [Read more 🡒]