Texas spent its bye week watching the national picture shift around it, but when the new US LBM Coaches Poll came out Sunday, the Longhorns were still exactly where they started: No. 1.
Texas held the top spot with 45 first-place votes and 1,806 total points, staying unbeaten at 4-0 after wins over Texas State, Ohio State, UTSA and Tennessee. The latest résumé item still stands out the most - a 20-17 road win at Tennessee that gave the Longhorns another big result before their open date.
Georgia stayed right behind at No. 2 after moving to 5-0 and picking up 20 first-place votes. Notre Dame remained third, with Miami and Indiana rounding out the top five.
Ohio State and Alabama stayed in place at No. 6 and No. 7, while BYU, Texas Tech and LSU each climbed one spot to finish out the Top 10.
The most dramatic movement came lower in the poll. Florida slid seven places to No. 15 after losing at Missouri, and Missouri jumped nine spots to No.
- Iowa dropped to No. 18 after its loss to Ohio State, and Mississippi State fell four spots to No.
The SEC still has a heavy presence near the top, with 10 teams in the Top 25, including Texas and Georgia at Nos. 1 and 2.
But the rankings are about to take a back seat.
Texas comes out of the bye on Saturday for the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl, where the Longhorns have taken the last two meetings by a combined 57-9. Texas beat Oklahoma 34-3 in 2024 and then followed that with a 23-6 win last season.
This time, the game carries even more weight with Texas entering Dallas as the No. 1 team in the country.
The extra week off also gave the Longhorns time to recover after an opening stretch that already included Ohio State and Tennessee.
Now comes the next test. Texas kept its No. 1 ranking through the bye. Holding onto it will mean beating Oklahoma again.
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Texas Enters Red River With Even More Pressure At The Top
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