Texas is the new No. 1 in the 247Sports SEC poll after the Longhorns erased a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit and knocked off previously top-ranked Ohio State.
That comeback in Austin did the heavy lifting for Texas’ rise to the top, and the latest poll reflects it. The Longhorns moved into first place with nine first-place votes, while Georgia slipped to No. 2 after holding the top spot in the previous poll.
Texas was down several scores in the first half and still trailing by 20 with 14:20 left in the fourth quarter before flipping the game late. Arch Manning jump-started the rally with a touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo early in the period.
Hollywood Smothers added a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:14 remaining, and when Ohio State had a chance to push the game away, Connor Hawkins missed a 45-yard field goal after making his previous three attempts. Texas then finished the job with a Smothers touchdown on the winning drive.
Georgia stayed perfect and backed up its No. 2 ranking with a dominant 70-20 win over Western Kentucky. Gunner Stockton was the headliner there, throwing five touchdowns to match a school record.
LSU held steady at No. 3 in the poll after beating Louisiana Tech 45-14, and the Tigers head into a huge matchup at No. 8 Ole Miss unbeaten.
The win came with some sloppiness on offense, though, as LSU turned it over several times, including three interceptions from quarterback Sam Leavitt. Even so, the defense carried plenty of the load, allowing just 140 total net yards while piling up seven sacks and three turnovers.
After Texas, Georgia and LSU, the rest of the top half of the poll reads Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri and Oklahoma. Alabama, Tennessee and Missouri all moved up, while Oklahoma took the biggest hit in the poll, dropping three spots.
Florida fell one spot, Mississippi State climbed one, and South Carolina and Auburn are tied at 12th. Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Arkansas round out the rankings.
Here is the full week one 247Sports SEC poll: Texas (9)
Georgia (6) LSU
Ole Miss Texas A&M
Alabama Tennessee
Missouri Oklahoma
Florida Mississippi State
- South Carolina
- Auburn
Vanderbilt Kentucky
Arkansas
This is the fourth straight season 247Sports writers have put together an SEC poll, with beat writers from across the network ranking the league’s 16 teams each week. The poll tracks both playoff positioning and the race to the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, set for Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, with the title game scheduled for 4 p.m.
ET on ABC. Last season, Georgia beat Alabama to win the league crown.
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Arch Manning soon found himself dragged into the chatter after weighing in on an AI-generated video that falsely showed Sarkisian slapping Rowe. His reaction made clear he was not treating the situation with much gravity, even as the clip added another layer to an already messy postgame scene. For Texas, the football part of the night was the headline it wanted, but the strange side story around its coach and quarterback is the one still hanging in the air. [Read more 🡒]
Steve Sarkisian's Awkward Ohio State Moment Took A Strange Turn Online
Steve Sarkisians postgame exchange with Holly Rowe after the Ohio State game was already unusual enough to draw plenty of attention, with Texas fans and onlookers replaying the moment as soon as it hit social media. The Longhorns coach abruptly cut off the ESPN interview and sprinted away, turning a routine TV hit into one of the first viral oddities of the season for a program that tends to live under a microscope.
The story took an even stranger turn when Arch Manning said he had seen AI-generated videos making it look as if Sarkisian slapped Rowe, a fabrication that quickly circulated online after his comments. It was a reminder of how fast a bizarre real-life clip can get distorted once the internet grabs hold, and how little room there is for nuance once a strange moment from a marquee Texas game becomes meme material. [Read more 🡒]
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The most interesting wrinkle is under center, where Arkansas State is being led by Trey Owens, a transfer quarterback with Texas ties and a chance to settle in after a bumpy start to his career path. The Red Wolves also bring a strong secondary and a defense that changes structure, but their run defense has been a vulnerability through the first two games, which gives TCU a clear area to press. Before Big 12 play arrives, this one offers the Horned Frogs a final look at a team with enough moving parts to make the afternoon matter. [Read more 🡒]