Texas’ stay at No. 1 is over.
Oklahoma’s Tate Sandell drilled a 47-yard field goal at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, and that kick sent the Longhorns into a 27-24 loss and out of the top spot in the AP Poll. Texas fell all the way to No. 7 in Sunday’s updated rankings.
The slide ends a four-week run at No. 1 for Texas, a stretch that began after the Longhorns moved up from No. 4 by knocking off then-top-ranked Ohio State in Week 2.
Texas was not the only highly ranked team to take a hit on Saturday. No.
6 Alabama lost at home to Georgia, and the Bulldogs rose to the top of the poll. No.
10 LSU was also upset on the road, falling to Kentucky, which continues to get attention under first-year coach Will Stein.
A few other ranked teams also stumbled. No.
13 Oregon lost at home to No. 21 UCLA, No.
16 Florida was blown out at home by South Carolina, and No. 25 Pitt dropped a home game to North Carolina.
The new AP Poll now lists Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami, Ohio State and Indiana ahead of Texas, with Alabama just behind the Longhorns at No. 6.
Texas also took a drop in the Coaches’ Poll, where it landed at No. 6.
Georgia, Notre Dame, Miami, Indiana and Ohio State occupy the top five spots there, followed by Texas and Alabama.
The loss also changed the look of Texas’ 2026 schedule tracker after Week 6 results. Ohio State beat Maryland 45-16 at home.
UTSA handled South Florida 31-24 at home. Tennessee won at Arkansas 24-17.
Oklahoma beat Texas 27-24 at the Cotton Bowl. Florida fell to South Carolina 38-19 at home.
Ole Miss won at Vanderbilt 52-17. Mississippi State had a bye.
Missouri beat Texas A&M 27-6. Arkansas lost to Tennessee 27-17 at home.
In Other News...
Texas Suddenly Has A Coaching Question Fans Cant Ignore
Texas left the Red River Rivalry with more than a frustrating 27-24 loss to unranked Oklahoma. The Longhorns were undone by a messy special teams performance, highlighted by a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown and a missed late field goal, while the offense also had trouble sustaining drives and converting on third down.
Steve Sarkisian was asked afterward whether the special teams operation needs to be re-evaluated, a question that can linger when a game turns on hidden-yardage mistakes. For a Texas team with bigger goals, the concern now is not just the loss itself, but whether one phase of the game has become too costly to keep overlooking. [Read more 🡒]
Arch Manning Is Now At Center Of Texas' Biggest Debate
Texas left the Red River Rivalry with the kind of loss that lingers, a late field goal handing Oklahoma the win and putting Arch Manning right in the middle of the conversation. Manning was sharp enough in the first half and showed comfort on throws inside the numbers, but the finish turned on a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions that helped swing the game and reopened questions about how the Longhorns are putting him in position to succeed.
For Texas, the larger issue is no longer just one bad stretch in one rivalry game. Mannings decision-making is under the microscope, but so is the play-calling around him, with the debate centering on whether the offense is asking too much at the wrong moments or not enough to keep him on the right track. As the Longhorns try to move past a painful loss, those questions are only going to get louder. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Needs Arch Manning To Answer One Big Question Fast
Both Florida and Texas took a hit in Week 6, and the AP Poll reflected it after losses that only sharpened the scrutiny on two teams still trying to prove they belong in the College Football Playoff conversation. For Texas, the focus keeps circling back to Arch Manning, whose season has already included flashes of the player the Longhorns believe he can become, along with uneven stretches that have made every snap feel more revealing than the last.
The recent loss to Oklahoma only raised the stakes, with Manning throwing two interceptions in a game that underscored how quickly the margin for error can disappear. Now the Longhorns head into a matchup with Florida facing a simple but urgent question: can Manning steady the offense fast enough to restore momentum, or will Texas keep leaving the door open in a race where every setback matters? [Read more 🡒]