Texas didn’t just beat Ohio State. The Longhorns knocked the Buckeyes off the top of the college football world and walked out of Week 2 with the No. 1 spot in both major polls.
Steve Sarkisian’s team moved from fourth to first in the Associated Press and US LBM Coaches rankings after the 24-23 win on Saturday in Austin. Ohio State, which had controlled much of the game before Texas stormed back late, dropped five places to No. 5.
The Buckeyes’ slide wasn’t the only big shakeup near the top. Oregon tumbled from No. 6 to No. 21 after its loss at Oklahoma State, a Cowboys team that has 91 new faces under head coach Eric Morris.
Texas’ comeback was the kind of finish that gets remembered. The Longhorns erased a 20-point deficit, the biggest fourth-quarter rally ever against a No. 1 team in the AP top-25 era. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day called it "having them against the ropes and didn't finish."
The Longhorns also benefited from help elsewhere in the rankings. In Ann Arbor, unranked Michigan beat No.
11 Oklahoma in an inverse rivalry matchup to the one in Austin. That result sent Texas’ Red River rivals down to No. 24, while Michigan climbed back into the poll at No. 19 after rebounding from its near-upset to Western Michigan.
For Arch Manning, the night was more than a marquee win. It was a response to last year’s season-opening loss in Columbus, a game he said had given him nightmares ever since. Manning worked through the chaos around him - including a first-play fumble and a handful of dropped passes, one of which was tipped into an interception - and still finished with 195 passing yards and 24 rushing yards.
His touchdown throw to Ryan Wingo started the comeback. From there, Texas kept rolling with two steady offensive drives, both ending in Hollywood Smothers rushing touchdowns.
Sarkisian said the performance should teach his team plenty about how it handles adversity and stays resilient. That lesson will matter, because the road ahead is loaded with difficult trips.
After the annual meeting in Dallas with Oklahoma, Texas’ next two toughest SEC games come away from home: at No. 7 LSU on Nov. 14 and at No.
9 Texas A&M two weeks later in the regular season. The Longhorns also travel to Missouri, where the Tigers are currently No. 20, meaning three of Texas’ final four games will be on the road against teams ranked inside the top 20.
Before that stretch, Texas still has No. 15 Tennessee on the road and No. 8 Ole Miss on the schedule.
For now, though, the Longhorns get to enjoy the view from the top. Their next game is at home against UTSA at 7 p.m. on Sep. 19 in Austin.
In Other News...
Texas Quieted One Big Sarkisian Concern Against Ohio State
For much of Steve Sarkisians tenure, Texas has lived with a familiar annoyance in the red zone, where the offense has sometimes moved the ball efficiently only to come away needing too many field goals. That backdrop made the latest showing against Oklahoma State worth watching closely, especially for a Longhorns attack that wants to turn yardage into finishing power when the field gets tight.
The encouraging part was not just the spacing or the play design, but the way Texas handled each of its scoring chances once it got inside the 20. The Longhorns kept finding answers in close, and the sequence suggested an offense still ironing out bigger questions but looking much more settled when it mattered most near the goal line. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Just Made The AP Poll Debate Very Real
Week 2 reshaped the national picture in a hurry, and Texas is right at the center of it. The Longhorns opened the season with one of the most important wins in the country, rallying past Ohio State in a game that immediately altered how the AP Top 25 conversation looks heading into the next poll. Around them, the results from Alabama, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, LSU and the Buckeyes all feed into a rankings shuffle that feels far more dramatic than it did a week ago.
For Texas, the debate is no longer just about being safely inside the top tier. The win over Ohio State gives the Longhorns a case to be viewed as one of the standard-bearers again, and the polling math now reflects that reality. Whether the voters are ready to put them back at the very top will be one of the most interesting questions when the new rankings come out, because the rsum argument is suddenly as strong as the brand name. [Read more 🡒]
Sarkisian Added One Awkward Twist To Texas Emotional Night
Texas victory over No. 1 Ohio State already had enough drama baked into it without the broadcast hiccup that followed Steve Sarkisian around on a memorable night. Technical difficulties kept the Longhorns coach from joining Laura Rutledge for a scheduled halftime interview on ESPN, leaving one of the games biggest voices out of the conversation while the biggest upset of the opening weekend was still unfolding.
The oddness didnt end there, either, as Sarkisians postgame exchange with Holly Rowe turned awkward before he walked off, adding an unusual coda to an emotional scene in Columbus. A Texas spokesperson later said ESPN technical issues were behind the halftime problem and also played a role after the game, which at least explains why a celebration night briefly veered into broadcast confusion. [Read more 🡒]