Texas left Week 4 with another ranked win in the bag, but the Longhorns may still be headed for a slide when the new AP Top 25 comes out.
The No. 1 team in the country beat its second ranked opponent of the season, and this one checked two more boxes: it was Texas’ first road win and its first against an SEC opponent. Even so, the performance on offense was rough enough to raise a real question about how long the Longhorns can keep holding down the top spot.
That uncertainty opens the door for Georgia, which keeps looking cleaner and more convincing than Texas. The Bulldogs followed up their latest outing by flattening Oklahoma, and that 28-point win over the Sooners gives them a strong case to move into No. 1.
Texas isn’t the only team in the top five dealing with a shaky look. Indiana also labored against a below-average Northwestern team, though the defending national champions still appear set to stay at No.
- Miami, meanwhile, handled Central Michigan after spotting the Chippewas the first points of the game and improved to 4-0 with two conference wins already on the résumé, which should keep the Hurricanes in the top four.
Notre Dame cruised again too, rolling Purdue by 39 points for its third Power Conference opponent of the season. The Irish have been dominant, but they still haven’t faced what the projection calls a true quality opponent, so they remain at No. 3 for now.
Just behind them, Alabama keeps building momentum. The Crimson Tide had no trouble with South Carolina and picked up their second conference win, continuing a trend of slow starts followed by long stretches where nobody can stop them.
Ohio State also made a statement by blowing out Illinois in its conference opener, a result that should push the Buckeyes back toward the top five even if they are not there yet.
A few other teams will be moving, too. Michigan lost on a literal Hail Mary to fall to 3-1, while Missouri dropped a game to No.
24 Mississippi State and is almost certain to fall out of the rankings. Penn State and USC both took their first losses, but their spots heading into the week should be enough to keep them in the poll, just like Tennessee.
Mississippi State, now 4-0, is climbing. So are Iowa, Oregon, Utah, Texas Tech and LSU in the middle of the rankings. LSU’s win over the ranked Aggies was solid, but not enough to keep the Tigers in the top 10.
Ole Miss also took a hit after losing on the road to Florida, but the Rebels should stay inside the top 10 because of their ranked win over LSU and the absence of star running back Kewan Lacy. Florida, on the other hand, is set to surge after Jon Sumrall’s team took down the No. 4 Rebels and looks ready to jump into the top 10.
At the bottom of the projected poll, Michigan sits at No. 25, followed by Oklahoma State, Houston, Kentucky and SMU.
In Other News...
Florida Just Reached A Place Gators Fans Have Missed For Years
The AP Top 25 after Week 4 kept Texas right where it has been, still No. 1 with 62 first-place votes, as Georgia stayed at No. 2 and Notre Dame held No. 3. But one of the more notable shifts came a little farther down the list, where Florida climbed into the top 10 at No. 8, a spot the Gators had not occupied in five years.
For Texas, the ranking serves as another reminder that the margin for staying atop the poll is thin, with the usual heavy hitters still in close pursuit. Floridas return to that tier adds a bit more weight to the Longhorns path ahead, because every week now seems to bring another contender moving back into view. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Learned Something Important About Will Muschamps Defense In Knoxville
Texas left Knoxville with a 20-17 win built on defense, and it was the kind of performance that tells a coach a lot about his team early in the season. Tennessee never found a steady rhythm against the Longhorns, and the game turned into a field-position grind as Texas kept applying pressure and making the Vols work for every inch.
Will Muschamps unit was especially disruptive up front, and the pass rush never let Tennessee settle in. The Longhorns kept collapsing the pocket in waves, with multiple players getting involved and one standout turning in a night that will be remembered around Austin for a while, even if the full scale of it took until after the final whistle to really sink in. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Survived Tennessee Despite A Problem That Could Haunt Them
Texas came out of Knoxville with a win, but not much comfort. The Longhorns edged Tennessee 20-17 in a game that exposed the kind of offensive issues that can turn into a real problem later in the season, with Texas sputtering through stretches and getting tagged for 11 penalties and 115 yards. Even so, the defense kept the night from slipping away, harassing Tennessees freshman quarterback from start to finish and giving Texas a chance to survive a messy road test.
The pass rush was the difference, and it was relentless enough to tilt the entire game. Texas piled up 10 sacks, with Colin Simmons tying a school record by getting to the quarterback five times, a performance that masked plenty of offensive frustration elsewhere on the field. For a team still unbeaten, the bigger concern may be how much it had to lean on its defense to escape a game that stayed tense until the very end. [Read more 🡒]