AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Longhorns moved to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll on Sunday, one day after a 24-23 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes in Austin. Texas received 56 first-place votes from the AP panel of writers and broadcasters.
Ohio State led 23-3 in the fourth quarter Saturday night. Arch Manning threw a touchdown pass to Ryan Wingo early in the quarter, and Hollywood Smothers scored on a 1-yard run with 7:14 to play. The Buckeyes then drove for what would have been a clinching field goal before Connor Hawkins, who had made three field goals earlier in the game, missed from 45 yards.
Manning never thought the Longhorns were out of it, and the offense had to get something going before the end.
“When that happened, I knew it was our time,” Manning said.
Smothers scored again from 1 yard out with 25 seconds left. Manning finished with 196 yards passing. According to Sportradar, the 20-point fourth-quarter comeback is the largest ever for a win against an AP No. 1 team.
Julian Sayin passed for 278 yards for Ohio State and Jeremiah Smith caught 8 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown. After halftime, the Buckeyes produced a single field goal. Sayin’s pass on the last play of the game was intercepted. Ohio State coach Ryan Day said his team had Texas on the ropes and did not finish, and that the staff has to go back and determine why.
Ohio State Drops To No. 6
The loss pushed Ohio State out of the top five for the first time in two seasons. Since winning the 2024 national championship, the Buckeyes had been No. 1 in 17 of the previous 20 polls. They held the top spot in every regular-season poll last year, slipped to No. 3 after losing to Indiana in the Big Ten championship game, and finished at No. 5.
Ohio State opened this season at No. 1 in the preseason poll and stayed there until Saturday. No. 6 is the program’s lowest ranking since it entered the 2024 College Football Playoff in that spot. Over its last four games, Ohio State is 1-3, with each loss coming against a top 10 team.
The drop from No. 1 to No. 6 was the biggest since Texas fell to No. 7 after losing to the Buckeyes last year.
Texas at No. 1 For The First Time Since 2024
Sunday marked the first time Texas has held the No. 1 spot during a regular season since Oct. 13, 2024. The Longhorns have not been ranked No. 1 this early in a regular season since 1965.
Five other teams received at least one first-place vote. Miami got four, Georgia and Indiana got three apiece, and Notre Dame and LSU got one each. Georgia held at No. 2 and Notre Dame held at No. 3. Indiana moved up one spot to No. 4, and Miami moved up two to No. 5.
Five Texas Teams In The Top 25
Behind Texas at No. 1 are Texas A&M at No. 9, Texas Tech at No. 13, SMU at No. 16, and Houston at No. 22.
The Southeastern Conference has nine ranked teams, including the top two and six of the top 10. Those six top-10 teams tie the record the SEC set and matched in two straight September polls in 2024. The Big Ten has seven ranked teams. The Big 12 and the Atlantic Coast Conference have four each.
Texas hosts UTSA on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT on SEC Network+. Ohio State hosts Kent State on Saturday.
