The Texas Longhorns moved up seven spots to No. 4 in the AP College Football Poll on Sunday after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide 34-24 on Saturday.
Georgia received 55 first-place votes, leaving it clear at No. 1. Michigan was No. 2, with two first-place votes. No. 3 Florida State received three first-place votes and moved up one spot.
Texas received two first-place votes after its biggest regular-season win in years. The Longhorns are in the top five for the first time since the 2010 season started at No. 5 and have their highest ranking since finishing No. 2 after losing the BCS championship game to Alabama in 2009.
Behind quarterback Quinn Ewers, Texas became the first team to beat Alabama by double digits on its home court under coach Nick Saban. The win also gave Texas their first victory over a top-five team in the last 15 years.
Colorado has also continued its rise in the rankings following their 36-14 win over Nebraska.
The Texas Longhorns moved up to No. 4 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll after defeating Alabama
Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule and Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders embrace after Coach Prime improved to 2-0 on the season
Texas won the game 34-24 for their first victory over a top five team in the last 15 years
The Deion Sanders-led Buffalos started the season unranked and are now ranked No. 18 in the country.
Southern California moved up one spot to No. 5, representing the top five of each Power Five conference for the first time since September 24, 2017.
That top five was Alabama (SEC), Clemson (Atlantic Coast Conference), Oklahoma (Big 12), Penn State (Big Ten) and USC.
No conference has more teams than the Pac-12, which is in its final season with its current membership before 10 of its schools leave for other leagues in 2024.
Only the Southeastern Conference has ever placed as many as eight teams in a single AP Top 25, doing so 21 times with a record 10 in September 2015.
This week’s AP Top 25 ranks Washington at No. 8, Utah at 12th, Oregon at 13th and Oregon State at No. 16. The rankings include Washington State at No. 23 and UCLA at No. 24.
The Pac-12’s previous high was six ranked teams, which was achieved multiple times, including last week.
Oregon State and Washington State are the only members of the conference committed after this school year and would like to retain the Pac-12, but whether Power Five status can be maintained remains to be seen.
After Washington State defeated Wisconsin on Saturday night, Cougars coach Jake Dickert noted his school’s unfortunate position.
“We belong in the Power Five,” Dickert told ESPN amid a swarm of Cougars rushing across the field in Pullman.
The Colorado Buffalos continued to rise in the rankings, jumping to No. .18 this week
No. No. 6 Ohio State, No. 7 Penn State and No. 9 Notre Dame rounded out the top 10.
The loss to Texas dropped Alabama seven spots to No. 10, its lowest ranking since early November last year, when the Crimson Tide were also 10th. Alabama’s streak of top-10 rankings now stands at 128, dating back to the 2015 season.
The Crimson Tide’s streak is the second-longest in AP poll history, behind Miami’s 137 from 1985-93.
UCLA and Washington State were two of four teams ranked this week.
No. 22 Miami is ranked for the first time since September of last year, when it dropped out of the AP Top 25 after losing at Texas A&M. The Hurricanes defeated the Aggies on Saturday to get back in and eliminate A&M.
Miami and Florida State have both entered the regular season for the first time since September 18, 2017.
No. 25 Iowa slipped back after a fight last week. The Hawkeyes defeated Iowa State on Saturday.
Falling along with Texas A&M were Wisconsin, which lost at Washington State, and Tulane, which lost at home to Mississippi.
Clemson also slipped out of the rankings, ending a streak of 21 straight appearances. The Tigers barely held on to a spot in the poll at No. 25 last week after an opening loss to Duke. Their loss to Charleston Southern on Saturday wasn’t enough to keep them in the rankings.
With Tulane out, there are no ranked teams from conferences outside of the Power Five. The last time that happened was just under a year ago, although three conference teams from the Group of Five ended up finishing the season in the rankings.