Texas Stays Put In Latest AP Top 25 Poll

The Texas Longhorns weren't punished for their struggles against the Rice Owls Saturday, but they weren't rewarded either.

It would have been cool for the Texas Longhorns and Alabama Crimson Tide to square off at Bryant-Denny Stadium as a top-10 matchup, but those dreams didn't come to fruition Tuesday.

Texas sat tight at No. 11 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll after picking up a 37-10 win against the Rice Owls Saturday. The Longhorns were jumped by both the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Tennessee Volunteers, but both LSU and Clemson dropped out of the top 10 after getting thrashed in Week 1.

Texas could care less about a ranking, though, as it is focused all-in on this Saturday against the new No. 3 team in the country.

The Longhorns have a chance to beat a top-10 opponent for the first time since Oct. 31, 2020, when they beat the Oklahoma State Cowboys 41-34 in overtime. In head coach Steve Sarkisian's tenure, Texas is 0-3 against top-10 competitors.

Texas almost had the chance to score its first win over a No. 1-ranked team since Colt McCoy and Mack Brown defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 45-35 Oct. 11, 2008. Instead, the Longhorns' hearts were ripped out as kicker Will Reichard knocked through a 33-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining to end Texas' upset attempt.

Sarkisian said after the Rice victory that the Longhorns have a "heck of an opportunity" awaiting them in Tuscaloosa.

"'Everybody wants to win next Saturday night at 6 o'clock, but what are you going to do Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday to prepare to put yourself in position to win?'" Sarkisian said. "We've got a mature enough team that can do that, but that's going to start with us as coaches in our approach and our leadership group, and then ultimately trickling down into that locker room to the team."