Texas Longhorns Rise In AP Top 25 After Win vs. Houston Cougars

The Texas Longhorns have risen in the Top 25 after surviving the Houston Cougars on Saturday.

The Texas Longhorns may not have looked their best on Saturday against the Houston Cougars. They were sloppy, blew a major first-half lead, and got bit by the injury bug.

They even lost their starting quarterback, Quinn Ewers, to a shoulder injury, with his status going forward as of now unknown. 

Nevertheless, they survived the scare and came away with a 31-24 win over the Cougars. 

“First of all, I’ll say I’m happy we won,” Steve Sarkisian said after the win. “I can remember vividly being here a year ago, not in this exact stadium, but in this situation and two years ago and not winning this game. I think it speaks a lot to this team’s resiliency, this team’s mental toughness. The ability to finish in the fourth quarter showed up tonight. I’m really happy about that.”

As a result of the win, coupled with a Penn State loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Horns have risen to No. 7 overall in the nation in the latest AP Top 25 Poll.

C.J. Baxter vs. Houston Cougars :: Mikala Compton/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Elsewhere in the top 25, the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs were idle, while the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines blowout rival Michigan State 49-0.

Florida State and Washington also remained unbeaten, with the Seminoles running away from No. 16 Duke, and the Huskies surviving a low-scoring scare from Arizona State 15-7.

Meanwhile, the Longhorns' arch-rival Oklahoma Sooners stayed put at No. 6 after escaping vs. UCF in a 31-29 win.

Full AP Top-25 Rankings

1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. Ohio State
4. Florida State
5. Washington
6. Oklahoma
7. Texas
8. Oregon
9. Alabama
10. Penn State
11. Oregon State
12. Ole Miss
13. Utah
14. Notre Dame
15. LSU
16. Missouri
17. North Carolina
18. Louisville
19. Air Force
20. Duke
21. Tennessee
22. Tulane
23. UCLA
24. USC
25. James Madison