Texas Falls From No. 1 in AP Top 25 Rankings

The Texas Longhorns have fallen off the top spot in the AP Top 25 rankings.

Sep 28, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns center Jake Majors (65) celebrates a touchdown by receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. (7) during a game the against Mississippi State Bulldogs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron E. Martinez/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images / Aaron E. Martinez/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

AUSTIN -- The Texas Longhorns are no longer the No. 1 team in the country, at least according to updated Week 6 AP Top 25 rankings.

Texas moved down one spot to No. 2 in Sunday's release of the AP Poll, as the Longhorns were replaced at No. 1 by Alabama. The Crimson Tide moved up three spots from No. 4 after a thrilling 41-34 win over Georgia. The Bulldogs dropped three spots from No. 2 to No. 5.

The Longhorns received 19 first-place votes compared to 40 for Alabama. No. 3 Ohio State stayed put and got four first-place votes.

The winner of the Alabama-Georgia game had a nice chance at jumping to No. 1 based on the quality that a top-five win provides, but Texas' shaky performance in a 35-13 win over Mississippi State was enough for voters to feel confident in dropping the Longhorns down a spot.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has made it clear time and again that the rankings mean little to the team at this point in the season, especially with the lack of weight that the AP Poll holds in the College Football Playoff era.

“I think now more than ever — and I don't want to take anything away from the polls — because of the 12-team playoff, it really doesn't matter,” Sarkisian said of being ranked No. 1 “We say it all the time as a team, it's not really what other people think of us. It's about what we do, and we've got to perform, and we've got to prepare to perform. Because the way this is set up, back in the day, the polls were huge, because the polls dictated who got to play for a national championship, and ultimately, who won the national championship. Nowadays, you got to go earn it.”

The Longhorns will have a bye week before taking on Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry on Oct. 12. The Sooners, also on a bye this week, moved up two spots to No. 19 after a win over Auburn, but it's possible Texas and Oklahoma shift a bit in the rankings again headed into the annual matchup at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.