Texas Survives Bye Week At No. 1 With Oklahoma Waiting

Texas football spent Saturday watching the rest of college football reshuffle around it. When the new US LBM Coaches Poll arrived Sunday, the Longhorns were still sitting at No. 1.

Texas received 45 first-place votes and 1,806 total points, maintaining its grip on the top spot despite being idle.

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The Longhorns are 4-0 after opening the season with victories over Texas State, Ohio State, UTSA and Tennessee. Their most recent win, a 20-17 road victory at Tennessee, gave Texas another marquee result before a well-timed open week.

Georgia remains No. 2 after improving to 5-0, collecting 20 first-place votes. Notre Dame stayed third, followed by Miami and Indiana.

Ohio State and Alabama remained sixth and seventh, while BYU, Texas Tech and LSU each moved up one position to complete the Top 10.

The biggest shakeup came further down the poll.

Florida dropped seven spots to No. 15 after losing at Missouri, while the Tigers surged nine positions to No. 16. Iowa fell to No. 18 following its loss to Ohio State, and Mississippi State slid four spots to No. 20.

The SEC continues to dominate the rankings with 10 teams in the Top 25, including Texas and Georgia occupying the first two spots.

For the Longhorns, though, rankings quickly become secondary.

Next comes Oklahoma.

Texas returns from the bye Saturday for the Red River Rivalry at the Cotton Bowl, where the Longhorns have won the past two meetings by a combined 57-9.

Texas beat Oklahoma 34-3 in 2024 and followed that with a 23-6 victory last season.

The stakes are significantly higher this time with Texas carrying the No. 1 ranking into Dallas.

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The Longhorns also had the benefit of an extra week to rest and recover after an early schedule that already included Ohio State and Tennessee.

Now comes another defining game. Texas made it through the bye without losing its place atop the rankings. Keeping it there will require beating Oklahoma again.