There’s a new No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 rankings headed into Week 3 of the 2026 college football season.
The Texas Longhorns rose up to No. 1 in the latest release of the rankings after an epic comeback over then-No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday night in Austin. After being down 23-3 in the fourth quarter, Texas rallied for a 24-23 win that ended with a game-winning one-yard rushing touchdown from Hollywood Smothers with 25 seconds left.
Texas moves up from the No. 4 spot while Ohio State drops five spots all the way to No. 6.
Texas Holds No. 1 Spot in Top 25 for Second Year in a Row
Texas Longhorns defensive end Colin Simmons (1) reacts during the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Longhorns have now earned the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll at least once in back-to-back seasons.
Texas was the preseason No. 1 team last year before a season-opening loss to Ohio State dropped the Longhorns out of that spot. They finished 2025 as the No. 12 team in the AP Poll after a 10-3 record.
But this year’s Texas team feels different, as it should after a monumental win over an Ohio State program that many college football fans felt was the national championship favorite headed into Saturday’s game in Austin.
Those expectations might now be flipping in Texas’ favor, but there’s still a long season to go before we’ll find out the answer to that.
Full AP Top 25 Rankings
Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates a catch during the NCAA football game against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas on Sept. 12, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Here is what the new Top 25 rankings looks like:
No. 1 – Texas Longhorns
No. 2 – Georgia Bulldogs
No. 3 – Notre Dame Fighting Irish
No. 4 – Indiana Hoosiers
No. 5 – Miami Hurricanes
No. 6 – Ohio State Buckeyes
No. 7 – LSU Tigers
No. 8 – Ole Miss Rebels
No. 9 – Texas A&M Aggies
No. 10 – Alabama Crimson Tide
No. 11 – BYU Cougars
No. 12 – USC Trojans
No. 13 – Texas Tech Red Raiders
No. 14 – Penn State Nittany Lions
No. 15 – Tennessee Volunteers
No. 16 – SMU Mustangs
No. 17 – Utah Utes
No. 18 – Iowa Hawkeyes
No. 19 – Michigan Wolverines
No. 20 – Missouri Tigers
No. 21 – Oregon Ducks
No. 22 – Houston Cougars
No. 23 – Louisville Cardinals
No. 24 – Oklahoma Sooners
No. 25 – Virginia Cavaliers
What Steve Sarkisian Said After Win Over Ohio State
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian walks across the field prior to the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas on Sept. 12, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said postgame that scheduling matchups like the one with Ohio State is what college football is all about.
It didn’t work out last year for Texas, but it did this time around.
“I definitely think it was helpful because we can be like some other teams and we can play Jones Junior High tonight and win 66-0. And I don’t know what that does for us,” Sarkisian said. “What I think it did for us tonight is we found out that we can, and we’ve been close, and we’ve been knocking on the door, and so I do think that that’s helpful for us that that we got an opportunity to play in a game like this before we got into conference play against any lead opponent, and and and come out on top. Surely that’s helpful for us moving forward from a mentality standpoint.”
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