Texas Tech Football 8th in AP, Coaches Polls

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Following its commanding 29-7 defeat of BYU Saturday, Texas Tech (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) has climbed in the national rankings.

Texas Tech is now eighth in both the AP and Coaches Polls released Nov. 9, up one spot from last week.

Last week Tech was ranked ninth in the AP and Coaches Polls and eighth in the initial College Football Playoff rankings. BYU was one spot ahead of the Red Raiders, ranked eighth in both polls and seventh in the CFP rankings.

PREVIOUS STORY: No. 8 Texas Tech takes care of No. 7 BYU in Lubbock, 29-7

AP Top 10 this week: 1. Ohio State, 2. Indiana, 3. Texas A&M, 4. Alabama, 5. Georgia, 6. Ole Miss, 7. Oregon, 8. Texas Tech, 9. Notre Dame, 10. Texas.

Other Big 12 teams in this week‘s AP Poll: 12. BYU, 15. Utah, 22. Cincinnati.

The next round of College Football Playoff rankings will arrive Tuesday evening.

Texas Tech defensive back Ashton Hampton (16) reacts after recovering a fumble during the first half of an NCAA college football game against BYU, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Annie Rice)(Annie Rice | AP)

Here are some notes provided Saturday by Tech Athletics:

Texas Tech will end this weekend as the only FBS team with two wins this season over teams ranked in the top 15 of the initial College Football Playoff (at Utah, BYU). Both of those wins came by at least 20 points.

– Each of Texas Tech’s nine wins this season have come by at least 20 points with the latest being a 29-7 victory over a top-10 team. Texas Tech is the only team in the FBS with at least nine wins by 20 or more points as the next closest is fellow Big 12 member Utah with seven. The Utes are idle this weekend.

– The Red Raiders are now outscoring opponents by a plus-29.5 points per game margin this season, which is second in the FBS behind only Indiana (32.4).

– Texas Tech allowed only seven points today to No. 7 BYU, its fewest against an AP top-10 team since the Red Raiders defeated No. 8 Texas A&M, 14-7, on Oct. 7, 1995.

– Texas Tech did not allow a point until the fourth quarter, marking the fifth time this season the Red Raiders shut out an opponent through three quarters. Texas Tech is outscoring opponents, 317-61, through the first three quarters this season.

– Texas Tech boasts one of the nation’s top defenses as the Red Raiders are giving up only 12.6 points per game this season. The Red Raiders came into today’s game as the Big 12 leader and ranked fifth in the FBS for scoring defense.

– Texas Tech limited BYU to only 67 rushing yards, marking the first time the Cougars have been held under 100 yards this season. LJ Martin entered the game averaging a Big 12-leading 98.6 rushing yards per game before finishing with only 35 yards on 10 carries. Texas Tech came into this weekend as the FBS leader for rush defense as the Red Raiders are now giving up only 73.8 yards a game on the ground.

– Texas Tech created three takeaways in the win, giving the Red Raiders 23 now for the season and eight in the last two games alone. Texas Tech came into today’s game ranked second in the FBS for turnovers gained.

– In addition to its defense, Texas Tech remains one of the highest-scoring offenses in the country as the Red Raiders are averaging 42.1 points a game after today’s win. Texas Tech entered the weekend ranked third in the FBS for scoring offense and fifth in scoring defense.

BYU running back Preston Rex (12) is tackled by Texas Tech’s Cole Wisniewski (5) and during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Texas Tech, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Lubbock, Texas. (AP Photo/Annie Rice)(Annie Rice | AP)

After the game, Texas Tech welcomed fans onto the field, after BYU had left the area for the locker room.

(AP Photo/Annie Rice)(Annie Rice | AP)Around the country

(AP) Texas returned to the top 10 of The Associated Press college football poll on Sunday, the Atlantic Coast Conference has five teams ranked for the first time this season and two Group of Five conferences are now represented in the Top 25 a month before the playoff bracekt is set. The top five was unchanged.

The Longhorns, the preseason No. 1 team, are ranked No. 10 in advance of its visit to No. 5 Georgia this week. They had been in the top 10 for the first six polls before their loss at Florida knocked them out of the Top 25 for a week.

Four straight wins elevated them to No. 13 last week, and they jumped three spots ahead of BYU and Virginia and an idle Oklahoma, which they beat 23-6 on Oct. 11. Texas did not play over the weekend.

Ohio State was No. 1 for the 11th week in a row with 55 first-place votes. Indiana remained No. 2 after its narrow escape at Penn State, but the Hoosiers’ six first-place votes were five fewer than last week.

No. 3 Texas A&M got four first-place votes, three more than a week ago, and was 31 points behind Indiana. Alabama and Georgia rounded out the top five. Mississippi, Oregon, Texas Tech, Notre Dame and Texas rounded out the top 10.

In all, 19 spots in the Top 25 have new teams.

The ACC has five teams with one loss in conference play and two others with two losses. That’s reflected in the closely bunched group of ACC teams in the poll — No. 14 Georgia Tech, No. 16 Miami, No. 19 Louisville, No. 20 Virginia and No. 23 Pittsburgh. The last time the ACC had as many ranked teams was Nov. 3, 2024.

The race for the Group of Five’s automatic bid in the College Football Playoff got more interesting with Memphis’ loss to Tulane on Friday. The CFP committee did not have a G5 team in its top 25 but said Memphis was first in line. That will almost certainly change when the committee’s next rankings come out Tuesday.

No. 24 James Madison of the Sun Belt Conference made its first AP poll appearance since 2023. The Dukes are 8-1, their only loss to Louisville, and are the highest-ranked G5 team. No. 25 South Florida of the American Conference is right behind, and Tulane of the American received the most votes among the unranked.

In and out

— No. 23 Pittsburgh, No. 24 in the initial CFP rankings, is in the AP poll for the first time since last November.

— No. 24 James Madison’s previous Top 25 appearance was in 2023, when Curt Cignetti’s last Dukes team was in the final seven regular-season polls.

— No. 25 South Florida’s 32-point win over USTA helped Bulls to return after a two-week absence.

Missouri (19), Memphis (22) and Washington (24) dropped out.

Poll points

— The last time there teams from two G5 conferences ranked at the same time was last year, when Boise State and UNLV of the Mountain West and Army and Memphis of the American were in the final two polls of the season.

— BYU, which was unbeaten before its 29-7 loss at Texas Tech, dropped four spots to No. 12 to end its two-week stay in the top 10.

— Virginia and James Madison give the commonwealth two ranked teams for the first time since the final 2023 regular-season poll (Liberty, James Madison).

Conference call

SEC (8): Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 13, 21.

ACC (5): Nos. 14, 16, 19, 20, 23.

Big Ten (5): Nos. 1, 2, 7, 17, 18.

Big 12 (4): Nos. 8, 12, 15, 22.

Independent (1): No. 9.

Sun Belt (1): No. 24.

American (1): No. 25.

Ranked vs. ranked

No. 10 Texas (7-2, 4-1 SEC, No. 11 CFP) at No. 5 Georgia (8-1, 6-1, No. 5 CFP): Bulldogs won regular-season meeting and SEC championship game against Longhorns last year. Third straight time this is an top-10 matchup.

No. 9 Notre Dame (6-2, No. 10 CFP) at No. 23 Pittsburgh (7-2, No. 24 CFP): Huge playoff implications for both. Irish and Panthers both ranked at time of their meeting for first time since 1991.

No. 11 Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2, No. 12 CFP) at No. 4 Alabama (8-1, 6-0, No. 4 CFP): Last year’s embarrassing loss in Norman killed Crimson Tide’s playoff hopes.

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Texas Tech Football 8th in AP, Coaches Polls

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