09/13/26 06:29:00
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09/13 05:10 CDT Texas stakes its claim for No. 1 in AP Top 25; Oregon set for a
big fall and Michigan could return
Texas stakes its claim for No. 1 in AP Top 25; Oregon set for a big fall and
Michigan could return
By ERIC OLSON
AP College Football Writer
Get ready for a new No. 1 team when The Associated Press Top 25 college
football poll is released Sunday afternoon.
No. 4 Texas staked its claim after wiping out a 20-point, fourth-quarter
deficit to beat top-ranked Ohio State 24-23 on Saturday night in Austin. The
comeback is the largest fourth-quarter rally ever for a win against an AP No. 1
team, according to Sportradar, and it avenged a loss to the Buckeyes a year ago
that knocked Texas out of the No. 1 spot.
There will be other changes, too: No. 6 Oregon, which along with Ohio State
entered the season as a Big Ten standard bearer, is set to fall out of the top
10 for the first time in three years after its almost unfathomable 39-31 road
loss to an Oklahoma State team that had lost 21 straight against Football Bowl
Subdivision opponents.
Michigan, which fell out of the Top 25 after needing an extra second and
second-chance Hail Mary try to beat Western Michigan a week ago, could return
to the poll with its 17-10 win over No. 11 Oklahoma. How far the Sooners will
drop is anyone's guess.
Teams ranked Nos. 12 and below all won, but it will be interesting to see how
the 69 journalists on the voting panel assess two more Big Ten teams, No. 19
Washington and No. 21 Iowa. Washington was a 26 1/2-point favorite at home
against Utah State and won 16-14. Iowa was a 14-point favorite at home against
rival Iowa State and won 16-13.
If Washington and Iowa stay in, there will be little space for new teams in the
rankings. Boise State would be among the first in line after playing Oregon
close on the road last week and beating Memphis 38-20 in a key Group of Six
game.
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