AP Top 25 college football poll: Near-upset causes change at No. 1 as Texas passes Georgia
On a relatively mundane college football weekend, where the only ranked teams to lose were ones that played other ranked teams, the sport came oh so close to a major upset.
So close, in fact, it may as well have happened, in the minds of Associated Press Top 25 poll voters.
Georgia scored the game’s only touchdown, in the fourth quarter, to eke out a 13-12 win at Kentucky on Saturday night but the Bulldogs still fell to No. 2 in the new poll released on Sunday
Texas (3-0) vaulted past Georgia (3-0) and into the No. 1 spot. The Longhorns drew 35 first-place votes to garner 1,540 poll points. Georgia received 23 first-place votes and had 1,518 poll points.
The Longhorns are No. 1 for the first time since 2008.
That wasn’t the only change in the top 10. Tennessee (3-0) and Missouri (3-0) switched places, with the Volunteers moving up to No. 6 with Mizzou now at No. 7.
Similarly, Miami moved up to spots to No. 8 while Penn State fell two spots to land at No. 10.
Ranked No. 20 last week, Arizona traveled to Kansas State Friday night only to be trounced, 31-7. So fell out of the poll, allowing Illinois (3-0) to enter at No. 24.
The only other matchup of ranked teams happened Saturday in Columbia, Missouri, where Missouri came from behind to beat No. 24 Boston College, 27-21.
The Eagles (2-1) had earned their ranking after beating Florida State, 28-13, on Labor Day. With the Seminoles (0-3) still winless and a national laughingstock, that win wasn’t enough to keep Boston College on many ballot even though the Eagles played well on the road against at top-10 team on Saturday.
With Boston College falling out, Texas A&M (2-1) moved back into the poll at No. 25.
Associated Press Top 25 poll
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Texas |
| 2 | Georgia |
| 3 | Ohio State |
| 4 | Alabama |
| 5 | Mississippi |
| 6 | Tennessee |
| 7 | Missouri |
| 8 | Miami |
| 9 | Oregon |
| 10 | Penn State |
| 11 | Southern Cal |
| 12 | Utah |
| 13 | Kansas State |
| 14 | Oklahoma State |
| 15 | Oklahoma |
| 16 | LSU |
| 17 | Notre Dame |
| 18 | Michigan |
| 19 | Louisville |
| 20 | Iowa State |
| 21 | Clemson |
| 22 | Nebraska |
| 23 | Northern Illinois |
| 24 | Illinois |
| 25 | Texas A&M |
Steve Wiseman’s AP Top 25 ballot
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Georgia |
| 2 | Texas |
| 3 | Ohio State |
| 4 | Mississippi |
| 5 | Tennessee |
| 6 | Alabama |
| 7 | USC |
| 8 | Missouri |
| 9 | Penn State |
| 10 | Oregon |
| 11 | Utah |
| 12 | Miami |
| 13 | Oklahoma |
| 14 | Kansas State |
| 15 | Oklahoma State |
| 16 | Iowa State |
| 17 | LSU |
| 18 | Louisville |
| 19 | Michigan |
| 20 | Northern Illinois |
| 21 | Notre Dame |
| 22 | Memphis |
| 23 | Illinois |
| 24 | Nebraska |
| 25 | Clemson |
This story was originally published September 15, 2024 at 10:12 AM.