Even after suffering their first loss of the season, the Longhorns remain at the top of our weekly Best in Texas poll.
Texas held onto its ranking despite a 30-15 loss to Georgia on Saturday. However, this is the first poll all season where the Longhorns weren’t the unanimous No. 1, as they earned six of the seven first-place votes.
The remaining first-place vote went to Texas A&M, which is coming off a 34-24 win over Mississippi State.
SMU held onto the third spot in the poll after taking care of business against Stanford.
Texas Tech dropped out of the top five after a surprising 59-35 loss to Baylor. Sam Houston took the No. 4 spot while the Red Raiders dropped two spots to No. 6. Baylor rose one spot to join the top five.
See this week’s poll below.
| Rank/Team | Points | Prev. |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Texas (6) | 90 | 1 |
| 2. Texas A&M (1) | 85 | 2 |
| 3. SMU | 77 | 3 |
| 4. Sam Houston | 65 | 5 |
| 5. Baylor | 64 | 6 |
| 6. Texas Tech | 59 | 4 |
| 7. TCU | 48 | 9 |
| 8. North Texas | 44 | 8 |
| 9. Texas State | 36 | 7 |
| 10. Houston | 20 | 10 |
| 11. UTSA | 18 | T-13 |
| 12. Rice | 17 | 11 |
| 13. UTEP | 7 | T-13 |
*first-place votes in parentheses.
This week’s best in Texas panelists: Lia Assimakopoulos, Selby Lopez, Kevin Sherrington, Justin Apodaca, Sarah Smith, Brett Vito, Luke White.
1. Texas (6-1)
The Longhorns’ offense couldn’t get anything going in its 30-15 loss to Georgia. After benching quarterback Quinn Ewers for a couple of series, head coach Steve Sarkisian insists he will retain his starting role as the Longhorns travel to face a No. 25 Vanderbilt team that beat Alabama earlier this year. — Selby Lopez
2. Texas A&M (6-1)
No. 14 Texas A&M picked up a 34-24 win over Mississippi State that’s been rare to come by for the Aggies in Starkville, Miss. After staving off the team at the bottom of the SEC standings, A&M will welcome No. 8 LSU for a primetime showdown at Kyle Field. — Luke White
3. SMU (6-1)
SMU held Stanford to just 206 yards of offense and 10 points, as the Mustangs won their fourth consecutive game and eighth consecutive road game, tying the longest active FBS streak. — Lia Assimakopoulos
4. Sam Houston (5-2)
Sam Houston suffered its first Conference USA loss of the season, falling 31-14 to Western Kentucky. The Bearkats will try to secure bowl eligibility on Tuesday against FIU. — Selby Lopez
5. Baylor (3-4)
Baylor picked up its first Big 12 victory of the season with a 59-35 rout of Texas Tech in Lubbock. The Bears return home to face a reeling Oklahoma State team on Saturday. — Selby Lopez
6. Texas Tech (5-2)
Texas Tech had another major letdown against Baylor in its own stadium, the second under Joey McGuire. The Red Raiders, currently in a four-way tie for third in the Big 12, begin into a massive two-game road trip to TCU and Iowa State. — Justin Apodaca
7. TCU (4-3)
TCU’s defense finally played to its potential, limiting Utah to only seven points, 267 total yards of offense and 68 rushing yards. The offense struggled to finish in the red zone, scoring two field goals and a touchdown. — Sarah Smith
8. North Texas (5-2)
North Texas pushed preseason AAC favorite Memphis to the wire before falling 52-44 in the opener of a tough three-game stretch against some of the league’s top teams. UNT will face Tulane this week. — Brett Vito
9. Texas State (4-3)
The Bobcats’ up-and-down season continued with a 24-14 loss to Old Dominion. After a bye week, Texas State will return home, where the Bobcats are 3-1, to face Louisiana on Oct. 29. — Selby Lopez
10. Houston (2-5)
Houston’s defense allowed Kansas to amass 470 total offensive yards in a 42-14 loss for the Cougars. Houston will need to win four of its final five games this season to become bowl-eligible. The Cougars host Utah on Saturday. — Selby Lopez
11. UTSA (3-4)
UTSA rallied from a one touchdown first-half deficit to beat Florida Atlantic 38-24 and move to 3-0 at home this season. The Roadrunners will try for their first road win of the season against Tulsa on Saturday. — Selby Lopez
12. Rice (2-5)
Rice turned the ball over five times in its 24-10 loss to Tulane. The Owls will try again for their first road win against UConn on Saturday. — Selby Lopez
13. UTEP (1-6)
Head coach Scotty Walden picked up his first win at UTEP as the Miners defeated FIU 30-21. They will try to make it two in a row against Louisiana Tech on Tuesday. — Selby Lopez
Previous polls
— Oct. 14
— Oct. 7
— Sept. 30
— Sept. 23
— Sept. 16
— Sept. 9
— Sept. 2
— Aug. 27
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