Last year, the Texas Longhorns kicked off the season as the No. 1 team in the nation and quickly lost that honor. This year, the Horns had to earn that ranking, and they just proved that their return to the top was inevitable.
The Horns defeated the then-No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes in Week 2 and took a well-deserved leap in the new AP Top 25 Poll, claiming the No. 1 ranking as their own.
The cherry on top of it all was the fact that newly No. 1 Texas's fiercest rival, the Oklahoma Sooners, lost to the Michigan Wolverines, dropping OU nearly all the way out of the top 25.
AP Top 25 Poll after Week 2 crowns Longhorns as the new No. 1
Texas leapfrogged the Georgia Bulldogs and Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who are also undefeated through the first two weeks of the season, and the Buckeyes dropped five spots to No. 6 in the poll.
- Texas Longhorns (2-0)
- Georgia Bulldogs (2-0)
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-0)
- Indiana Hoosiers (2-0)
- Miami (FL) Hurricanes (2-0)
- Ohio State Buckeyes (1-1)
- LSU Tigers (2-0)
- Ole Miss Rebels (2-0)
- Texas A&M Aggies (2-0)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (2-0)
- BYU Cougars (2-0)
- USC Trojans (3-0)
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-0)
- Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0)
- Tennessee Volunteers (2-0)
- SMU Mustangs (2-0)
- Utah Utes (2-0)
- Iowa Hawkeyes (2-0)
- Michigan Wolverines (2-0)
- Missouri Tigers (2-0)
- Oregon Ducks (1-1)
- Houston Cougars (2-0)
- Louisville Cardinals (1-1)
- Oklahoma Sooners (1-1)
- Virginia Cavaliers (2-0)
While it's always fun to revel in your rival losing, it does weaken the Horns' strength of schedule since the Sooners aren't ranked as high as they were just a day ago. However, Texas isn't lacking for highly-ranked opponents this season, with six ranked opponents still remaining on the schedule.
Texas Longhorns' ranked opponents remaining after Week 2
Not only are there six ranked opponents still over the horizon, but three of those matchups are road games for the Longhorns, and one is the Red River Rivalry.
- at No. 7 LSU Tigers -- Nov. 14
- vs. No. 8 Ole Miss Rebels -- Oct. 24
- at No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies -- Nov. 27
- at No. 15 Tennessee Volunteers -- Sept. 26
- vs. No. 20 Missouri Tigers -- Nov. 7
- (neutral) vs. No. 24 Oklahoma Sooners -- Oct. 10
Three top-10 opponents are still looming overhead for Texas, with the No. 7 LSU Tigers, the No. 8 Ole Miss Rebels, and the No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies all on the Horns' schedule.
In just two weeks' time, the Longhorns will have to face the No. 15 Tennessee Volunteers on the road, a team that has shown nothing but consistency and growth over the last two weeks.
While the Sooners are now only ranked No. 24 in the country, the Red River Rivalry is always a toss-up, no matter the rankings or either team's record heading into the matchup.
The "easiest" currently-ranked opponent on Texas's schedule is the Missouri Tigers, who will come to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in two months as the Longhorns' third-to-last conference game of the regular season.
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