The Texas Longhorns are back in the win column after defeating the No. 7 Ole Miss Rebels, and with a third-ranked win of the season, the Horns are also trending upwards once again in the AP Top 25 Poll.
While none of them were flawless victories, the Longhorns now claim ranked wins over the then-No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes, then-No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers, and then-No. 7 Ole Miss.
With those wins (despite two losses to the unranked Oklahoma Sooners and Florida Gators), Texas was ranked just outside of the top 10 in the latest poll:
Longhorns rightfully leapfrog Ole Miss Rebels after Week 8 matchup
Of course, there were quite a few other upset wins this week to help the Horns climb the rankings, including the then-No. 16 USC Trojans losing to the Wisconsin Badgers, then-No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers losing to the South Carolina Gamecocks, and then-No. 15 Iowa Hawkeyes losing to the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
- Miami Hurricanes (7-0)
- Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1)
- Georgia Bulldogs (6-1)
- Indiana Hoosiers (7-1)
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-1)
- Utah Utes (7-0)
- UCLA Bruins (7-0)
- BYU Cougars (6-1)
- Kentucky Wildcats (7-1)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (6-2)
- Texas Longhorns (5-2)
- Ole Miss Rebels (5-2)
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (6-1)
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-1)
- LSU Tigers (6-2)
- Tennessee Volunteers (6-2)
- Florida Gators (5-2)
- Houston Cougars (6-2)
- SMU Mustangs (6-1)
- Boise State Broncos (6-1)
- TIED AT 22, Northwestern Wildcats (6-1)
- Arizona Wildcats (6-1)
- Missouri Tigers (5-2)
- Oklahoma State Cowboys (5-2)
- Wisconsin Badgers (5-2)
However, ultimately, the Horns handled business against a team that had almost everything working in its favor on Saturday, including momentum. So, it would be fairly hard to argue that Texas doesn't deserve to be ranked where it is right now.
Ole Miss dropped just five spots from its No. 7 ranking to settle one place behind the Horns in the latest AP Poll. Meanwhile, teams like USC and Iowa are no longer ranked within the Top 25.
Texas's remaining ranked opponents after Week 8 AP Poll dropped
Of course, the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Texas A&M Aggies had dropped beyond the Top 25 before Week 8 kicked off, but that doesn't mean that the Longhorns are free and clear of ranked opponents over the final five weeks of the season.
Texas will face both the No. 23 Missouri Tigers (Week 10) and the No. 15 LSU Tigers (Week 11) in back-to-back road games for the Horns.
- vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs -- Saturday, Oct. 31, Week 9
- at No. 23 Missouri Tigers -- Saturday, Nov. 7, Week 10
- at No. 15 LSU Tigers -- Saturday, Nov. 14, Week 11
- vs. Arkansas Razorbacks -- Saturday, Nov. 21, Week 12
- at Texas A&M Aggies (Lone Star Showdown) -- Friday, Nov. 26, Week 13
So, out of the Longhorns' five remaining games of the season, two are currently lined up to be ranked-on-ranked matchups. The good news for the Horns is that they have played miraculously well against ranked opponents. The bad news is that Texas has struggled slightly against unranked teams.
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