Texas is number 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll for the first time in 16 years, replacing Georgia on Sunday after the Bulldogs struggled to remain unbeaten.

The Longhorns moved up from No. 2, receiving 35 first-place votes and 1,540 points. The Bulldogs, who have been No. 1 since the preseason poll, received 23 first-place votes and 1,518 points.

Ohio State received five first-place votes and remained at No. 3 during a week off. No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Mississippi held their spots, and Tennessee moved up one spot to No. 6, trading places with Southeastern Conference rival Missouri.

The last time the Longhorns were ranked No. 1 was midway through the 2008 season, when they spent three weeks atop the polls before losing a memorable game at Texas Tech in early November. The Longhorns are likely to remain in first place for at least another week with a home game against Louisiana-Monroe next, possibly with Arch Manning as the starting quarterback.

Manning, the cousin of Peyton and Eli Manning, stepped in against UTSA on Saturday evening when Quinn Ewers went down with an abdominal injury that coach Steve Sarkisian said was not serious.

“There’s nothing like the game. Playing in front of 105,000 people is not the easiest thing to do. I’m really proud of Arch,” Sarkisian said.

A week after the SEC became the first conference to take six of the top seven spots, the league repeated the feat.

There was some shuffling at the end of the top 10, with No. 8 Miami moving up two spots, Oregon holding steady at ninth and Penn State dropping to No. 10.

Polling points

Winning and falling from No. 1 is not unusual. This is the 94th time it’s happened since the poll began in 1936, and the first time since Georgia and Alabama traded No. 1 for a few weeks in 2022.

The Bulldogs needed a second half rally to squeaking with 13-12 at Kentucky — the same Kentucky team that was buried at home by South Carolina a week earlier. That was the fewest points scored by a No. 1 team in a win since Alabama beat LSU 10-0 in 2016.

“I don’t know much about this team, but I found out more tonight than I knew,” coach Kirby Smart told reporters after the game.

Since 2021, Georgia has dominated the top spot in the AP poll, with 39 mentions.

In its first season as a member of the SEC, Texas retains the conference’s No. 1 ranking, where it has been in 50 of the last 52 polls since the start of the 2021 season. Only Michigan of the Big Ten in the last two polls of last season has broken the SEC’s streak of No. 1 rankings, including 10 appearances by Alabama.

The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs both have the day off next week to prepare for a top-five matchup in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Sept. 28. That game is likely to get voters thinking again about who will be the No. 1 seed.

In and out

Boston College joined fellow Atlantic Coast Conference member Georgia Tech on the club for a brief stay after a long drought. The Eagles lost at Missouri and dropped out of the rankings after moving last week for the first time since 2018.

Arizona also fell to the playoffs for the first time this season after suffering a heavy loss to Kansas State.

Illinois entered the season for the first time at No. 24. Texas A&M jumped back up the rankings to No. 25.

Conference call

The 18-team Big Ten tied a conference record (set 11 times previously) with seven ranked teams.

SEC – 9 (Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 15, 16, 25).

Big Ten – 7 (Nos. 3, 9, 10, 11, 18, 22, 24).

Big 12 — 4 (Nos. 12, 13, 14, 20).

ACC — 3 (nos. 8, 19, 21).

MAC — 1 (no. 23).

Independent — 1 (no. 17).

Ranked vs. Ranked

No. 24 Illinois vs. No. 22 Nebraska, Friday. The last time the Cornhuskers hosted a game with both teams ranked was in 2013, when No. 16 UCLA defeated No. 23 Nebraska 41-21.

No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 15 Oklahoma, Saturday. The Volunteers welcome the Sooners to the SEC.

No. 11 USC vs. No. 18 Michigan, Saturday. The Trojans’ first Big Ten game is exactly what Fox executives hoped for.

No. 12 Utah vs. No. 14 Oklahoma State, Saturday. The first big game between Big 12 teams that actually counts toward the conference standings.

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This story has been corrected to show Miami at #8 and Oregon at #9.

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Follow Ralph D. Russo on https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP

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