AP Top 25 poll: Texas reclaims No. 1, Alabama falls, Oregon joins top three in college football rankings

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Texas will enter this week’s Red River Showdown with Oklahoma as the nation’s No. 1 team after the Longhorns claimed the top spot in the AP poll on Sunday following Alabama’s Week 6 loss to Vanderbilt. The Crimson Tide had been No. 1 but fell to No. 7 following their stumble against the Commodores.

The Longhorns — off Saturday — benefitted from the carnage of a wild week that saw five of the top-11 teams lose. Ohio State crept up one spot to No. 2 following its 35-7 win over Iowa and received nine first-place votes compared to the 52 first-place votes awarded to the Longhorns.

This isn’t Texas’ first time at No. 1 this season. The Longhorns ascended to No. 1 following an authoritative Week 2 win at Michigan and held the spot for two weeks. They slipped to No. 2 last week, however, as the Crimson Tide claimed the top spot after a Week 5 win over Georgia.

Though Texas rose, it was a rough week for other highly ranked SEC teams such as the Crimson Tide, Tennessee and Missouri. As a result, the Big Ten’s top teams came out of the wild weekend in excellent shape as Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State each registered as top-five teams in the new poll. Oregon’s climb to No. 3 means that it will officially be a top-three battle when the Ducks host the Buckeyes in a marquee Week 7 showdown.

Here’s the full AP Top 25 Poll after the Week 6 slate, with first-place votes in parentheses.

Week 7 AP Top 25

1. Texas (52)
2. Ohio State (9)
3. Oregon
4. Penn State
5. Georgia
6. Miami
7. Alabama
8. Tennessee
9. Ole Miss
10. Clemson
11. Iowa State
12. Notre Dame
13. LSU
14. BYU
15. Texas A&M
16. Utah
17. Boise State
18. Kansas State
18. Indiana
18. Oklahoma
21. Missouri
22. Pitt
23. Illinois
24. Michigan
25. SMU