RANKINGS: Texas Takes No. 1; Oregon, Oklahoma Crash in JPWest Media Week 3 Top 25

Longhorns complete the 20-point comeback over Ohio State; Ducks fall 19, Sooners 11 after Week 2 upsets

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Saturday night in Austin did what two weeks of buy games could not. It gave this poll a No. 1 that earned it on the field.

Texas trailed Ohio State by 20 points in the fourth quarter and won 24–23. Hollywood Smothers punched it in from a yard out with 25 seconds left. Arch Manning spent three quarters looking mortal and one quarter looking like the reason the Longhorns were preseason top five. JPWest Media’s reporters moved them from No. 4 to No. 1. Three of four first-place votes. Ninety-nine of 100 possible points.

The rest of the board got the kind of shuffle a Saturday like that deserves. Georgia stays No. 2 after another demolition job. Notre Dame stays No. 3 after a 52–0 wipeout of Rice. Ohio State drops three spots to No. 4 — a quality-loss landing spot, not a burial. Oregon, last week’s No. 5, is No. 24 after losing 39–31 at an Oklahoma State team that had dropped 21 straight against FBS opponents. Michigan climbs four after beating Oklahoma. Alabama climbs four after winning at Kentucky.

JPWest Media’s Week 3 Top 25 is compiled from four reporter ballots after Week 2. The game that actually matters this week sits in Oxford: No. 7 LSU at No. 9 Ole Miss on Saturday night.

Full Rankings

1. Texas (2-0) ↑3
Last week: 4 — next: vs. UTSA

Down 20 in the fourth. Up 1 at the gun. Texas is the first team since 1988 to wipe out a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit against an AP No. 1, and this poll treated that the only way it can: the top line. Manning’s box score will not wow anybody (196 yards, one score, one pick). The last 15 minutes will live on the reel for a decade. UTSA is not the next chapter. It is a cooldown.

2. Georgia (2-0) —
Last week: 2 — next: at Arkansas

Seventy to 20 over Western Kentucky, a week after 63–3 over Tennessee State. Gunner Stockton threw five touchdown passes and the backups got work. Kirby Smart’s roster still looks like a playoff roster. Voters left the Bulldogs at No. 2 because Texas just beat the team that was supposed to be No. 1, not because Georgia did anything wrong. Fayetteville is the first road Saturday that counts.

3. Notre Dame (2-0) —
Last week: 3 — next: vs. Michigan State

Fifty-two to nothing over Rice. One hundred twenty-eight yards allowed. The Irish have spent two weeks looking like the cleanest 2–0 team in the country, and they still sit behind a Texas team that just authored a classic and a Georgia team that is scoring in bunches. Michigan State will not settle the argument. November will.

4. Ohio State (1-1) ↓3
Last week: 1 — next: vs. Kent State

The Buckeyes led 23–3 and left Austin 1–1. Jeremiah Smith still piled up 164 yards. The defense still could not get off the field when it had to. This poll did not dump them into the teens. A road loss to the new No. 1, after leading by 20 in the fourth, is a quality loss. Kent State is a palate cleanser. The next month decides whether this was a blip or a tell.

5. Indiana (2-0) ↑1
Last week: 6 — next: vs. Western Kentucky

Fifty-five to nothing over Howard. Curt Cignetti’s defending champs keep doing what defending champs do in September: erase people who do not belong on the same field. The Hoosiers bump a spot because Ohio State lost and because nobody in the 5–8 band outplayed them. Western Kentucky just gave up 70 to Georgia. That is the last cupcake before Big Ten play.

6. Miami (2-0) ↑1
Last week: 7 — next: at Wake Forest, Friday

Seventy-seven to 7 over Florida A&M. The Hurricanes have looked like the version of Mario Cristobal’s team that learned from last winter, and one ballot this week had them fourth, ahead of Ohio State. That is why they jump the Buckeyes in some rooms and sit sixth here. Wake Forest on Friday night is the first road test of the season.

7. LSU (2-0) ↑1
Last week: 8 — next: at No. 9 Ole Miss, Saturday night

A 45–14 win over Louisiana Tech was the sandwich game between the Clemson statement and the trip to Oxford. Sam Leavitt threw three picks and the Tigers still won by 31. Lane Kiffin’s group is 2–0 and sitting in the last easy chair before the first real SEC measuring stick. This poll will look different next Monday if Saturday night in Oxford goes sideways.

8. Texas A&M (2-0) ↑1
Last week: 9 — next: vs. Kentucky

Forty-eight to 20 over Arizona State was the first test that counted, and the Aggies passed it without looking pretty the whole way. Physical up front. Enough on offense. Kentucky at home is the next one. One ballot had A&M sixth. The composite landed them eighth, a point ahead of Ole Miss.

9. Ole Miss (2-0) ↑1
Last week: 10 — next: vs. No. 7 LSU, Saturday night

Forty-one to 9 over Charlotte, and the most locked-in ranking on this entire board: every JPWest ballot had the Rebels eighth. They finish ninth on points only because Texas A&M got a sixth-place vote. Trinidad Chambliss and company host Kiffin’s LSU on Saturday. That game is why both teams are where they are.

10. Alabama (2-0) ↑4
Last week: 14 — next: vs. Florida State

Biggest jumper inside the top 10. Kalen DeBoer’s Tide went to Lexington and won 45–17. That is the résumé bump this team needed after two weeks of looking fine against teams that were supposed to lose. Florida State at home is the next chance to look like more than fine.

11. USC (3-0) ↑2
Last week: 13 — next: at Rutgers

Forty-nine to 30 over Louisiana. The Trojans are the only 3–0 team in this poll, and they still cannot crack the top 10 because the 1–10 group is stacked with brands and results. Jayden Maiava keeps stacking efficient nights. Rutgers on the road is a Big Ten game that should be a win. Should be is doing some work.

12. BYU (2-0) ↑3
Last week: 15 — next: at Colorado State

A 28–17 win over Arizona was tighter than the preseason version of this ranking wanted. The Cougars still climb three because the middle of the board opened up when Oregon and Oklahoma fell through it. Fort Collins is not a trap unless you treat it like one.

13. Texas Tech (2-0) ↓1
Last week: 12 — next: vs. No. 21 Houston, Friday

A 35–24 win at Oregon State did not wow anybody, and the first two ballots had the Red Raiders 18th. The last two had them 11th. The composite splits the difference. Friday night against Houston in Lubbock is the first game on this board that can move Tech in either direction in a hurry.

14. Penn State (2-0) ↑2
Last week: 16 — next: vs. Buffalo

Twenty-seven to 9 at Temple. James Franklin’s team keeps winning without giving this poll a reason to fall in love. Tied Texas Tech on points, lost the tiebreak on best ballot. Buffalo at home should be a cleanup drive. Big Ten play is when this ranking gets stress-tested.

15. Tennessee (2-0) ↑4
Last week: 19 — next: vs. Kennesaw State

Forty-five to 24 at Georgia Tech. The Vols keep climbing because they keep winning games that used to be 50-50 on this board. Tied for the second-biggest jump of the week. Kennesaw State is a hold-serve Saturday. The next month in the SEC is not.

16. SMU (2-0) ↑2
Last week: 18 — next: at Louisville

Fifty-six to 10 over UC Davis after surviving Florida State the week before. Three of four ballots had the Mustangs 14th. The fourth had them 18th. Louisville on the road is the first ACC game that will tell us if 16 is a floor or a ceiling.

17. Washington (2-0) —
Last week: 17 — next: vs. Eastern Washington

Sixteen to 14 over Utah State as a 26-point home favorite. The AP dumped the Huskies out of the Top 25 for it. This poll did not. A win is a win in Week 2, even an ugly one. Washington holds 17th and owes this board a clean 60 minutes the next time the lights are worth turning on.

18. Utah (2-0) ↑2
Last week: 20 — next: vs. Utah State

Forty-three to 10 over Arkansas. The Utes slide up two and host Utah State. Tied Washington on points, lost the tiebreak on best ballot.

19. Michigan (2-0) ↑4
Last week: 23 — next: vs. UTEP

The other half of last week’s panic button just got unscrewed. A 17–10 win over then-No. 11 Oklahoma is why the Wolverines climb four spots instead of hovering around the bubble. It was not pretty. It was a real win against a real roster. The ballots still cannot agree — 16th, 20th, 22nd, 13th — which is how you end up 19th. UTEP is a breather. Nobody in this poll is calling Michigan fixed.

20. Iowa (2-0) ↑1
Last week: 21 — next: vs. Northern Iowa

Sixteen to 13 over Iowa State. Peak Iowa, again: no flash, no drama, a rivalry win that looked like work. The Hawkeyes bump one spot and stay in the 20s because that is where 2–0 teams that win ugly live until November.

21. Houston (2-0) ↑3
Last week: 24 — next: at No. 13 Texas Tech, Friday

Seventy-seven to 6 over Southern. The Cougars are no longer a novelty ranking. Friday night in Lubbock against Texas Tech is the first game that can prove the last two weeks were not a September mirage.

22. Oklahoma (1-1) ↓11
Last week: 11 — next: vs. New Mexico

Biggest faller that stayed in the 25. A 17–10 loss at Michigan dropped the Sooners 11 spots, and one ballot left them off entirely. New Mexico at home is there to stop the bleeding. This is the floor until they beat somebody who can punch back.

23. Missouri (2-0) ↓1
Last week: 22 — next: vs. Troy

Thirty-eight to 21 at Kansas. The Tigers did enough to stay in and not enough to climb. Troy at home should be a hold. One ballot left them off. Three others kept them alive.

24. Oregon (1-1) ↓19
Last week: 5 — next: vs. Portland State, Friday

The free-fall. Oklahoma State 39, Oregon 31. The Cowboys had lost 21 straight against FBS teams and had just lost to Tulsa. The Ducks were a 24-point favorite. Three of four JPWest ballots had Oregon 25th. The fourth had them 19th, which is the only reason they are not last. Talent is still on that roster. This ranking is not going to pretend last Saturday didn’t happen. Portland State is not the repair job. It is the start of one.

25. Florida (2-0) —
Last week: 25 — next: at Auburn

Fifty-two to 3 over Campbell, and the Gators hang onto the last spot by a point over Virginia. Jon Sumrall’s group is 2–0 for the first time since 2021. Auburn on the road Saturday night is the first SEC game that will decide whether 25 is a courtesy or a runway.

Also receiving votes: Virginia 3, Oklahoma State 2

Biggest movers
↑ Alabama +4, Tennessee +4, Michigan +4, Texas +3, BYU +3, Houston +3
↓ Oregon −19, Oklahoma −11, Ohio State −3, Texas Tech −1, Missouri −1

In: none
Out: none — Oregon absorbed the crash from inside the 25

How the ballots broke

Texas was first on three ballots and second on the other. Georgia was first on one, second on two, third on one. Notre Dame never left the 3–4 window. Ole Miss was eighth on all four ballots — the only frozen ranking in the set.

The fight under the top three is philosophical. Two ballots kept Ohio State ahead of the unbeaten cluster after a quality road loss. One put Miami fourth and the Buckeyes sixth. The composite landed where quality-loss polls usually land in Week 3: Buckeyes fourth, Miami sixth, Indiana fifth.

Oregon is the tell on this staff. The AP dropped the Ducks 15 spots, to 21. The coaches dropped them 12 spots, to 18. JPWest Media dropped them 19 spots, to 24. That is not a math error. That is four reporters looking at a 24-point favorite losing to a team that had lost 21 straight FBS games and refusing to grade on a curve.

JPWest Media’s Week 3 Top 25 was compiled from four reporter ballots. Points awarded on a 25-to-1 scale.