AP Top 25 Rankings Shaken Up Again as Multiple Ranked Teams Suffer Upsets

Texas spent much of October watching its playoff hopes slip away.

Now, the Longhorns are back in the top 10.

For the second consecutive week, Texas emerged victorious while the rest of the college football world delivered another round of surprises, shaking up an already crowded playoff picture.

And with the first College Football Playoff rankings set to be released Tuesday, the timing couldn’t be much better.

Another Weekend of Chaos

Ohio State Buckeyes running back Bo Jackson reacts to a dropped pass during the NCAA football game against the USC Trojans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Oct. 31, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

No result sent bigger shockwaves through the college football world than what happened in Los Angeles, when unranked USC stunned No. 2 Ohio State 30-18, handing the Buckeyes their second loss of the season.

It wasn’t much of a contest. The Trojans jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, putting up 30 points — the most Ohio State has allowed since 2024 — while keeping the Buckeyes out of the end zone until the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

The loss sent Ohio State tumbling nine spots to No. 11 in Sunday's AP Top 25 poll, one spot behind Texas.

And Ohio State wasn't the only ranked team to stumble.

No. 19 SMU suffered a stunning 30-27 loss to Syracuse, No. 24 Oklahoma State fell 51-49 in a shootout against Iowa State, and No. 25 Wisconsin was shut out 30-0 by Iowa.

No. 20 Northwestern also suffered a 34-26 loss to Oregon.

Even some of the teams that escaped with victories had their fair share of Halloween scares.

Top-ranked Miami narrowly survived North Carolina 38-35, while No. 4 Indiana needed overtime to defeat Minnesota 23-16. No. 8 BYU also found itself in a close contest with Arizona State before emerging with a 27-20 victory.

Still, unlike last weekend, the chaos largely spared the teams sitting ahead of Texas.

Georgia handled Florida 27-8, while Notre Dame, Utah and UCLA all cruised to comfortable victories.

What It Means for Texas

Oct 31, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning warms up before a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While chaos unfolded across the country, Texas once again took care of business.

The Longhorns cruised to a 31-3 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday, improving to 6-2 overall and 3-2 in Southeastern Conference play.

It wasn’t a flawless performance, but Texas' defense delivered another dominant showing, holding Mississippi State to just 187 total yards while recording seven sacks.

And after dropping consecutive games to Oklahoma and Florida, the Longhorns have now responded with consecutive victories, including a statement win over Ole Miss.

The results were enough to push Texas up one spot to No. 10 in Sunday's AP poll, marking the Longhorns' return to the top 10 after spending the past two weeks outside of it.

While the climb was considerably smaller than last week's eight-spot jump, Texas finds itself in an increasingly favorable position. Perhaps the most interesting development is where the Longhorns stand in relation to Ohio State.

Ohio State’s loss to USC dropped the Buckeyes to 6-2, the same record as Texas. And with the Longhorns having defeated Ohio State earlier this season, Texas owns a significant head-to-head advantage.

Could college football fans be getting the sequel to last season's Miami vs. Notre Dame playoff fiasco?

But there's only so much Texas can gain from the misfortunes of other teams.

The Longhorns have put themselves back in the playoff conversation, but staying there will require more than favorable results elsewhere. With November underway, Texas must continue building its own case on the field.

Texas travels to Columbia on Saturday to face a No. 19 Missouri team coming off a 34-10 victory over Arkansas. Then Texas faces its toughest road trip of the season, with a date in Death Valley against No. 15 LSU.

But before that, the Longhorns will get their first glimpse of how the selection committee views their season when the initial College Football Playoff rankings are released Tuesday.

Texas has spent the past two weeks rebuilding its playoff hopes.

Now it gets to find out just how much progress it's made.

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