Texas Longhorns Fall Out of AP Poll After Loss vs. Florida Gators

The 2025 season initially looked like a dream waiting to come true for the Texas Longhorns, whose perceived status as national championship contenders was only reinforced when they earned the No. 1 spot in the preseason AP Poll.

Now, though, what looked like a dream season is starting to look more like a nightmare, as the Longhorns are 3-2 on the season and have yet to beat a Power Four team. Saturday's 29-21 loss to the Florida Gators, who entered the game at 1-3 with an offense that looked absolutely abysmal, exposed the Longhorns' many flaws on both sides of the ball, and if they don't get them figured out quickly, their season could soon turn into a tailspin.

However, their placement in the polls is already looking dire.

Texas Longhorns Barely Clinging on To Top 25

Oct 4, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators defensive end Tyreak Sapp (94) and linebacker Myles Graham (5) sack Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

In a development that seemed unthinkable just over a month ago, the Longhorns have now completely fallen out of the AP Poll after their loss to the Gators. They were No. 9 heading into the week.

Texas was second in the "others receiving votes category" with 111 points (behind Cincinnati with 129), so one could consider it the No. 27 team in the poll. Either way, it's still a humiliating result for a team that had such high hopes before the season.

For reference, this is the first time the Longhorns have been out of the AP top 25 completely since Week 12 of the 2022 season, which came after a 17-10 loss to eventual-runner-up TCU at Darrell K Royal. It's also the first time they've been out of the top 10 since Week 2 of the 2023 season, just before they went on the road and beat Alabama in a game that really helped bring them back.

It doesn't mean much of anything to them, but the Longhorns at least aren't the only highly-ranked preseason team to fall out of the poll. Penn State, the No. 2 team in the AP Poll behind Texas, also fell out after Saturday's humiliating loss to UCLA, a previously winless team that had an interim coach leading the way. Clemson, the No. 4 team in the preseason poll, has also been out of the top 25 for a couple weeks now.

The Coaches Poll was a bit kinder to the Longhorns, as they fell just 12 spots to No. 19. This places them ahead of two 5-1 teams in Vanderbilt and Iowa State, but behind 5-0 BYU.

The Longhorns have a long way to go if they want to start climbing back up the rankings, and with a game against No. 6 Oklahoma next up, their job isn't getting any easier.