Texas Suffers Stunning AP Top 25 Drop After Oklahoma Loss

After suffering its first loss of the season to Oklahoma, Texas' time atop the college football world has come to an end.

Oct 10, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian during the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl. Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

No, it wasn’t a bad dream.

The Texas Longhorns lost their first game of the season on Saturday, falling 27–24 to Oklahoma and dropping to 4–1 overall and 1–1 in SEC play.

And just like that, Texas’ short time atop the college football world has come to an end.

With Sunday’s AP Top 25 poll now released, the Longhorns have learned just how far they’ve fallen.

Texas Falls to No. 7

Oct 10, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning in action during the game against the Oklahoma Sooners at the Cotton Bowl. Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After spending the last four weeks ranked No. 1 in the country, Texas dropped to No. 7 in the newest AP Top 25 poll, falling six spots following its loss to Oklahoma.

The Longhorns entered Saturday as one of the few remaining undefeated teams, but a second-half collapse against the Sooners brought their perfect start to an abrupt end.

For all the success Texas had through its first four games, the Longhorns were far from perfect. Their offensive struggles had been apparent for weeks, but an elite defense helped keep their undefeated record intact. Against Oklahoma, however, those problems finally caught up with them.

Despite the loss, Texas still has a marquee win over Ohio State on its resume, a result that may have helped prevent an even steeper fall in the rankings.

Meanwhile, Georgia claimed the No. 1 spot after defeating Alabama 20–17 on the road yesterday.

Here’s what the rest of the rankings look like following Week 6 of the college football season:

1. Georgia
2. Notre Dame
3. Miami (Fla.)
4. Ohio State
5. Indiana
6. Alabama
7. Texas
8. BYU
9. Ole Miss
10. Texas Tech
11. Utah
12. UCLA
13. Missouri
14. Tennessee
15. Kentucky
16. Mississippi State
17. Iowa
18. Oklahoma State
19. USC
20. Houston
21. Wake Forest
22. LSU
23. Boise State
24. SMU
25. Northwestern

After a rough road trip, the Longhorns will return to DKR next Saturday to take on a Florida team coming off back-to-back losses.

Following their matchup with Florida, the Longhorns will enter a four-game gauntlet against No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 16 Mississippi State and No. 13 Missouri before taking on No. 22 LSU in Death Valley.

That stretch will provide Texas with several opportunities to improve upon its ranking, but it also leaves little room for the mistakes that proved costly against Oklahoma.

The Longhorns entered the season with national championship aspirations, and while falling six spots is hardly ideal, there's still plenty of time to climb back up the rankings.

Although the road doesn’t get much easier after the Longhorns face the Gators, maybe Saturday's disappointing loss will give Steve Sarkisian and company a much-needed wake-up call.

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