Robert Griffin III Names the New No. 1 Team in College Football After Week 2

Fox Sports analyst Robert Griffin III watched Texas dig out of a 20-point hole against Ohio State on Saturday night, and minutes after the game ended, he had already handed the Longhorns the No. 1 ranking himself.

"Texas is the best team in the country," Griffin posted on X. "Should be ranked #1 after beating #4 Ohio State." The Longhorns entered Saturday ranked No. 4 and the Buckeyes No. 1, and Texas won 24-23 after trailing 23-3 entering the fourth quarter.

Robert Griffin III's No. 1 case

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian watches during the college football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Griffin gave the same title to a different team a week ago. "LSU is the No. 1 team in the country," he said after the Tigers beat Clemson 51-10 in Week 1. "They just dominated Clemson. Best game versus the best opponent. We know more about them than any other team in the country right now."

LSU beat Louisiana Tech 45-14 on Saturday to move to 2-0, but the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner moved the label to Austin anyway. The former Baylor quarterback backed Indiana over Ohio State for much of last season, and the Hoosiers beat the Buckeyes in the Big Ten championship game.

How did Texas beat Ohio State?

Fans celebrate with Texas quarterback Arch Manning (16) after the team's defeat of Ohio State at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Ohio State led 23-3 with 15 minutes left. Texas then put together scoring drives of 15, 13 and 12 plays, and quarterback Arch Manning completed 11 of his last 15 throws to finish 23-of-37 for 195 yards and a touchdown. Hollywood Smothers ran in a 1-yard score with 7:14 left, then another with 25 seconds to go. In between, Connor Hawkins missed a 45-yard field goal that would have put the Buckeyes up nine.

It's the largest fourth-quarter comeback in a win over an AP No. 1 team, according to Sportradar.

"We couldn't lose to them again," Manning said. "I had nightmares about our game last year."

Ohio State scored one field goal after halftime. Julian Sayin threw for 278 yards and Jeremiah Smith caught eight passes for 164 yards and a touchdown, and Sayin's last throw was intercepted as time expired. "I felt we had them on the ropes and didn't finish," head coach Ryan Day said. "So we got to go back and figure out why that was."

Texas and the next AP poll

Texas Longhorns running back Hollywood Smothers (2) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the second half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The AP releases its new Top 25 on Sunday afternoon, and the Longhorns already held two first-place votes before kickoff. Indiana had eight, LSU five, Notre Dame four and Oregon three, so the 69 voters were split well before Saturday.

Georgia, No. 2 last week, beat Western Kentucky 70-20. No. 3 Notre Dame shut out Rice 52-0. Oregon lost 39-31 at Oklahoma State. Texas hosts UTSA on Sept. 19 and then opens SEC play at Tennessee on Sept. 26, so the next chance to test Griffin's claim comes in two weeks.

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