Longhorns retain No. 1 spot; Baylor overtakes Texas Tech

Even after their first loss of the season, the Longhorns remain at the top of our weekly Best in Texas poll.

Texas maintained its ranking despite a 30-15 loss to Georgia on Saturday. However, this is the first poll this season in which the Longhorns were not unanimously No. 1, as they received six of the seven first-place votes.

The remaining first place went to Texas A&M, which won 34-24 against Mississippi State.

SMU retained the third spot in the poll after beating Stanford.

Texas Tech fell out of the top five after a surprising 59-35 loss to Baylor. Sam Houston took fourth place, while the Red Raiders fell two spots to No. 6. Baylor moved up one spot to finish in the top five.

Check out this week’s poll below.

*First place votes in brackets.

This week’s top panelists in Texas: Lia Assimakopoulos, Selby Lopez, Kevin Sherrington, Justin Apodaca, Sarah Smith, Brett Vito, Luke White.

1.Texas (6-1)

The Longhorns’ offense couldn’t get anything going in the 30-15 loss to Georgia. After benching quarterback Quinn Ewers for a few series, head coach Steve Sarkisian insists he will retain his starting role as the Longhorns face a No. 25 Vanderbilt team that beat Alabama earlier this year. – Selby Lopez

2. Texas A&M (6-1)

No. 14 Texas A&M picked up a 34-24 win over Mississippi State, a rare occurrence for the Aggies in Starkville, Miss. After ousting the team at the bottom of the SEC standings, A&M will welcome No. 8 LSU for a prime-time showdown at Kyle Field. –Luke White

3. SMU (6-1)

SMU held Stanford to just 206 yards of offense and 10 points while the Mustangs won their fourth straight game and their eighth straight road game, tying the longest active FBS streak. —Lia Assimakopoulos

4. Sam Houston (5-2)

Sam Houston suffered its first Conference USA loss of the season, falling 31-14 to Western Kentucky. The Bearkats will try to secure bowl eligibility on Tuesday against FIU. – Selby Lopez

5. Baylor (3-4)

Baylor picked up its first Big 12 win of the season with a 59-35 win over Texas Tech in Lubbock. The Bears return home to face a struggling Oklahoma State team on Saturday. – Selby Lopez

6. Texas Tech (5-2)

Texas Tech suffered another major disappointment at home against Baylor, its second under Joey McGuire. The Red Raiders, currently in a four-way battle for third place in the Big 12, begin a massive two-game road trip to TCU and Iowa State. — Justin Apodaca

7. TCU (4-3)

TCU’s defense finally reached its potential, limiting Utah to just seven points, 267 total offensive yards and 68 rushing yards. The offense struggled to finish in the red zone, scoring two field goals and a touchdown. –Sarah Smith

8. North Texas (5-2)

North Texas harassed preseason AAC favorite Memphis before falling 52-44 in its opener after three tough games against some of the league’s best teams. UNT faces Tulane this week. – Brett Vito

9. Texas State (4-3)

The Bobcats’ up-and-down season continued with a 24-14 loss to Old Dominion. After a bye week, Texas State returns home, where the Bobcats are 3-1, to face Louisiana on October 29th. – Selby Lopez

10.Houston (2-5)

Houston’s defense allowed Kansas to rack up 470 total offensive yards in a 42-14 loss to the Cougars. Houston must win four of its final five games this season to become bowl eligible. The Cougars host Utah on Saturday. – Selby Lopez

11. UTSA (3-4)

UTSA rallied from a one-touchdown deficit in the first half to beat Florida Atlantic 38-24 and move to 3-0 at home this season. The Roadrunners will look to get their first road win of the season on Saturday against Tulsa. – Selby Lopez

12. Rice (2-5)

Rice turned the ball over five times in the 24-10 loss to Tulane. The Owls will try again to get their first road win against UConn on Saturday. – Selby Lopez

13. UTEP (1-6)

Head coach Scotty Walden earned his first win at UTEP as the Miners defeated FIU 30-21. They will try to make it second in a row on Tuesday against Louisiana Tech. – Selby Lopez

Previous polls

– Oct 14th

– Oct 7th

– September 30th

– September 23rd

– September 16th

– September 9th

– September 2nd

– August 27th

– Preseason QB poll

— Preseason Coaches Survey

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