The new college football rankings are guaranteed to have a new set of teams in the top five after a Week 2 that saw Texas pick up one of the biggest wins we may all season, 34-24 over Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Longhorns entered 2023 with plenty of hype but still some doubt about the their championship bona fides, starting the year outside the top 10. Now, they are projected to be inside the top five and sitting pretty.
Alabama just recently jumped Ohio State in the rankings after looking more impressive than the Buckeyes in a Week 1 win against Middle Tennessee. But when the competition ramped up for Nick Saban’s group on Saturday, the talent-laden Crimson Tide struggled, shifting the doubt from the ‘Horns to a program that won six national championships in a 12-season span from 2009-20.
Where Alabama lands is tougher to predict than where Texas will wind up as quarterback Quinn Ewers and coach Steve Sarkisian clearly held the upper hand against a defense that could be one of the best in the country. If the Longhorns can go into Bryant-Denny and dictate terms, they have the quality to compete for a national championship.
Texas will not jump Georgia or Michigan based off the Alabama win, but it will surely challenge Florida State for the title of the next-best team battling for No. 3 in the college football rankings.
Further down the AP Top 25, we anticipate plenty of additional shake up, especially compared to the chalky Week 1 results. Miami taking out Texas A&M and Washington State toppling Wisconsin should provide opportunities for both of those winners to enter the rankings with 2-0 records, while Notre Dame is set for a boost after answering the call in a “prove it” game at NC State.
Voters didn’t have a lot of tough…
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