Alabama moved to No. 1 on the AP poll Sunday afternoon, pushing out the Texas Longhorns after only one week at the top.
Alabama moves up
Alabama’s high-intensity win against the Georgia Bulldogs propelled the Crimson Tide into the No. 1 spot.
An early four-touchdown run put Alabama in the lead 28-0. Georgia’s quarterback Carson Beck struggled in the first half and finished the game 27/50 with three interceptions.
“The first half, we played terrible,” Beck said. “I don’t think we need to watch the film to go see that we didn’t play our best. You know, that starts with me. I’ve got to be better.”
Despite the struggles, Georgia took back the lead with two minutes left in the game after scoring three consecutive touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
With 2:31 left in the game, 17-year-old wide receiver Ryan Williams caught Jalen Milroe’s pass at the Georgia 46 and took it all the way for a 75-yard touchdown.
“You’ve got to keep fighting,” DeBoer said. “When it comes to the concept, a lot of our plays have opportunities where you find that one-on-one. And if you like the matchup, you go after it. And so he liked what he saw, obviously, and delivered, and Ryan did the rest for him.”
With 2:18 left in the game, Georgia needed a touchdown to tie the game. While the Bulldogs almost had the score they needed, with wide receiver Colbie Young in the endzone waiting for the pass from Beck, a game-winning interception by defensive back Zabien Brown ended the game 41-34.
Texas moves down
While the Texas Longhorns didn’t lose in their matchup with Mississippi State on Saturday, it wasn’t the normal performance of a dominant No. 1 team.
Starting quarterback Quinn Ewers sat out again after missing most of the game against UTSA on Sept. 14 due to suffering an abdominal strain at the beginning of the game. He hasn’t played in a game since.
This absence left the job to backup quarterback Arch Manning. In the games he’s played since, he hasn’t let the Longhorns skip a beat, finishing a dominant 56-7 victory over UTSA and leading a 51-3 win against Louisiana-Monroe.
He continued to show off his world-class pedigree, throwing 26/31 with three touchdowns.
“We need Quinn back because he’s our quarterback and he’s our leader. … But what Arch earned over the last two and a half games is this team can count on him too,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said.
Texas struggled with Mississippi State’s defense to start, finishing the first half only up 14-6.
The Longhorns brought more heat in the second half, with Manning rushing for a touchdown with five minutes left in the third quarter and throwing to receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. for a touchdown in the fourth.
Texas punched in its final score with a 25-yard run by Isaiah Bond in the last minutes of the game, ending it at 35-13.
While the Longhorns were able to pull away for a respectable victory against the Bulldogs, it wasn’t enough to stop the Crimson Tide from overtaking them in the AP poll following its win over a Top 10 opponent.
Texas will return after a bye week on Oct. 12 to take part in the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma, and the Crimson Tide will return Oct. 5 at Vanderbilt at 3:15 p.m. CT. The game can be streamed on the SEC Network.
The Longhorns will get their chance at Georgia Oct. 19, and their win or loss against the Bulldogs could determine if they overtake Alabama again or continue to slip in the rankings.
