Texas stakes its claim for No. 1 in AP Top 25; Oregon set for a big fall and Michigan could return

Get ready for a new No. 1 team when The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll is released Sunday afternoon.

No. 4 Texas staked its claim after wiping out a 20-point, fourth-quarter deficit to beat top-ranked Ohio State 24-23 on Saturday night in Austin. The comeback is the largest fourth-quarter rally ever for a win against an AP No. 1 team, according to Sportradar, and it avenged a loss to the Buckeyes a year ago that knocked Texas out of the No. 1 spot.

There will be other changes, too: No. 6 Oregon, which along with Ohio State entered the season as a Big Ten standard bearer, is set to fall out of the top 10 for the first time in three years after its almost unfathomable 39-31 road loss to an Oklahoma State team that had lost 21 straight against Football Bowl Subdivision opponents.

Michigan, which fell out of the Top 25 after needing an extra second and second-chance Hail Mary try to beat Western Michigan a week ago, could return to the poll with its 17-10 win over No. 11 Oklahoma. How far the Sooners will drop is anyone’s guess.

Teams ranked Nos. 12 and below all won, but it will be interesting to see how the 69 journalists on the voting panel assess two more Big Ten teams, No. 19 Washington and No. 21 Iowa. Washington was a 26 1/2-point favorite at home against Utah State and won 16-14. Iowa was a 14-point favorite at home against rival Iowa State and won 16-13.

If Washington and Iowa stay in, there will be little space for new teams in the rankings. Boise State would be among the first in line after playing Oregon close on the road last week and beating Memphis 38-20 in a key Group of Six game.

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