Longhorns jump past Alabama in AP, coaches' polls
November, 1, 2009
Nov 1
3:43
PM ET
Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin
Texas' strong effort on national television must have found a willing audience Saturday night.
On the day after Texas' impressive 41-14 victory over Oklahoma State, the Longhorns jumped past Alabama into the No. 2 position in both the Associated Press media poll and the USA Today coaches' poll.
In the AP media poll, No. 1 Florida has 38 first-place votes and 1,448 points. Texas is second with 1,408 points and 13 first-place votes and Alabama is third with 1,390 points and two first-place votes.
The Longhorns were 41 points behind the Crimson Tide and 56 points behind the Gators last week. But the strong performance in the triumph over the Cowboys impressed a lot of pollsters -- particularly with the Crimson Tide idle Saturday.
Texas started the season No. 2 in the AP poll, but was jumped by Alabama three weeks ago.
In the coaches' poll, the Longhorns edged ahead of the Crimson Tide by five points, 1,395 to 1,390, despite having fewer first-place votes. Texas had four first-place votes among the coaches and five for the Crimson Tide. Florida is in first place with 1,463 points and 50 first-place votes.
The Longhorns' ascension shows the power of playing and soundly defeating a ranked opponent on national television. Texas jumped to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter against the Cowboys and put the game away with two interception returns for touchdowns in the second half.
It will be interesting to see if this bump carries over later today when the latest Bowl Championship Series standings will be released.
I'm also interested to see how much playing a supposedly weaker opponent might factor into these rankings next week. Texas will face 4-3 UCF next week in Austin in a rare November nonconference game that was created when the Texas Tech game was moved earlier in the season.
Alabama will host LSU next week and Vanderbilt will visit Florida on Saturday.
Oklahoma State dropped to No. 18 in the AP poll and Oklahoma was 20th after the Sooners' victory over Kansas State. Among others receiving votes, Texas Tech was 29th,
In the coaches' poll, Oklahoma State was 18th and Oklahoma was 20th. Texas Tech was 28th among others receiving votes and Kansas State, which received one vote, was tied for 40th.
Texas' strong effort on national television must have found a willing audience Saturday night.
On the day after Texas' impressive 41-14 victory over Oklahoma State, the Longhorns jumped past Alabama into the No. 2 position in both the Associated Press media poll and the USA Today coaches' poll.
In the AP media poll, No. 1 Florida has 38 first-place votes and 1,448 points. Texas is second with 1,408 points and 13 first-place votes and Alabama is third with 1,390 points and two first-place votes.
The Longhorns were 41 points behind the Crimson Tide and 56 points behind the Gators last week. But the strong performance in the triumph over the Cowboys impressed a lot of pollsters -- particularly with the Crimson Tide idle Saturday.
Texas started the season No. 2 in the AP poll, but was jumped by Alabama three weeks ago.
In the coaches' poll, the Longhorns edged ahead of the Crimson Tide by five points, 1,395 to 1,390, despite having fewer first-place votes. Texas had four first-place votes among the coaches and five for the Crimson Tide. Florida is in first place with 1,463 points and 50 first-place votes.
The Longhorns' ascension shows the power of playing and soundly defeating a ranked opponent on national television. Texas jumped to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter against the Cowboys and put the game away with two interception returns for touchdowns in the second half.
It will be interesting to see if this bump carries over later today when the latest Bowl Championship Series standings will be released.
I'm also interested to see how much playing a supposedly weaker opponent might factor into these rankings next week. Texas will face 4-3 UCF next week in Austin in a rare November nonconference game that was created when the Texas Tech game was moved earlier in the season.
Alabama will host LSU next week and Vanderbilt will visit Florida on Saturday.
Oklahoma State dropped to No. 18 in the AP poll and Oklahoma was 20th after the Sooners' victory over Kansas State. Among others receiving votes, Texas Tech was 29th,
In the coaches' poll, Oklahoma State was 18th and Oklahoma was 20th. Texas Tech was 28th among others receiving votes and Kansas State, which received one vote, was tied for 40th.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Tim Griffin
Griffin joined ESPN.com in February 2008. He has covered the Big 12 since its inception, among a variety of beats during a 24-year career at the San Antonio Express-News. Griffin, a Memphis State University graduate, lives in San Antonio with his wife and son.
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