There is a certain inevitability to November football, the kind that feels less like a sprint to the finish and more like gravity taking hold. And on this particular Sunday, that gravity pulled Texas exactly where you would expect after a night like the one they endured in Athens.
The AP poll tells the story without speaking a word. Texas, once hovering near the edges of something grand, now sits at No. 17, victims of a seven spot freefall that feels as jarring as the 35 to 10 final that caused it. Losses like that do not just sting. They leave a mark, the kind fans remember long after the season fades into memory.
Meanwhile, Georgia climbs back into familiar territory at No. 4, rising like a program that never left the conversation. The Bulldogs played with the ease of a team that understands November better than most. Start fast, finish faster, and let the rest take care of itself. Gunner Stockton looked like a quarterback stepping into his era, and Noah Thomas ran routes like he had been waiting his whole life for a night under those lights.
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But the twist in this week’s poll is not Georgia’s ascent. It is the Sooners, marching three spots up to No. 8, slipping past Texas with the kind of quiet confidence that defines the Red River rivalry even when the Cotton Bowl is empty. Oklahoma went into Tuscaloosa and came out with something every contender needs this time of year. Proof.
Texas did not have any on Saturday. Not a running game. Not protection. Not comfort. Arch Manning played like a man trying to will something into existence that simply was not there. And now the Longhorns live in that strange limbo where preseason dreams meet November’s truth.
In the end, the rankings always tell the story of who is rising, who is fading, and who is running out of road. Texas falling, Oklahoma rising, Georgia reminding everyone of what November demands. They are all chapters in the same late season script, revealed without mercy.
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