Murray's AP Top 25: Texas Rises with Another Top-10 Win While Miami Tumbles
Texas Longhorns' Resurgence
Nevada Sports Net columnist Chris Murray, one of 63 voters in the college football AP Top 25 poll, shares his insights on this week's rankings. Texas’ playoff chances seemed bleak after losses to Ohio State and Florida early in the season. However, the Longhorns have bounced back with significant top-10 victories over Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, propelling them higher in the rankings.
Texas still faces challenging matchups against top-five teams Georgia and Texas A&M in two of their last three games, increasing the pressure on Arch Manning and his teammates.
Miami Hurricanes' Setback
Every season, Mario Cristobal's Miami team seems to lose one puzzling game that hampers their playoff hopes. This year, that loss occurred in overtime against SMU, severely harming Miami’s chances to reach the playoffs.
"That game came Saturday when the Hurricanes lost in overtime to SMU. That dimmed Miami’s chances of making the playoffs and plunged the team from fourth on my ballot last week (highest among Top 25 voters) to 18th this week."
Over the weekend, six Top 25 teams were upset, including three from the top 10, with Miami’s defeat being the most impactful.
Summary
The Longhorns are gaining momentum with key victories, while Miami’s unexpected loss has sharply lowered their playoff prospects according to Murray’s AP Top 25 ballot.