Why there’s a new No. 1 in AP Top 25 poll, and buckle up for Nebraska vs. Illinois

“Hopefully we stay ranked.”

Life on the AP Top 25 bubble is a tough one. Just ask Boston College this week. Or any number of teams last week.

Nebraska was ranked No. 23 last week ahead of its win over Northern Iowa. 

And no, Matt, you’ve got nothing to worry about on that front this week. The Huskers aren’t dropping out. Not after a decisive win.

In fact, the Huskers are up to No. 22 in this week’s poll. And guess who else is ranked for the first time this season? Illinois, coming in at No. 24.

That sets up the first ranked vs. ranked showdown for Nebraska since 2016 against Ohio State and the first ranked vs. ranked game in Memorial Stadium for the first time since 2013 vs. UCLA.

More on that in a minute.

There are 63 voters on the AP Top 25 panel. There’s at least one voter from each state that has an FBS team and a handful of national folks. For the state of Nebraska, there’s one voter.

Each week I’ll break down my ballot compared with the actual Top 25 and write on some pressing topics.

Without further ado, here’s my Week 3 ballot: 

1. Texas
2. Georgia
3. Ohio State
4. Mississippi
5. Alabama
6. Tennessee
7. Missouri
8. Penn State
9. Miami
10. Oregon
11. USC
12. Utah
13. Oklahoma State
14. Kansas State
15. Oklahoma
16. Louisville
17. Michigan
18. Nebraska
19. LSU
20. Northern Illinois
21. Notre Dame
22. Clemson
23. Illinois
24. Iowa State
25. Texas A&M

And here’s the actual AP Top 25.

1. Texas
2. Georgia
3. Ohio State
4. Alabama
5. Mississippi
6. Tennessee
7. Missouri
8. Miami
9. Oregon
10. Penn State
11. USC
12. Utah
13. Kansas State
14. Oklahoma State
15. Oklahoma
16. LSU
17. Notre Dame
18. Michigan
19. Louisville
20. Iowa State
21. Clemson
22. Nebraska
23. Northern Illinois
24. Illinois
25. Texas A&M

Texas: Folks, we’ve got a new No. 1. The Texas Longhorns were atop my ballot and atop the overall Top 25 in general. But it wasn’t a runaway. Texas received 35 first-place votes, while Georgia — a team that barely squeezed by Kentucky — received 23 first-place votes. Ohio State also had five first-place votes.

For a minute in Saturday’s Texas-UTEP game, you wondered what the Longhorn offense would look like with quarterback Quinn Ewers injured on a non-contact play. But Arch Manning dazzled — completing 9 of his 12 passes for 223 yards with four passing scores and had a 67-yard rushing touchdown. Now, Texas doesn’t get a tough test for a few weeks, as they host Louisiana-Monroe next week, then a Mississippi State team that got rocked by Toledo this week before going idle ahead of Red River.

But through three weeks, I’ve seen what I’ve needed to see there. Texas is the best team in the country. Until proven otherwise, of course.

Tennessee: Hello, Rocky Top! I wasn’t sure how to read into last week’s win for Tennessee over then-ranked NC State. But after the Vols came to a knife fight with a sledge hammer against Kent State, my ballot was updated accordingly — leapfrogging them to No. 6. They are ranked No. 6 in the actual poll.

There’s an argument that can be made that the Vols are better than both Alabama and Mississippi. I can see it, but I’m not there yet. Now, if Tennessee blows the doors off of No. 15 Oklahoma next week and things stand firm for the Rebels and the Crimson Tide, we’ll have more shuffling to do.

In: Illinois made its season debut at No. 24 and Texas A&M returned to the top 25 after a brief hiatus.

Down: No team plummeted this week without falling out. Georgia technically dropped, but that was more to do with Texas. Missouri technically dropped, but that was more to do with Tennessee. Penn State technically dropped, but the Nittany Lions didn’t play. Them falling had more to do with the Miami Hurricanes.

Out: Both Arizona and Boston College fell out. Both losses were “forgivable” with Arizona’s loss coming against a pretty dang good Kansas State team and Boston College’s loss coming to a great Missouri team. However, neither looked particularly great in said losses. Handle business moving forward and they’ll get back in.

None. All ranked teams this week were teams I had on my ballot. However, things were greatly shuffled between my ballot after No. 15 and the actual poll. Things will likely sort themselves out in that regard once conference play settles in.

With Nebraska ranked at No. 22 and Illinois ranked at No. 24, that sets up a rare confluence of events. 

Nebraska hasn’t been in a ranked vs. ranked matchup at all whatsoever since 2016 when the Huskers went to the Horseshoe to face the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Nebraska hasn’t hosted a ranked vs. ranked matchup since 2013 against UCLA.

And, get this, Nebraska hasn’t won a ranked vs. ranked matchup at home since Michigan State in 2011. 

Since we’re cracking open the record books, Nebraska hasn’t beaten a ranked team at all since 2016 against Oregon. 

No. 24 Illinois at No. 22 Nebraska: The first-ever Friday night game in Memorial Stadium and it’s a ranked vs. ranked battle to kickoff Big Ten play. Friday at 7 p.m. on Fox.

No. 11 USC at No. 18 Michigan: Michigan has already played a massive game in the Big House and the Wolverines looked abysmal in comparison to now No. 1 Texas. Do they look better against No. 11 USC? Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.

No. 12 Utah at No. 13 Oklahoma State: There’s a Big 12 logjam between Nos 12 and 15. This will clear things up a bit. Saturday at 3 p.m. on Fox.

No. 6 Tennessee at No. 15 Oklahoma: Are the Vols the real deal? This is their best test so far. Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on ABC/ESPN.

No. 13 Kansas State at BYU: Kansas State is on a roll, and the Wildcats head to Provo to face the unranked, yet still undefeated BYU Cougars. Who comes out unscathed? Saturday at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN.