Texas remains No. 1 in the AP Top 25 college football poll after Week 4, but its status could be threatened next week by the winner of a top-four showdown between SEC rivals Georgia and Alabama, both of which had a bye on Saturday.

Although the Longhorns actually received nine first-place votes this week after beating Louisiana-Monroe in Arch Manning’s first start – and now have 44 – the No. 2 Bulldogs and No. 4 Crimson Tide are facing their biggest game of the year so far and will likely draw the attention of No. 1, whoever wins next Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.

The SEC continues to dominate the rankings, taking five of the top six spots and nine overall in the AP poll. Tennessee is new to the top five, having overtaken Ole Miss after its win at Oklahoma. One SEC team fell despite a win, as Missouri dropped four spots to No. 11 after its overtime tie with Vanderbilt.

Behind Texas, Georgia received 13 first-place votes and Ohio State in third place received the remaining five.

Other vote recipients: Washington State 67, Indiana 63, Boston College 55, UNLV 53, Pittsburgh 37, Nebraska 25, Iowa 24, James Madison 11, South Carolina 7, Liberty 4, Arkansas 3, UCF 3, Arizona 2, SMU 2, Navy 1

How Week 4 influenced the rankings

All seven top 10 teams participating won, but six other ranked teams lost, creating plenty of movement in the top 25.

Michigan made the biggest jump, climbing six spots to No. 12 after its hard-fought win over USC in which it passed for just 32 yards. The Trojans dropped two spots to No. 13. No. 15 Louisville and No. 17 Clemson each climbed four spots after double-digit conference wins, and Illinois rose five spots to No. 19 after a road win over Nebraska.

The loss was Nebraska’s 25th consecutive loss to an AP-ranked opponent since 2016. The Huskers, like Northern Illinois (loss to Buffalo), fell out of the rankings. They were replaced by No. 22 BYU and No. 25 Boise State.

Kansas State dropped ten spots to No. 23 after its 38-9 loss to BYU, while No. 20 Oklahoma State (Utah) and No. 21 Oklahoma (Tennessee) each dropped six spots after their losses.

What happens next?

The No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 4 Alabama game is the clear headliner in prime time next Saturday. It’s the third top-five matchup between the two in the regular season, following Alabama’s win in 2020 and Georgia’s victory in 1942.

There are three other ranked matchups: No. 19 Illinois faces No. 9 Penn State, No. 15 Louisville faces No. 16 Notre Dame and No. 20 Oklahoma State faces No. 23 Kansas State. There’s also a battle for a spot in the poll between No. 25 Boise State and Washington State, which was the first team eliminated – just two voting points behind the Broncos.

(Photo: Tim Warner/Getty Images)