The Red Zone Report

After three weeks with Texas holding the top spot in the polls, there’s going to be a new man at the top of the totem pole when the new rankings come out, after Texas Tech scored with one tick left to knock off the #1 Longhorns in a wild one in Lubbock.

But who will it be?

Alabama lies in wait at #2 in each poll, and the Crimson Tide are 8-0 after strolling past Arkansas State. But if they didn’t move up to #1 after Oklahoma dropped from the top spot, then it’s certainly not automatic that they’ll move up that one tiny spot this time.

Then there’s #3 Penn State, who was idle this week. You can go ahead and rule them out for at least this week, and in fact, there’s a slight chance they could get jumped by at least a couple of teams.

One-loss teams Oklahoma (#4), Florida (#8 in the AP, #5 coaches’ poll), and USC (#6, #7) have got to be happy to see Texas go down, because it eliminates one more unbeaten team in their way of being fully in the thick of the national title race.

The Gators may well be the best one-loss team in the land, having put up 100 points combined on Georgia and LSU in routs that even the biggest of Gator haters would have to admit are impressive. But, it’s hard to put a one-loss team ahead of a few unbeatens who have their own claim.

But what about Texas Tech? Could the Red Raiders follow up the biggest win in school history (so far) with a #1 ranking?

Don’t forget that Texas moved up four spots to #1 when they beat then #1 Oklahoma on October 11. When they did that, they jumped over Alabama in each poll to do so, as the Crimson Tide were #2 in the AP poll and #4 in the coaches’ poll.

Six (in the AP) and five (in the coaches’ poll) is a big jump to make, but at worst, Texas Tech should be #3. Now, if they beat Oklahoma State at home next week and follow that up with a win at Oklahoma on the 22nd, it’d be hard to justify not putting them at #1, even if it meant jumping Alabama or Penn State.

Who do you think should be #1?