MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Mississippi State has found the perfect player to lead its push to reestablish a competitive program in the unrelenting Southeastern Conference with sophomore quarterback Kamario Taylor. The Bulldogs have a boost of confidence and energy as they embark on their daunting SEC schedule. Taylor produced more evidence that he's one of the best quarterbacks in the country with a dominant performance at Minnesota on Saturday in the first road start of his career on a national telecast on CBS. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound sophomore had 227 yards and three first-half touchdowns on 16-for-22 passing and ran 13 times for 86 yards.
UNDATED (AP) — After knocking off top-ranked Ohio State, Texas is the new No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 college football poll. Ohio State dropped out of the top five for the first time in two seasons. Oregon dropped 15 spots to No. 21 after losing at Oklahoma State. Michigan has returned to the poll at No. 19 following a win over Oklahoma, which fell to No. 24. Georgia and Notre Dame held their places at No. 2 and No. 3. Indiana and Miami moved up to No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
UNDATED (AP) — Six of the 12 teams in the College Football Playoff would be from the Southeastern Conference and two of the four first-round games would be all-SEC matchups based on The Associated Press Top 25 poll. Texas, Georgia, Notre Dame and Indiana would be the top four seeds. First-round games would be No. 9 seed Texas A&M at No. 8 Mississippi, No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Miami, No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 LSU and No. 11 BYU at No. 6 Ohio State.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Arch Manning and Texas looked done. And now they are No. 1. The Longhorns trailed Ohio State 23-3 and looked listless and lifeless after turnovers, dropped passes and poor play for three quarters. Then came the rally to a wild 24-23 victory that shook up the rankings, revived Manning’s prospects as a Heisman Trophy candidate and earned the quarterback and the entire program an huge boost of respect for the grit of the comeback. Texas scored 21 points in the largest fourth-quarter comeback ever against an AP No. 1.
