Texas rode its resounding Red River Rivalry upset right to No. 1.

The Longhorns leapfrogged No. 2 Alabama yesterday and sit atop The Associated Press Top 25 in the regular season for the first time in 24 years after beating Oklahoma, 45-35.

Texas' jump to No. 1 from No. 5 is the largest since Miami went from No. 6 to No. 1 on Aug. 29, 1988, after beating preseason top-ranked Florida State, 31-0, to start the season.

Texas received 39 first-place votes and 1,599 points from the media panel. Alabama received the other 36 first-place votes and 1,582 points.

"Being ranked No. 1 shows respect for what we've accomplished through the early part of the season, but nobody really knows who is No. 1 at this point," Texas coach Mack Brown said yesterday.

The Longhorns are the fourth No. 1 team this season, following Georgia, Southern California and Oklahoma.

For the second time this season, three of the top four teams in the country lost on the same weekend. While the losses by the previously top-ranked Sooners, Missouri and LSU weren't stunning, they did a number on the rankings.

Unbeaten Penn State moved up three spots to No. 3. The Sooners dropped three spots to No. 4 after their first loss. Florida jumped six spots to No. 5 after pounding LSU, 51-21, on Saturday night.

No. 6 Southern California is followed by Big 12 rivals Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, which upset Missouri, 28-23, and has its highest ranking since November 1985 when the Cowboys were seventh.

No. 9 BYU and Georgia round out the top 10.

The top three teams in the USA Today Coaches' Top 25 are identical to the AP poll. USC is fourth and Texas Tech is fifth.

NOTES

Georgia: Georgia left tackle Vince Vance will need reconstructive knee surgery and miss the rest of the season, coach Mark Richt said yesterday.