Texas will start a college football season as the top-ranked team in The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time.
According to the poll issued Monday, the Longhorns barely have a mandate after defeating Penn State by a mere five points in the closest preseason vote since 1998.
For a record fifth consecutive year, Texas was the preseason No. 1 team in the Southeastern Conference, earning 1,552 points and 25 first-place votes. The Nittany Lions received 1,547 points and 23 first-place votes, their highest preseason ranking since they began the 1997 season at the top of the rankings.
The Longhorns are immediately put to the test. They play the defending champion and third-ranked Ohio State in their August 30 opener, which is a repeat of the Buckeyes’ 28-14 victory in the Cotton Bowl during the previous season’s College Football Playoff semifinal.
The panel of 65 college football media representatives gave the Buckeyes 11 votes for first place. No. 5 Georgia received one first-place vote, while No. 4 Clemson received four.
Miami, Alabama, LSU, Notre Dame, and Oregon (which received the final first-place vote) complete the top 10.
With ten teams in the preseason Top 25, the SEC leads all conferences. This is the most ever for a conference, and it was one more than a year ago. For the second consecutive year, four SEC teams are ranked in the top 10.
Six teams are in the Top 25 for the third consecutive year, and two of the top three teams in the poll are from the Big Ten, which has won the last two national titles.
Arizona State, the reigning conference champion, is placed highest among the four Big 12 teams at No. 11. Clemson leads the three teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Top-ranked Texas
With Arch Manning now the clear favorite to start at quarterback, Arch Mania is at an all-time high in Texas.
Since finishing 5-7 in Steve Sarkisian’s debut season in 2021, the Longhorns have been improving. They have advanced to two consecutive CFP semifinals and won 25 of their last 30 games. They made it to the SEC championship game in their debut season in the conference last year and were rated No. 1 for four of five weeks from mid-September to mid-October.
At SEC media days, Sarkisian stated, “But this is a new year, new faces, new team, and obviously expectations are high for our program.” I’m not gullible about it. They have really high expectations, and I don’t stick my head in the sand. However, I also assert that since we are the University of Texas, winning championships year after year is the norm here.
Three first-round selections were among the twelve Texas players selected in the NFL draft; nevertheless, the additions from the transfer portal and top-tier recruitment should allay worries about offensive line and receiver losses. The defense returns with a wealth of talent.
Nevertheless, Texas only garnered 38.5% of the first-place votes (25 of 65), which is the lowest percentage for a preseason-starting team since Georgia’s 33.9% (22 of 65) in 2008.
The Longhorns have never begun a season higher than No. 2 (1962, 1965, 1970, 2005, 2009), but they had finished a season at the top of the AP poll three times (1963, 1969, 2005).
Big Ten lurking
In what could be viewed as a disservice to the national champions, the second-ranked Nittany Lions are 75 points ahead of the Buckeyes and only six points behind the top-seeded team.
In preparation for a visit from Oregon in late September and a matchup with Ohio State on November 1, Penn State will have Drew Allar back behind center for what many view as a light schedule.
With just five of their starting players back on offense and three on defense, the Buckeyes, who have finished in the preseason top five for nine consecutive years and 12th of the previous 13, will have a different look.
According to coach Ryan Day, this team has a distinct identity. In addition to wanting to establish its own identity, it also aspires to become the first Ohio State team to win consecutive national titles.
The Buckeyes will get a fair assessment of themselves in the first game against Texas. The third new starting quarterback in three years will either be Lincoln Kienholz or Julian Sayin. Whoever is hired will throw to Jeremiah Smith, one of the best players in the country.
Additionally, Day will have another opportunity to defeat Michigan, the Buckeyes’ archrival and preseason No. 14 team, which has defeated them four times in a row.
Poll nuggets
Since the introduction of the AP preseason poll in 1950, Texas will attempt to become the 12th team to start and finish first. Alabama was the last club to do so in 2017.
For the third time in four years, Notre Dame is ranked in the preseason top 10. Kenny Minchey or CJ Carr will be the new quarterback for the Fighting Irish. Last season, the two played a total of eight snaps as Notre Dame advanced to the CFP championship game, which Ohio State ultimately won.
All 12 of the 2024 College Football Playoff teams are ranked in the preseason, with Boise State at number 25. Since Tulane was ranked No. 24 in 2023, the Mountain West Broncos are the first team from a Group of Five league to make it into the preseason Top 25.
For the first time in four decades, No. 16 SMU, which brings back quarterback Kevin Jennings from its CFP squad, is among the preseason Top 25. The 1985 squad, which finished 6-5 and without a ranking, was ranked third.
