Texas Longhorns ranked too low in the AP preseason top 25 poll, and it’s not particularly close when comparing rosters
The AP has released its Top-25 preseason poll ahead of the 2026 college football season, and while the Texas Longhorns are ranked very high, there is an argument that the teams ahead of them aren’t nearly as good.
The AP preseason top 25 poll is out, and the Texas Longhorns landed at No. 5 overall. That feels low. Too low, in my opinion, when you stack the Longhorns’ roster against the four teams ahead of them. Notre Dame, Georgia, Oregon, Ohio State. I’m not convinced any of them are better than Texas heading into the 2026 season.
Texas key portal additions
- WR Cam Coleman
- RB Hollywood Smothers
- RB Raleek Brown
Why Texas has the best roster in college football
The Longhorns are going to live and die by how well quarterback Arch Manning performs, and a lot of people, myself included, think he’s going to have an even better season this year. He’s going to build off what was his first real season of college football, and I believe he’s going to be the 1st pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
But if we want to ignore that whole part of the equation for a moment, just look at the supporting cast. Cam Coleman, Ryan Wingo, Hollywood Smothers, Trevor Goosby, Colin Simmons. I could go on and on about this roster and why the Texas Longhorns have the best collection of talent not only in the SEC but in all of college football. So to be ranked 5th? That’s a little bit low.
Does the AP preseason poll even matter?
Of course, does any of this really matter? Absolutely, positively not. The AP preseason poll every year turns out to be one of the biggest liars of any poll we see all year long. Come December, when the College Football Playoff final poll drops and we get to the playoff games, the preseason rankings look nothing like they did in August.
So while Texas sitting at No. 5 feels like a slight, it’s nothing to lose sleep over. The truth is, I think the Longhorns are going to be one of, if not the best team in the SEC this season.
What the AP voters might be telling us about Steve Sarkisian
The way I see it, what these AP voters might be reflecting by placing Texas at No. 5 is lingering skepticism around head coach Steve Sarkisian. That could be the driving factor, because if you look at the Longhorns’ roster and compare it to anybody else in the sport, I’m not so sure that anybody is really better than Texas, at least on paper.
Now it’s about rolling the ball out there, spotting the football, and getting to work in just a matter of weeks. This is going to be a massive year for the Longhorns, and I don’t think the AP poll is going to age well once the games start counting.
