Joel Klatt ranks Texas No. 3 in preseason top 25 ahead of first SEC season

College football season officially returns this month now that August has arrived, with preseason polls seeming more important now than ever before during the offseason.

College football analyst Joel Klatt released his preseason Top 25 on Monday. Tabbing the Texas Longhorns as the No. 3 team in the nation entering the season following their first College Football Playoff appearance and ahead of year one in the SEC. Breaking down why he believes Texas will be one of the nation’s top teams once again in 2024.

“We can stop with the ‘Texas is back’, and question marks, and everything. Texas is just one of the best teams in the country,” Klatt said. “We understood that last year, they came out there and and rolled it up. I mean, they played great. Sark [Steve Sarkisian] has built a top tier, upper echelon team regardless of conference.”

Texas is fresh off of dominating the Big 12 after taking home a conference title last season. Now joining the SEC alongside rival Oklahoma which may concern some college football fans, but not Klatt.

“This whole, ‘Whoa, how will they do in the SEC?’ Fine, they’re going to do fine. They are really good. Did you not see them roll into Tuscaloosa and beat the Tide in Alabama last year?” Klatt asked. “They’re going to be fine. Sark has gone from five wins in his first year, to eight in his second, to 12 last year. That just is going to continue.”

“This is a playoff team, this is a team that can win the SEC, Quinn Ewers is back for his third year as a starter. This is a guy that could win the Heisman Trophy if he plays well at all.”

Texas had 11 players selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, the second most of any other program behind only Georgia. And the Longhorns’ losses on the defensive side of the ball, particularly on the defensive line, do serve as the lone area of concern regarding Texas in the eyes of Klatt.

“The defense is the question mark, because that was where they struggled last year. I thought that their matchup against Washington was their worst matchup of any of the playoff teams because of their question marks in the secondary. Now they lose some of that beef up front on their defensive line,” Klatt explained.

“And what will be tested early when they travel to Ann Arbor is what? Their defensive line, their run defense. That’s going to be something to watch for. They play Michigan, Oklahoma, Georgia in their first seven games.”

All arrows point towards the Longhorns being poised for massive success once again this upcoming season. But a new look conference, an expanded 12-team playoff, and replacing some production from last year will definitely challenge Texas in a new way.