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Paging through the preview mags: Dave Campbell's Texas Football

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•07/20/24•

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One of print’s last strongholds is the college football preview magazine, light versions of encyclopedias on every Football Bowl Subdivision team. Each one claims to be the BEST or the MOST ACCURATE or the DEEPEST, and the amount of hard work that goes into each one is worthy of a salute for the role these magazines play in satiating the appetite of college football fans starving for morsels as the season gets closer and closer.

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Is there anything notable in these 200-plus page previews? Inside Texas will help determine that, today looking at Dave Campbell’s Texas Football.

PREVIOUS EDITIONS: Lindy’s | Phil Steele’s

On the cover

In 2015, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football put Texas and Texas A&M on the cover, requesting that both schools put aside their bitterness and bring back the rivalry that had at that point been on a multi-year hiatus. The illustration featured two nameless, faceless players there to represent both the Longhorns and the Aggies.

Fast forward 10 years, and the rivalry is finally back with both schools now members of the Southeastern Conference. Instead of two models, the magazine has Longhorns starter Quinn Ewers and A&M incumbent Conner Weigman on the cover with the words “RIVALRY REBORN” between the two.

They are the two representatives of the return of the Lone Star Showdown and feature prominently in Mike Craven’s cover story.

Dave Campbell’s Texas Football works to put the most high-profile story in football in the Lone Star State on its cover. The Longhorns joining the SEC on a College Football Playoff high and the resulting return of the rivalry with Texas A&M certainly meets that standard.

All-Texas

QB Quinn Ewers: first-team All-Texas quarterback, best quarterback, Heisman favorite

WR Isaiah Bond: first-team All-Texas wide receiver

OL Kelvin Banks: first-team All-Texas offensive lineman, best offensive lineman

OL DJ Campbell: first-team All-Texas offensive lineman

DT Alfred Collins: first-team All-Texas defensive tackle

LB Anthony Hill Jr.: first-team All-Texas linebacker

DB Jahdae Barron: first-team All-Texas nickel, best defensive back

WR Matthew Golden: second-team All-Texas utility

EDGE Trey Moore: second-team All-Texas defensive end

DB Andrew Mukuba: second-team All-Texas safety

State of Texas Power Poll

  1. Texas
  2. Texas A&M
  3. TCU
  4. Texas Tech
  5. SMU
  6. UTSA
  7. Texas State
  8. Baylor
  9. Houston
  10. Rice
  11. North Texas
  12. Sam Houston State
  13. UTEP

Top 25

  1. Ohio State
  2. Georgia
  3. Texas
  4. Oregon
  5. Notre Dame
  6. Alabama
  7. Miami
  8. Ole Miss
  9. Missouri
  10. Penn State
  11. Utah
  12. Michigan
  13. Arizona
  14. Kansas State
  15. LSU
  16. Tennessee
  17. Florida State
  18. Oklahoma
  19. Texas A&M
  20. Clemson
  21. Oklahoma State
  22. Kansas
  23. NC State
  24. Louisville
  25. Washington

Rankings, lists, otherwise

Here’s DCTF on the Longhorns: “Texas rests firmly in Tier 1 of national contenders in 2024 alongside Ohio State, Georgia, and Oregon. Steve Sarkisian proved in Year 3 that his horns are headed in the right direction after winning a Big 12 championship in their final season in the conference and reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. Life in the SEC is never easy, but an expanded playoff means that the Longhorns can lose a game or two and still achieve its goal of winning a national championship for the first time since 2005. Trips to Michigan and Texas A&M alongside clashes with Oklahoma and Georgia stand in the way.”

Offensive breakout candidates: Johntay Cook, Juan Davis, Jaydon Blue, DeAndre Moore Jr.

Defensive breakout candidates: Bill Norton, Liona Lefau, Jay’Vion Cole, Jermayne Lole

Ceiling: 12-0

Floor: 8-4

Recruiting Gems: Colin Simmons, Andrew Mukuba, Ryan Wingo

Under the radar additions: Jordon Johnson-Rubell, Trey Moore

40 Under 40: Kenny Baker – “A former collegiate defensive lineman himself, Baker joined the Longhorns as their defensive line coach after spending the 2023 season as an assistant for the Miami Dolphins

Projected starters

Conference picks

Dave Campbell’s Texas Football picked Texas to finish second in the SEC. “It took a decade-plus, but the Texas giant awoke just in time for its SEC arrival. A CFP berth is now tougher to attain.” DCTF predicts that the Longhorns will win the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal in the 12-team playoff against Alabama before falling to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

The magazine projected the Longhorns to go 11-1 with Georgia as the only regular season setback.

For more information on Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, click here.

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