Preseason No. 1? Texas Longhorns among several teams shooting for the top spot to start 2025

The Texas Longhorns have never been the No. 1 team in the preseason Associated Press poll. They’re a contender for the distinction this year, but so too are a number of top College Football Playoff contending teams.

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It may seem early to think about the AP poll considering Texas just reached spring practice No. 2 on Thursday, but there’s always time to debate in college football and polls, rankings, and ratings are longtime components of those discussions.

Texas has been ranked No. 2 in the preseason AP poll on several occasions: 1962, 1965, 1970, 2005, and 2009. Ohio State, Nebraska, Ohio State again, USC, and Florida have prevented the Longhorns from entering seasons as the top team in the nation in those respective seasons.

The Longhorns have a great chance at the No. 1 preseason ranking come August when the polls come out. But so too do a number of other teams, meaning the first-place votes will likely be split among a handful of programs instead of coalescing around one or two top contenders.

You might have to go back a few years to see a preseason grouping at the top of the sport like this.

Ahead of the 2024 season, Georgia notched 45 first-place votes. Ohio State gathered 15, while fellow Big 10 member Oregon received one.

Prior to 2023, Georgia was top dog again with 60 votes, followed by Michigan with two and Ohio State with one.

The 2022 preseason AP Poll saw Alabama gain 54 first-place votes with Ohio State and Georgia behind with six and three, respectively.

Rounding out post-COVID AP preseason polls is 2021, when Alabama had 47 first-place votes, Oklahoma and Clemson each gathered six, Ohio State grabbed one, and Georgia recorded three.

The 2025 preseason AP poll may look something like the 2021 poll in terms of number of teams with first-place votes, when extra eligibility, general uncertainty about availability, and much more made the college football world topsy-turvy for much of the year.

But now? The number of first-place votes are likely to be split more evenly than they have at any point during Steve Sarkisian’s time at Texas

Rules that were settling into place in 2021 are now the norm in 2025, including one-time transfer exceptions, NIL, and much, much more. Plus, with the 12-team Playoff, voters in the poll likely are able to see what they want to see when projecting forward from the 2024 season.

“Penn State was close!”

“Oregon will be back!”

“Ohio State is here to stay!”

“Don’t sleep on Georgia!”

Things like that.

The final 2024 AP poll was No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Texas, and No. 5 Penn State. No. 6 went to Georgia, and No. 7 was Arizona State.

A reasonable case for preseason No. 1 can be made for every team in the top six, and even the top seven with a hard enough squint.

Ohio State loses plenty but remains uber talented. Many of the big pieces of Notre Dame’s title game run are back. Oregon and Ohio State are in a similar category. So too is Texas, who starts the Arch Manning era off against the Buckeyes. Penn State has an experienced quarterback and several quality recruiting classes built up, plus top-tier coordinators on both sides of the ball.

Not all of those teams are perfect. Every squad save for Penn State is breaking in a new starting quarterback. Plus, all of those teams, including the Longhorns, are sending a considerable number of players not just to the draft, but to the first round.

The “race” for preseason No. 1 is a crowded one, but it’s a race usually won by narratives and names.

Ohio State is the defending national champion. Hello narrative.

Another Manning is playing quarterback for the Texas Longhorns. Hello name.

The opinions of the 56 AP poll voters won’t be revealed until just before the season, and those opinions are likely to be split between several teams.

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But like in 2006, there’s a good chance Texas and Ohio State occupy the top two spots ahead of their titanic early season matchup. And for the first time ever, Texas could rise above several worthy contenders and claim the coveted No. 1 preseason ranking.