Texas lands at No. 19 in USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches poll
Steve Sarkisian will begin his first season as head coach of the Texas Longhorns with a ranked team. Texas was ranked No. 19 in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches poll, which was released Tuesday morning.
Four Big 12 teams made the top 25, selected by a panel of 65 head coaches of Football Bowl Subdivision schools. Oklahoma checked in at No. 3 and received two first place votes. Iowa State landed at No. 8, ten spots ahead of in-state rival Iowa. Just behind No. 19 Texas was No. 22 Oklahoma State. TCU and West Virginia were in the receiving votes category of the poll.
Louisiana, the week one opponent for the Longhorns, was ranked No. 23 in the initial poll. Arkansas, who Texas faces on September 11, was in the receiving votes category.
Alabama was ranked as the No. 1 team in the country following their 2020 National Championship, taking 63 of the 65 available first place votes in the poll. The Crimson Tide were followed by Clemson, Oklahoma, Ohio State, and Georgia.
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Six Southeastern Conference teams were represented in the top 25. Three Atlantic Coast Conference teams, Clemson, North Carolina, and Miami (FL), made the list. Notre Dame appeared at No. 7. Five Big 10 teams made the preseason poll, led by Ohio State. Three Pac-12 teams were included, led by Oregon at No. 12.
Texas and Texas A&M are the only two teams representing the Lone Star State in the poll. After finishing No. 4 in the final 2020 poll, the Aggies land at No. 6 in the initial 2021 rankings.
The Longhorns finished the 2020 season ranked No. 20 in the coaches poll following a 55-23 drubbing of the Colorado Buffaloes in the 2020 Alamo Bowl. During the 7-3 campaign, Texas ranked as high as No. 8 but tumbled following back-to-back losses to TCU and Oklahoma. They eventually returned to the rankings at the No. 24 spot prior to the Alamo Bowl, and surged four spots after topping CU.
Cover photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images
