Longhorns ranked as high as 10th in way-too-early preseason polls
Even though we are in the dead days of May in the run up to the college football season, it’s never too early to start thinking about what’s going to happen when the lights go on in September. To that end several sports websites are already producing their power rankings for the 2023 campaign, with Texas slotted as high as 10th in the way-too-early preseason rankings.
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Part of the rosy predictions from the sports outlets is the improvement Texas has made through two seasons under coach Steve Sarkisian, going from 5-7 in 2021 to 8-5 last year. Another part comes from the players the Longhorns have back in the fold, including three – quarterback Quinn Ewers, wide receiver Xavier Worthy and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders – that have been projected to be picked in the first round of next year’s NFL Draft.
A third part can be attributed to the perceived weakness of the 14-team Big 12 Conference in the Longhorns’ (and Oklahoma’s) final year in the league. But don’t expect the conference’s teams to roll over as they watch Texas exit stage left without trying to take a piece of the Longhorns’ hide on the way out of the door.
Inside Texas publisher Eric Nahlin said the Longhorns should be a favorite to win the Big 12 Conference title, especially with the league considered to be down this season.
“From a roster management standpoint, Texas looks somewhere between a conference winner and a playoff team to me,” Nahlin said in a recent On Texas Football State of the Program video. “I think everybody’s grabbing on to them being a conference championship team this season and with the conference being down like it is there’s no question that they should be the favorites.
“But you know, maybe if they catch lightning in a bottle, it could be more than that.”
The Longhorns land in the 10th spot in ESPN’s Top 25 Power Rankings and are the first Big 12 Conference team listed. Defending national champion Georgia tops the ESPN list followed by Michigan, Florida State, USC and Ohio State, respectively. Other Big 12 teams in the ESPN rankings are TCU (at No. 16), defending league champ Kansas State (No. 18) and Texas Tech (No. 20).
CBS Sports is not quite as high on the Longhorns, ranking them at No. 17 in its post-Spring Top 25 that was released Wednesday. CBS has Georgia at No. 1, followed in order by Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and Washington. It also ranks the Longhorns behind Kansas State (which is at No. 12) in the Big 12 and ahead of TCU (No. 20) and Oklahoma (No. 25).
The Sporting News brings in Texas at No. 14 in its post-Spring Top 25 that was unveiled on Thursday. TSN has Georgia on top, followed by Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama and LSU. The Longhorns are the first Big 12 team ranked, followed by TCU (No. 16), Kansas State (No. 17), and Oklahoma (No. 25).
