Texas will begin the college football season ranked No. 1 in the preseason media Top 25 for the first time in program history, edging Penn State by just five points in the closest preseason vote since 1998.
The Longhorns earned 25 of 65 first-place votes and 1,552 points, giving their conference a preseason No. 1 for the fifth consecutive year. Penn State collected 23 first-place votes and 1,547 points, its highest preseason slot since opening at No. 1 in 1997.
Texas won’t have long to get comfortable at the top. The Longhorns open Aug. 30 at defending national champion and No. 3 Ohio State in a rematch of last season’s College Football Playoff semifinal, which the Buckeyes won 28-14 in the Cotton Bowl. Ohio State received 11 first-place votes. Clemson is No. 4 with four first-place votes and Georgia is No. 5 with one. Rounding out the top 10 are Notre Dame, Oregon (which claimed the final first-place vote), Alabama, LSU and Miami.
Conference snapshot
– The SEC places a record 10 teams in the preseason Top 25, including four in the top 10 for the second straight year.
– The Big Ten, winner of the last two national titles, has two of the top three and six ranked teams for the third consecutive year.
– The Big 12 has four ranked teams, led by defending conference champion Arizona State at No. 11.
– The ACC places three, led by Clemson.
Why Texas is on top
“Arch Mania” is in full swing with Arch Manning entrenched as the starting quarterback. Texas has climbed steadily since a 5-7 finish in 2021, winning 25 of its last 30 games and reaching back-to-back CFP semifinals. The Longhorns even spent four of five weeks at No. 1 last fall and reached their conference championship game in their first season after switching leagues.
Despite losing 12 NFL draft picks, including three first-rounders, Texas expects an elite recruiting class and targeted transfer additions to stabilize the offensive line and wide receiver groups. The defense returns proven production. Even so, voters spread their confidence widely: Texas captured just 38.5% of the first-place votes, the lowest share for a preseason No. 1 since 2008.
Historically, Texas has finished No. 1 three times (1963, 1969, 2005) but had never started a season higher than No. 2 (1962, 1965, 1970, 2005, 2009).
Big Ten pressure points
Penn State sits a whisker from No. 1 and a notable 75 points ahead of No. 3 Ohio State, a nod to the Nittany Lions’ steady arc with Drew Allar returning at quarterback. Their schedule is widely viewed as manageable before a late-September visit from Oregon and a Nov. 1 trip to Columbus.
Ohio State is in the preseason top five for the ninth straight year and 12th time in 13 seasons, but the Buckeyes will look different with only five starters back on offense and three on defense. The quarterback race between Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz will play out with star receiver Jeremiah Smith as a prime target. An opener against Texas offers an immediate litmus test, and a date with preseason No. 14 Michigan looms after four straight losses in the rivalry.
Notable nuggets
– Texas aims to become just the 12th team to start and finish No. 1 since the preseason poll began in 1950; the last to do it was Alabama in 2017.
– Notre Dame is back in the preseason top 10 for the third time in four years and will choose a new starter between CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey, who combined for eight snaps last season before the Irish advanced to the CFP title game, won by Ohio State.
– With Boise State at No. 25, all 12 teams from last season’s expanded CFP appear in the preseason rankings. The Broncos are the first Group of Five team to crack the preseason Top 25 since Tulane in 2023.
– No. 16 SMU, which returns quarterback Kevin Jennings from its CFP squad, is ranked in the preseason for the first time in 40 years. The 1985 Mustangs began at No. 3 but finished 6-5 and unranked.
What it means and what to watch
– Parity at the top: The razor-thin margin between Texas and Penn State—and first-place votes spread across six teams—signals a wide-open national race.
– High-stakes Week 1: Texas at Ohio State could shape playoff seeding and Heisman narratives, even if the expanded playoff cushions a single early loss.
– Conference depth vs. top-end power: The SEC’s unprecedented volume contrasts with the Big Ten’s concentration of title contenders, setting up compelling cross-league showdowns.
Hopeful outlook
For Texas, the combination of a proven staff, a blue-chip quarterback, and roster depth built through recruiting and the portal offers a strong foundation to handle early challenges. For fans across the country, the balance of power reflected in the vote promises a season with fewer foregone conclusions and more marquee games that matter from August through November.
Summary
– Texas debuts at No. 1 for the first time, narrowly ahead of Penn State in the closest preseason vote since 1998.
– Ohio State, Clemson, and Georgia round out the top five; Oregon, Alabama, LSU, and Miami complete the top 10 with Notre Dame at No. 6.
– The SEC sets a record with 10 ranked teams; the Big Ten lands six, including two of the top three.
– Texas enters with Arch Manning at QB and a reloaded roster, while Ohio State breaks in a new quarterback ahead of a massive Aug. 30 opener against the Longhorns.