Texas Longhorns Skyrocket to Top Spot in New College Football Ranking

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Smith Orogbo of the Texas Longhorns reacts after a sack in the second half against the Texas State Bobcats.

After the Longhorns‘ decisive win against Texas State on September 5, ESPN’s Football Power Index has skyrocketed the team to its number one spot in its top 25 college football ranking. Does this indicate the team might be moving up in the AP and Coaches Poll as well once they are released?

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ESPN’s Football Power Index Places the Longhorns in the Top Spot

After Saturday’s games on week 1, ESPN reshuffled its Top 25 list, and the Longhorns are now firmly seated in the top spot.

The College Football Power Index  is a projection-based model that predicts the 12 teams that will make it into the playoffs based on thousands of simulations. The Longhorns enjoyed a 59-7 blowout victory against Texas State on Saturday.

Other teams also enjoyed huge victories. Texas A&M beat Missouri State 50 to 0 on Saturday. Ohio State beat the Ball State Cardinals 56 to 3.

ESPN ranks the teams like this:

1. Texas Longhorns
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
4. Miami Hurricanes
5. Georgia Bulldogs
6. Indiana Hoosiers
7. LSU Tigers
8. Oregon Ducks
9. Alabama Crimson Tide
10. Texas A&M Aggies
11. Oklahoma Sooners
12. Texas Tech Raiders

Three Texas teams grace the top 12 list in the power rankings.

Will Texas Move Up in the Coaches and AP Polls?

The question remains: will Texas move up in the AFCA Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25? Because Labor Day is on Monday, we won’t see the new rankings until Tuesday, September 8. Traditionally, the polls release updates on Sundays, but with a game set for Labor Day and three on Sunday, the polls won’t release this time until Tuesday.

The new results should be out around noon Eastern on September 8.

The AP Top 25 currently has the top 12 teams as:

1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Georgia
4. Notre Dame
5. Texas
6. Indiana
7. Miami
8. Texas A&M
9. Ole Miss
10. Oklahoma
11. LSU
12. Texas Tech

And the AFCA Coaches Poll rankings are:

1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Gerogia
4. Texas
5. Notre Dame
6. Indiana
7. Miami
8. Texas A&M
9. Oklahoma
10. Ole Miss
11. Alabama
12. Texas Tech

It seems likely that the Longhorns will move up in ranking for both, considering how strongly they played in their opening game. The defense and offense both looked impressive, and Arch Manning was at peak performance compared to last year at this time. Backup quarterback KJ Lacey was also impressive on the field and looked like a future star.

So although the Longhorns are unlikely to be placed first in either of the Top 25, it wouldn’t be surprising if they move up.

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