The preseason AP Top 25 poll is a longstanding tradition in college football. Since 1989, voters have set the early stage for CFB, and in 2025, it has Texas sitting at No. 1. It’s the starting point for both debates and scrutiny. Television loves it. Oddsmakers love it. And for Steve Sarkisian, it’s a tool to motivate his Longhorns, stating, “We just practiced our asses off. We had a fantastic practice.” But while Texas basks in the glory of preseason top billing, the SEC looms as a juggernaut.
Well, a whopping 10 of the SEC’s 16 teams are ranked, one more than last year. And then Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Auburn could crash the Top 25 as soon as September. Meanwhile, Steve Sarkisian’s Texas is chasing history. The Longhorns aim to be the first preseason No. 1 to go wire-to-wire since Alabama in 2017, and only the 12th team ever. Obviously, hard to believe, but Texas had never started a season at No. 1, though they hit No. 2 in 1965, 1962, 1970, 2005, and more. Although ESPN BET has Texas as the favorite for the national title, some call it more hype than substance. And there’s a solid reason for that.
On his August 17th show, Josh Pate dropped some serious insight, stating, “They got Texas in a really good spot here. I have never seen depth of contention like this…So, if you look at the odds to win this league, people have always said the SEC is deep. What they’ve meant by that is the number one team, when they go play the number eight or nine team, that’s a tougher opponent than the eight or the nine in the Big 10 or the ACC. Like, there’s quality of competition, but there has not been depth of contention.” So, translation: The SEC isn’t just strong at the top anymore; it’s stacked through the ranks. And that’s a harsh reality Steve Sarkisian and Texas must face if they want to survive this season. However, Josh Pate didn’t hold back on the SEC this season.
Then he explained, “Depth of contention has been void ’cause there’s been an alpha or maybe a 1A, 1B. It’s normally been Bama or Georgia or, in 2019, LSU. And you’ve known there’s no way the number six team in this league is going to beat that number one for the SEC championship.” But 2025 is different. Pate added, “This year is different. I promise you, I’ve not seen it like this. This is a year where Texas is favored to win it.” Then he broke down the rest of the pack.
“I can make a case for them. Oklahoma’s number nine. I got him top 10 in my JP poll. So, you know good and well, I could make a case for Oklahoma. South Carolina’s down there at 11, and they may have the best offensive and defensive player in the league by the end of the year,” stated Pate. And finally, Pate wrapped it up with a bold statement, saying, “So, the depth of contention, the amount of teams that can legitimately win this conference, I’ve never seen it this deep.” In short, the SEC isn’t just about a few elite teams anymore; it’s a gauntlet from top to bottom. And what does Texas’ schedule look like this season?
If Texas stumbles in road games at OSU or Georgia, the Longhorns have zero wiggle room. Then, wins against Kentucky, Florida, and Texas A&M aren’t automatic, especially with such a young roster. So, those late-season matchups are tricky. Even with a loaded recruiting class, asking Arch Manning to be flawless over that stretch is a tall order. That’s why 10-2 feels like the smart projection. But while Texas’ title hopes are still up in the air, Steve Sarkisian faces four major concerns heading into Week 1.
Steve Sarkisian’s key concerns
Texas HC Steve Sarkisian is zeroing in on the essentials as the Longhorns gear up for a blockbuster season opener against the defending champs, OSU. And for him, it’s all about the basics: ball security, tackling, pre-snap penalties, and special teams. “You think about ball security, tackling on defense, pre-snap penalties, and special teams,” he said. “Those are the main things. How do we take care of the ball? How do we work on tackling, and what’s the fine line of tackling too much and not enough? We have to make sure we don’t give away free yards before the ball is snapped, and how do we play sound on special teams?” But special teams, in particular, get extra attention.
Because Sarkisian wants to eliminate those “hidden” yards that can quietly swing a game. “Whether it’s punting, returning, making your field goals, finding areas where you can maybe block a punt or a kick, things of that nature,” he said. So, every player leaves meetings thinking about improvements, but the focus is clear: nail these four areas, and the rest will follow. And progress is already showing.
Pre-snap penalties and free-yard mistakes were rampant in the first scrimmage, but by the second, the team cut them drastically, from “10 or 11” fouls down to just two. Still, Sarkisian believes if Texas dominates these fundamentals, “the rest of the game will kind of take care of itself.” So, Week 1 will be the true test of whether the Longhorns are ready.
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