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The preseason coaching survey, released each August, is the first opportunity for college football fans to get their teeth into the new season.
In Monday’s USA Today Coaches poll, the usual suspects were in the top five, with Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson and Notre Dame occupying the top five spots, with all but Clemson and Notre Dame receiving first-place votes .
University of Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian speaks to defensive back DShawn Jamison during the spring game on April 23, 2022 at Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Adam Davis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Then there is Texas.
The Longhorns are entering their second season under head coach Steve Sarkisian and have just come off a massive recruiting victory in the landing of five-star quarterback Arch Manning. They’ve also come off a 5-7 season, losing six straight in the months of October and November and finding a way to lose to lowly Kansas.
ALABAMA VOTED NO. 1 IN PRE-SEASON SURVEY OF COACHES
You’re 18th in the Coaches’ Poll this year, and yet you somehow earned a vote for first place.
All 65 coaches participating in the survey are anonymous. Who names Texas as the country’s number one team may never be known. Regardless of who the voice came from, it’s quite a distance.
While Texas is a traditional power team, the program is still trying to regain relevance under Sarkisian.
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The preseason won’t be easy for Texas as they have a home game with Nick Saban and Alabama on September 10th in Austin.
The Longhorns, heading to the SEC in 2025, will get an early taste of what an SEC schedule will look like as they see where their list of the best in the country stacks up.
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The following week, Texas will have another early-season Test when the UTSA Roadrunners come to town. The Roadrunners are coming off their best season in program history, going 12-2 under head coach Jeff Traylor.
The biggest hype surrounding Texas in 2022 comes from July’s big recruit and Ohio State quarterback transfer of Quinn Ewers.
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Ewers, who will compete with the Hudson Card as a sophomore for the starting job, is a native product of Southlake Carroll High School outside of Dallas-Fort Worth. The redshirt freshman was a big win for Sarkisian just two years after Ewers spurned Texas for Ohio State.
Quinn Ewers #3 of the Texas Longhorns looks on at a game during the Orange-White Spring Game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on April 23, 2022 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
“I’m looking forward to these two guys,” Sarkisian said when asked about the quarterback fight, according to CBS Sports. “They are both great team-mates, both are really trainable, both extremely competitive, highly motivated young men who both would love to get on the field when the team comes on the field on September 3.”
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While Texas certainly has a bright future under Sarkisian, the 2022 season will most likely not be the year that Texas regains prominence.
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian stands by Bijan Robinson, #5, during the Eyes of Texas after the Orange-White Spring Game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on April 23, 2022 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner Getty Images)
The Texas defense needs to perform better than it did in 2021, when the Longhorns conceded 30 points or more in all seven losses and rushed more than 200 yards per game during the season.
Visits to Texas Tech and Oklahoma State will be no picnic; and Oklahoma expects them on October 8th.
Texas may be on the rise, but a number one vote is way too much, too soon.
Joe Morgan is a sports reporter for Fox News.