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The 2021 college football season is roughly three months away, therefore there’s no better time to argue about preseason top 25 rankings.
The Longhorns have appeared in the majority of preseason college football top 25 rankings this offseason. Most preseason publications such as ESPN, CBS Sports and 247Sports have placed Texas around the 17-20 range.
However, Sporting News released their updated top 25 for the 2021 college football season on Tuesday and they appear to be the outlier after placing Texas at No. 13 overall.
“The Steve Sarkisian era in Austin begins. The Longhorns’ offense averaged 42.7 points per game last season, but Sam Ehlinger is gone. Casey Thompson and Hudson Card are battling for the starting job, and that should extend into fall camp. Running back Bijan Robinson and a talented group of receivers return, but as usual the questions are on the defensive side. What can Sarkisian do to improve that side of the ball? Texas lost three games by a total of 13 points last season. That’s the difference in the Big 12 race, which will be tight with Oklahoma and Iowa State.” – Bill Bender
Three other Big 12 programs were also mentioned: Oklahoma (4), Iowa State (9) and Oklahoma State (17). Texas will have to defeat at least two of those primary conference opponents, while also holding off dark horse programs such as TCU and West Virginia.