On3 Sports ranks Texas No. 4 in pre-spring Top 25 poll

The Longhorns are viewed as a team right behind Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon for 2024.

The transfer portal has transformed several rosters. Ohio State, Oregon and Texas are three of the biggest beneficiaries of the portal. They rank highly in one pre-spring Top 25.

On3 Sports’ Jesse Simonton ranks the Top 10 in the following order: Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Michigan, Penn State and Missouri.

Other notable rankings in the list include Oklahoma at No. 13, Florida State at No. 16, Miami at No. 18 and Texas A&M at No. 23.

There’s plenty of variance in many of the preseason prognostications. For the most part, we have no clue what Alabama and Michigan will look like after losing the majority of their starters and elite head coaches. Many are giving both teams benefit of the doubt, but they won’t resemble the teams that made the playoff last season.

Alabama and Michigan are just two of a handful of teams we can’t reliably project with certainty. Five teams, however, seem like near locks to have strong seasons: Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas and Ole Miss. Given what those teams return and what they brought in through the transfer portal 10 wins seems like a realistic expectation for all five programs.

Outside of the above five teams, it’s anyone’s guess what could happen. Utah and Kansas State both appear primed for a collision course to the Big 12 title game. Missouri returns enough players to win 10 games in the SEC. Everything else seems unclear.

The transfer portal has helped complete several starting lineups. While there will be some change after spring football with transfers we have a good idea of who will rank at the top of college football. Texas will look to live up to its high billing in 2024.