Texas’ Trey Moore ranked the No. 2 edge rusher in the state

Trey Moore trails only Texas A&M’s Nic Scourton.

One of Texas’ biggest offseason additions came via the transfer portal in UTSA edge Trey Moore. Continue reading “Texas’ Trey Moore ranked the No. 2 edge rusher in the state”

ESPN SP+ ranks the top college football teams for 2024

ESPN’s SP+ rating ranks the Texas Longhorns in the Top 5 for 2024.

Bill Connelly of ESPN has released his SP+ rating for the 2024 season. The metric views Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas as the four best teams in college football heading into the upcoming season.

The ranking adds credence to the widely accepted notion that the above four teams are the top contenders for the 2024 College Football Playoff and national title.

Connelly’s ratings metric covers three areas: returning production, recruiting and on-field success. Last season’s cycle saw all four of the above teams fare as well as anybody in the three categories with the potential to do more damage in 2024.

The rankings outside those four might surprise. Here’s a look at where Connelly and his SP+ metric has the top 15 teams for the next football season.

247Sports ranks Texas No. 1 for best QB-WR duo in college football

Quinn Ewers and Isaiah Bond could be lethal in 2024.

It’s no secret that Texas will field one of the top offenses in college football for the 2024 season. Continue reading “247Sports ranks Texas No. 1 for best QB-WR duo in college football”

Alabama football loses significant ground in way-too-early Top 25

In ESPN’s latest way-too-early Top 25 college football rankings, Alabama slides significantly in the wrong direction.

Since losing to Michigan in the Rose Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal, the Alabama football program has gone through a lot.

Nick Saban retired. The transfer portal produced some key departures. A few 2024 commits signed elsewhere. As a result, ESPN has grown wary of the Crimson Tide.

Though there have been plenty of negatives, it is important to remember  there has also been plenty of positive news. New head coach Kalen DeBoer is a proven winner. He has hired a strong staff. There have been some impressive pickups via the transfer portal and the recruiting trail.

ESPN’s original way-too-early Top 25 for the 2024 college football season had Alabama ranked No. 4, but that is no longer the case. In the latest rankings, the Crimson Tide have fallen to No. 9, which makes DeBoer’s team the fifth-highest-ranked SEC team.

No sense in complaining about a top-10 ranking, but being fifth in the conference the Tide just won last season is interesting.

Marco Schlabach of ESPN writes,

“Alabama’s transition under former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer has already been rocky, with Downs and highly regarded quarterback Julian Sayin transferring to Ohio State, Bond and tight end Amari Niblack jumping to Texas, offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor returning home to Iowa and several players leaving for the NFL. Then, making matters worse, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and offensive line coach Scott Huff took jobs with the Seattle Seahawks last week. Saban’s dynasty wasn’t built with Tinkertoys, so the Crimson Tide will be fine in the long run.”

The Crimson Tide’s 2024 season, and the DeBoer era, begins on Aug. 31 in Tuscaloosa against Western Kentucky. We don’t know where Alabama will be ranked to start the season. Neither do we know what to expect from this team. The standard, however, is to compete for the conference title and a national championship.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football as the 2024 offseason progresses.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM. 

Another way-too-early poll ranks the Texas Longhorns at No. 4

“Consensus is building for the Texas Longhorns as a Top 5 team.”

Consensus is building for the Texas Longhorns as a Top 5 team. Another outlet has the Longhorns at No. 4 in their way-too-early poll.

ESPN ranks Texas behind Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon with Notre Dame slotting just behind at No. 5. The Longhorns’ ranking justification goes as follows.

“Now (after reaching the playoff) coach Steve Sarkisian will have to show his program can stay in the sport’s upper echelon against increased competition in the SEC. We’ll probably have to wait another season for the Arch Manning era with quarterback Quinn Ewers coming back. He’ll need to find new targets this spring with receivers Adonai Mitchell and Xavier Worthy and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders jumping to the NFL. Transfers Isaiah Bond (Alabama) and Matthew Golden (Houston) are plenty capable. The Longhorns play at Michigan on Sept. 7 and host Georgia on Oct. 19. They won’t play Alabama, Auburn, LSU or Ole Miss during the regular season.”

Texas is a safe pick to contend for the playoff. It’s safe because the team proved it could compete against and defeat some of the best teams in a convincing Alabama win last year. In addition, there simply aren’t many teams about to get a third season with the same quarterback, head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator. That’s to say nothing of what Texas returns at offensive line.

The Longhorns’ stability will have many placing the team in their Top 5 ranked teams for next season. Now they will look to have a strong spring as they build toward a pivotal 2024 season.

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.

Future Rankings: Predicting the best SEC programs the next five years

We predict which teams will have the most success over the next five years.

One of the most anticipated college football seasons in recent memory is ahead with several months to forecast the year. Multiple changes make for what projects to be a memorable fall of football.

Conference realignment is at the forefront of changes that will transform the college football experience. Outside of the SEC, the disbanded Pac-12 conference is scattered across three other power conferences.

Stanford and Cal will play in the ACC after resisting a more logistically sound move to the Big 12. So we’ll see Stanford travel to face Syracuse in its first conference game of the year.

Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State join the Big 12 conference when they next take the field. Elsewhere, USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington will play in the Big Ten.

The SEC’s expansion makes more sense. The conference will add Oklahoma and Texas to the league. Former and potential rivals Arkansas, Texas A&M, Missouri and LSU stand as games that could increase interest in the league in Texas and Oklahoma.

How the conference tiers moving forward will be of debate over the next few months. Here’s a look at how we rank the teams in the league for the next five seasons.

CFB analyst JD PicKell ranks Texas No. 3 in post-Saban, portal Top 12

Texas ranks in the Top 3 of another expert poll.

The Nick Saban effect changes everything. The retirement of the former Alabama head coach is changing our college football predictions and appears to be changing another.

College football analyst JD PicKell shared his Top 12 poll for the 2024 season on Thursday. The significance of the number is that 12 programs will make the College Football Playoff. At least one Group of Five team will be included, but one would still like to finish within the Top 12 among Power Five teams.

PicKell’s ranking goes as follows.

  1. Georgia
  2. Ohio State
  3. Texas
  4. Oregon
  5. Ole Miss
  6. Michigan
  7. Alabama
  8. Penn State
  9. Notre Dame
  10. Missouri
  11. Florida State
  12. Utah

Notably from the list, Alabama and Michigan are given plenty of credit for their reputation despite losing their head coach and not returning much from either squad. Penn State is given a high ranking as well, although the Nittany Lions do not seem to have won a big game in a long while.

Outside of the above potential areas in question, the Top 5 should probably be widely agreed upon among college football analysts. Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, Oregon and Ole Miss all seem like teams you can trust in 2024. The rest of college football is anybody’s guess.

Tom Herman ranks the Longhorns No. 6 in final Coaches Poll

Herman ranked Michigan, Washington, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida State ahead of the Texas Longhorns.

The final US LBM Coaches Poll was released on Tuesday, with Texas coming in at No. 4. Many coaches showed respect for Texas by having them ranked within the top three. Former Texas coach Tom Herman did not think the same way as others.

The Florida Atlantic head coach put Texas No. 6 in the final Coaches Poll behind Michigan, Washington, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida State. Despite making it to the College Football Playoff and beating Alabama in a head-to-head matchup, Herman put the Longhorns behind the Seminoles and the Crimson Tide.

Now, why would he do this?

Honestly, no one truly knows. He must believe that Texas didn’t deserve to be in the College Football Playoff, otherwise the Longhorns would have been among the top four of his rankings.

Herman was fired from Texas following the 2020 season, and despite a winning record and going 4-0 in bowl games, Herman wasn’t the coach of the future in Austin.

With an improved culture under Steve Sarkisian, Texas finished the 2023 season with a 12-2 record, Big 12 Championship, and a College Football Playoff berth.

Texas finishes No. 4 in US LBM Coaches Poll to conclude 2023 season

The Coaches Poll places Texas one spot below the AP Poll to conclude the 2023 college football season.

The final US LBM Coaches Poll for the 2023 college football season was released on Tuesday. Continue reading “Texas finishes No. 4 in US LBM Coaches Poll to conclude 2023 season”