Texas rises into top 15 in Week 2 of USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll

Heading into Arkansas week, the Longhorns have jumped up six spots in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll.

One week into the new college football season and Texas already has a win against a ranked opponent. No. 23 Louisiana came to Austin with the hopes of pulling off an upset but Steve Sarkisian’s offense proved to be too much.

Heading into Arkansas week, the Longhorns have jumped up six spots in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll. Coming in at No. 15, they are the third highest-ranked Big 12 team in the poll behind Oklahoma (No. 4) and Iowa State (No. 10).

Oklahoma State is the only other conference foe to feature at No. 23. The Cowboys fell one spot after a narrow win over Missouri State. TCU and Kansas State received votes as well.

Full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:

Rank Team Points
1 Alabama 1624
2 Georgia 1537
3 Ohio State 1491
4 Oklahoma 1397
5 Texas A&M 1334
6 Clemson 1239
7 Notre Dame 1197
8 Cincinnati 1113
9 Florida 1058
10 Iowa State 1057
11 Oregon 920
12 Iowa 914
13 Penn State 872
14 Southern California 828
15 Texas 653
16 UCLA 538
17 Wisconsin 359
18 Utah 294
19 Coastal Carolina 289
20 Mississippi 285
21 Virginia Tech 274
22 North Carolina 252
23 Oklahoma State 243
24 Miami 186
25 Arizona State 181

Schools dropped out:

No. 13 LSU; No. 17 Indiana; No. 21 Washington; No. 23 UL Lafayette.

Others receiving votes:

Auburn 123; Michigan 99; Louisiana State 95; NC State 81; Liberty 78; Brigham Young 65; Indiana 58; Texas Christian 49; Central Florida 48; Florida State 34; Michigan State 33; Kentucky 28; Pittsburgh 20; UL Lafayette 19; Kansas State 19; Boston College 19; Appalachian State 15; Southern Methodist 14; Rutgers 11; Arkansas 11; Maryland 9; Tennessee 7; Nevada 7; Fresno State 7; Army 7; Tulane 6; Virginia 5; San Jose State 5; Missouri 5; Ball State 5; Marshall 3; UAB 2; Air Force 2; Charlotte 1.

As usual, Texas’ future foes in the SEC have dominated the top of the poll. Alabama retained the No. 1 spot, with Georgia just behind at No. 2. In-state rivals Texas A&M got bumped into the top five thanks to a loss by Clemson.

Florida (No. 9) and Ole Miss (No. 20) both moved up as well.

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Texas in the top 20 of initial USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll

You can finally consider college football back with the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll out. Texas debuts in the poll as the No. 19 team.

You can finally consider college football officially back because the first preseason poll of the year is out.

The USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll was released Tuesday afternoon, with Texas debuting at No. 19. For the first time in years, this feels like the right position for the Longhorns to be ranked. Not too high, like the top 15 rankings in 2018 and 2019, but not low enough where they are dismissed as a solid football team.

Of course, Steve Sarkisian will want to push closer toward the top 10 as the season begins. An early win could help the cause with Louisiana being ranked No. 23. The matchup projects as Texas’ first ranked vs. ranked season opener since 1984.

Within the rest of the Big 12, two teams in Oklahoma (No. 3) and Iowa State (No. 8) are inside the top 10. The two are considered the favorites to win the Big 12 this season, finishing atop the conference preseason poll. Oklahoma State sneaked in the back door of the coaches poll, coming in at No. 22.

Full USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll:

Rank Team Points
1 Alabama 1621
2 Clemson 1508
3 Oklahoma 1481
4 Ohio State 1435
5 Georgia 1386
6 Texas A&M 1286
7 Notre Dame 1139
8 Iowa State 1131
9 North Carolina 999
10 Cincinnati 979
11 Florida 870
12 Oregon 842
13 Louisiana State 664
14 Southern California 655
15 Wisconsin 654
16 Miami (Fl) 575
17 Indiana 573
18 Iowa 554
19 Texas 427
20 Penn State 422
21 Washington 404
22 Oklahoma State 216
23 UL Lafayette 153
24 Coastal Carolina 150
25 Mississippi 149

Others receiving votes:

Utah 145; Northwestern 120; Arizona State 90; Auburn 84; Liberty 68; Brigham Young 53; Texas Christian 48; Michigan 30; Central Florida 29; NC State 27; Boise State 27; Kentucky 20; San Jose State 18; Army 13; Virginia Tech 9; Missouri 8; UCLA 7; Tulsa 6; Pittsburgh 6; Boston College 6; Houston 5; Ball State 5; West Virginia 4; Southern Methodist 4; Appalachian State 4; UAB 3; Arkansas 3; Nevada 2; Mississippi State 2; Air Force 2; Stanford 1; Marshall 1; Florida State 1; California 1.

Looking ahead to future conference members, six SEC programs are ranked. Alabama will be looking to defend their national championship as the No. 1 team in the country, while in-state rivals Texas A&M crack the top 10.

Georgia (No. 5), Florida (No. 11), LSU (No. 13), and Ole Miss (No. 25) make the poll as well.

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