The Football Power Index has been a topic of discussion as the dog days of summer have arrived. The Texas Longhorns are among the top three teams in the country in this computer-generated rankings and No. 2 in the SEC behind SEC-favorite, Georgia Bulldogs.
The only other team to check in ahead of the Burnt Orange is the Oregon Ducks, who had a tremendous offseason adding quarterbacks Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma) and Dante Moore (UCLA). The team also lured former Texas A&M wideout Evan Stewart to Eugene.
The Longhorns have a projected W-L of 10.0-2.4, while also having the third-best chance to win the College Football Playoff national championship at 11.4%. The top team, Georgia, will travel to Austin for a mid-October showdown at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
When discussing Texas, Justin Martinez believes that their No. 2 FPI ranking is accurate in his projections.
“Texas should adjust well to the SEC with quarterback Quinn Ewers leading the charge,” Martinez wrote. “And even though wide receivers Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell are gone, Alabama’s Isaiah Bond and Houston’s Matthew Golden are now in the mix. Texas’ defense also lost some key contributors, but it reloaded by adding Louisville defensive lineman Jermayne Lole and UTSA linebacker Trey Moore. The Longhorns are set up to compete for an SEC title.”
However, when it came to the Longhorns’ biggest rivals, he was less than impressed where the computers have the Sooners.
“OU has given the keys to sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold.” Martinez continued, “And while he has a lethal receiver group that features Purdue transfer Deion Burks, he’ll be behind an offensive line that’s made up almost entirely of new pieces. The Sooners will lean on their defense, which boasts returners such as linebacker Danny Stutsman and safety Billy Bowman. But the No. 4 spot is high for a team that’ll likely be closer toward the middle of the pack.”