Texas is a Top 4 team in college football for 2024. ESPN’s Bill Connely’s metrics back up that sentiment.
Connely released early SP+ rankings for the upcoming college football season. It comes as no surprise the Longhorns ranked highly on the list. Texas checks in at No. 4 behind Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon. That’s probably about where it belongs.
ESPN’s SP+ ratings take returning production, recruiting and recent history into account. The Longhorns fared well in all three categories for the metric.
Inside Texas’ Joe Cook noted where each of Texas’ scheduled opponents rank in SP+ for the cycle. Below is the Longhorns’ schedule with each opponent’s SP+ rankings.
- Colorado State – No. 98
- Michigan – No. 6
- UTSA – No. 53
- Louisiana-Monroe – No. 134
- Mississippi State – No. 68
- Oklahoma – No. 15
- Georgia – No. 1
- Vanderbilt – No. 97
- Florida – No. 33
- Arkansas – No. 46
- Kentucky – No. 25
- Texas A&M – No. 13
Interesting takeaways from the above rankings begin with the fact that Texas faces a tough, but manageable schedule. The Longhorns are given four Top 15 opponents in Georgia, Michigan, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. Kentucky and Florida are sneaky good matchups at No. 25 and No. 33, but both will be in Austin.
UTSA appears to be significantly better than Mississippi State in the metric. Vanderbilt and Colorado State appear to be the same level of difficulty if the ratings are accurate. Louisiana-Monroe is ranked as the worst team in FBS football according to the SP+ ratings.
How does Texas fare in 2024? It will face No. 6 Michigan and No. 13 Texas A&M on the road. Additionally, the Longhorns host No. 1 Georgia in Austin and take on No. 15 Oklahoma in Dallas. That’s a tough stretch, but one in which Texas probably doesn’t go winless.
The Longhorns do match up well with Michigan and at some places seem to have an advantage against Oklahoma. Texas A&M will break in a new coaching staff and in many ways a new roster. We’ll have a better idea how accurate the ratings are after the first couple weeks of the season.