The Longhorns have finally made it in the eyes of Associated Press poll respondents. On August 11, AP released its preseason Top 25 College Football Poll, which places the University of Texas in the No. 1 spot for the first time.

AP calls it the "closest preseason vote since 1998." Texas beat Penn State by five points, and Ohio State, at No. 3, by 80 points. Although Texas scraped by, it had the lowest share of No. 1 votes since 2008: 38.5 percent for Texas this year, and 33.9 percent for Georgia, then.

The season will kick off for the Longhorns on August 30, when the team faces Ohio State. When the two met in the Cotton Bowl in 2024, the Buckeyes won, so the Longhorns have something to prove.

AP's analysis draws attention to “Arch Mania” in Texas, pinning hopes on quarterback Arch Manning. It also points out that the Longhorns have won 25 of their past 30 games.

The Longhorns also took the No. 1 spot in USA Today's US LBM Coaches Poll, released August 4. USA Today's poll flipped the positions of Penn State and Ohio State, which were only 40 points apart.

After releasing the August 11 list, AP published "a team-by-team look:"

— No. 1 Texas is the AP preseason No. 1 team for the first time. The Longhorns have been No. 2 in the preseason five times (1962, 1965, 1970, 2005 and 2009).

— No. 2 Penn State has its highest preseason ranking since it was No. 1 in 1997. That team lost its last two games and finished 9-3 and No. 16 in the final poll.

— No. 3 Ohio State extended its record streak of consecutive seasons appearing in the preseason poll to 37. The Buckeyes are in the top five for the ninth straight year.

— No. 4 Clemson is in the preseason top 10 for the ninth time in 10 years.

— No. 5 Georgia is in the preseason Top 25 for the 25th time since 2000. Only Ohio State and Oklahoma have appeared in all 26 since then.

— No. 6 Notre Dame is ranked in the preseason top 10 for the sixth time in the last seven seasons.

— No. 7 Oregon has appeared in 21 of 25 preseason polls after having just one preseason ranking between 1950 and 2000 (1954).

— No. 8 Alabama’s ranking is its lowest in the preseason since it was No. 24 in 2008, Nick Saban’s second season.

— No. 9 LSU, which has been in all but one preseason poll since 2001, has lost five straight season openers.

— No. 10 Miami is in the preseason top 10 for only the second time since 2006. The Hurricanes were No. 8 in 2018.

— No. 11 Arizona State has its highest ranking to open a season since the 1998 team was No. 8.

— No. 12 Illinois has a preseason ranking for the first time since 2008 under Ron Zook. The Illini’s No. 12 ranking is its highest in a preseason, regular season or postseason poll since they opened at No. 7 in 2001.

— No. 13 South Carolina has ended a 10-year preseason Top 25 drought. The Gamecocks’ last preseason ranking was 2014 under Steve Spurrier.

— No. 14 Michigan saw its streak of three straight top-10 preseason rankings end.

— No. 15 Florida's preseason ranking is its first under fourth-year coach Billy Napier.

— No. 16 SMU is ranked in the preseason for the first time in 40 years. The 1985 team opened No. 3 and finished 6-5 and unranked.

— No. 17 Kansas State is ranked in the preseason for a third straight year, its longest streak since it was in the preseason Top 25 six straight years (1996-2001).

— No. 18 Oklahoma has been ranked in the preseason every year since 2000 and its 67 all-time preseason rankings are second to Ohio State's 72.

— No. 19 Texas A&M appears in its seventh straight AP preseason poll, but the Aggies have only finished ranked only once since 2019. That was the 2020 pandemic season.

— No. 20 Indiana has a preseason ranking for the first time since 2021. The Hoosiers went 2-10 that season.

— No. 21 Mississippi has appeared in four straight preseason Top 25 preseason polls, the program's longest streak since it was in seven in a row (1958-64).

— No. 22 Iowa State is in the preseason poll for the fourth time in seven years after appearing only once (1978) between 1950 and 2018.

— No. 23 Texas Tech has a preseason ranking for the first time since 2008. It also is the Red Raiders’ first ranking since 2018, when they were in for one week in late September at No. 25.

— No. 24 Tennessee has its third straight preseason ranking but starts a ninth straight season outside the top 10.

— No. 25 Boise State is ranked in the preseason for the first time since 2018.

Tailgate with CultureMap
Longhorns fans can get in the gameday spirit at CultureMap's big fall sports bash, The Tailgate, taking place September 25 at Distribution Hall. Favorite Austin restaurants and chefs will serve up sports-inspired bites, and premium cocktails will keep guests hydrated as they meet-and-greet Texas sports legends, bid on memorabilia in a silent auction, and enjoy more game-day fun. The Tailgate is sponsored by FLIGHT by Yuengling, Mizzen+Main, Antone's Famous Po' Boys, and more to be announced.

Read more about The Tailgate here and score early bird tickets here before they run out.

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This Associated Press story includes additional reporting by CultureMap editor Brianna Caleri.