The Longhorns are back.
After opening the 2024 season ranked as the fourth-best team in college football, the University of Texas has officially claimed the top overall spot in the Associated Press Top 25 college football rankings.
Texas jumped ahead of the University of Georgia for the top spot in this week’s ranking after defeating the University of Texas at San Antonio 56-7 in Austin, marking the first time the university has been atop the perch since the middle of the 2008 season.
The Longhorns started the 2024 season 3-0 with wins over Colorado State, No.18 Michigan, and UTSA, putting up an average of 46.33 points while holding their opponents to just 6.33 points.
Texas climbing to the top of the AP rankings means the Southeastern Conference continues to reign the college football landscape, with six of the seven highest-ranked teams belonging to the SEC.
Both the Longhorns and the University of Oklahoma are first-year members of the SEC.
While the Longhorns have started the 2024 season with dominant wins, the remainder of the season will pose even more challenges for a team that now has a target on its back.
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers suffered an abdominal injury during the team’s Week 3 win over UTSA and is unlikely to play for the Longhorns in their upcoming game against the University of Louisiana Monroe.
Ewers’ diagnosis of “week to week” means the team will now have to lean on backup quarterback Arch Manning to lead the offense in the fourth game of the year.
Manning managed to step in against UTSA and perform well, throwing for 223 yards and accounting for five total touchdowns, but he may have to take on an even bigger role due to Ewers’ injury.
The biggest challenge for this team will come during the second half of the season once conference play begins, as the Longhorns will have to take on multiple ranked opponents who are also members of the SEC.
