AP Top 25 preseason poll: 5 knee-jerk reactions

3. Texas is actually underrated

In line with the annual tradition of the Alabama Crimson Tide topping the AP Top 25 preseason poll, another happening that college football fans are exceptionally familiar with this time of year is the Texas Longhorns hype train getting rolling. “Texas is back” is a refrain that pretty much falls on deaf ears at this point, largely because we’ve heard it so many times only to watch a team go out and under-perform, failing to meet expectations.

Once again, the Longhorns find their way into the preseason poll, coming in as the 23rd-ranked team in the country to start the year. However, the big change from recent years is that putting Texas at No. 23 might actually be underrating this group. Frankly, they have the makings of a team that’s far better than where they are currently being slotted in these rankings.

Head coach Tom Herman may have only gone 7-6 in his first season in that position, but that’s not fully indicative of the amount of success that he enjoyed with the Longhorns. Despite dealing with a number of key injuries to guys like Sam Ehlinger and Shane Buechele throughout the season, he still found ways to compete in big games and seemingly change the culture in Austin to something much closer to what it used to be.

Now with his quarterbacks returning and a slew of weapons around them, the Longhorns could be one of the more potent offenses in college football. Admittedly, there are questions about the Texas defense, but let’s be honest: this is the Big 12. Defense only means but so much in that conference and the Longhorns could well prove that by steadily making their way up the poll as the season wears on.