5 things to know about the #5-ranked UT Longhorns before the start of football season

The 2026 college football season kicks off the weekend of Aug. 29.

As usual, several Texas teams are expected to do well. A preseason AP college poll ranks Texas A&M at #8, Texas Tech at #12 and Houston at #23. UT comes out on top in the state at #5.

Texas Standard caught up with Austin American-Statesman sports reporter Danny Davis to get a preview of the upcoming gridiron from a burnt-orange lens.

1: Texas is ranked appropriately

Davis says the disappointment of Texas missing the playoffs last year is still lingering, but he believes the preseason ranking is about right.

“There’s lot of talent on this team and any time you have a player as good as Arch Manning on offense and a player as good as Colin Simmons, as well as some of the other players they brought in this off season, this team should be competing for a national championship. So you don’t want to put them at #1, they have to earn that, but a top five is appropriate,” Davis said.

2: This could be Arch’s final year at UT

The UT quarterback still has another year of eligibility after this year and it’s possible he could stick around. But Davis isn’t betting on it.

“If he accomplishes what he wants to accomplish and is slated to go high in the draft, I can’t see him coming back from another season,” Davis said. “He makes good money here, but the money is even better in the NFL. So I think if he accomplished what he wanted to accomplish, this will be the last year with Arch, which is appropriate. He’s been here for four years. Time to go on, do the next thing.”

So what would check off the list for Manning?

“I think Arch would definitely like to win a national championship and maybe contend for some of those awards. He’s not going to say that publicly, but I’m sure privately he wouldn’t mind going for a Heisman Trophy,” Davis said.

Davis says a lot of things can happen to prevent that ideal season.

“But I think if Arch wins the national title and joins Vince (Young) and James Street and some of those Longhorn quarterbacks who have won titles here, I think he’d be pretty happy,” Davis said.

3: The excitement about transfer Cam Coleman is real

Coleman went viral on social media recently with a video of a one-handed catch high in the air. Davis says it was evidence of what he can bring to the Longhorns offense.

“He’s obviously a very talented receiver,” Davis said. “He was probably one of the top transfer targets in the port of this offseason, and Texas got him, and this Texas team lost some production in the receiving corps. They brought back Ryan Wingo, who’s very talented, but Cam Coleman, that gives them a huge one-two punch. So Arch needs people to throw the football to. Cam Coleman’s a very good person to throw their football to, and I think next offseason he’ll definitely be a first-round pick, so that’s something you definitely want on your offense.”

4: Texas has a tough schedule

Seven of the teams that Texas plays this season are ranked in the Top 25 — including #1 Ohio State on week two.

“And Texas found out last year that even the easy games in the SEC play aren’t necessarily easy,” Davis said. “So this is going to be a tough schedule. From start to finish, even UTSA or Texas State, those teams are going to want to come into Texas and spring the upset. So there’s no easy games on this Texas schedule.”

5: It’ll likely be a dynamic season

Davis says he’s in it to see if the Longhorns can live up to their hype. And he’s sure there are going to be some great games both at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and on the road.

“They’re going to LSU for the first time in forever, going to Tennessee for the time ever. And then you go to A&M, have Oklahoma in Dallas. It’s going to be a fun schedule if you’re a Texas fan, whether you’re watching some games at home or you’re one of those fans who likes to travel everywhere,” Davis said. “It’s going to be a fun year with a lot of cool venues, a lot cool things to see and that’s kind of what you want to see at this time of year.”

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