Josh Pate Predicts Texas Longhorns' Preseason AP Poll Ranking

College football analyst Josh Pate has made his dislike for the AP Poll known. Yet, that didn't stop him from predicting where Texas football will start the season at in the preseason poll.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian went 5-7 during his first season with the Longhorns. 2022-08-22-steve-sarkisian | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

You know college football season is close when the conversation turns toward the preseason AP Poll.  The first poll will officially drop sometime in mid-August, and while college football analyst Josh Pate isn't a voter, he made predictions about what the poll will look like. 

And maybe to the chagrin of some fans, the Texas Longhorns are predicted to be the AP Poll’s preseason No. 1 team. That was despite the preseason hype surrounding several other potential national championship contenders, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and defending champs, Indiana. 

“I think it's going to be Texas, …” Pate said. “I think they're going to go a repeat of the number one team they had last year, which ended up not making the playoff, by the way. So this is my best guess, this is my best approximation.”

It likely isn’t a surprise to most that the Longhorns are once again in the conversation for that top spot in the preseason poll. Even after, as Pate said, missing the College Football Playoff a season ago with a 10-3 record, the Longhorns are once again among the most hyped teams entering the new season. 

And it’s easy to see why: after a disappointing season with an undoubtedly talented roster, head coach Steve Sarkisian and Co. didn’t rest on their laurels. The Longhorns staff went to work, first with Sarkisian making changes to his staff, bringing in defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, defensive passing game coordinator Blake Gideon, and running backs coach Jabbar Juluke.

Then came the reloading via the transfer portal. After the offensive line and much of the supporting cast around star quarterback Arch Manning didn’t hold up its end of the bargain, Texas made additions. 

In came Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman, Arizona State running back Raleek Brown, NC State running back Hollywood Smothers, along with offensive linemen Melvin Siani and Dylan Sikorski, among others.

But the additions didn’t start and end with the offense. With Muchamp’s new defense, the Longhorns added linebacker Rasheem Biles, cornerback Bo Mascoe, defensive tackle Ian Geffrard, and others.

With the No. 10-ranked portal class according to ON3 and another top-10 high school recruiting class, there is reason for hype in Austin. That is even despite the upcoming difficult schedule.