Longhorns Land in Kirk Herbstreit's Top Three

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit updated his college football team rankings after Week 2 of the 2023 season. The Texas Longhorns are on his list.

ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit has released his top-four college football team rankings following Week 2 of the college football season, and the Texas Longhorns have made the cut.

"Still very early but here's my top 4 after Week 2," Herbstreit said on Instagram. "Gonna be a great season! Who do you think makes the playoffs this year?"

There have been two major defining victories this season so far that have been influential in Herbstreit's team ranking decisions: Florida State's 45-24 triumph over LSU in Week 1 and the Texas Longhorns' historic 34-24 win over Alabama in Week 2.

Here are the current teams that stand within Herbstreit's top-four rankings:

1. Georgia (2-0)
2. Michigan (2-0)
3. Texas (2-0)
4. FSU (2-0)

Knocking at the door at the No. 5 and No. 6 slots are USC (3-0) and Ohio State (2-0), respectively. 

However, even with all the buzz surrounding the Longhorns from the Alabama win, Herbstreit's rankings to the AP Top-25 polls, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian knows that the season just started and there is still work that needs to be done.

“That one game isn’t going to define our season,” Sarkisian said in Monday's press conference. “Championship teams continue to improve as the season goes on, and we’ve got goals and aspirations of being champions this year. We’ve got to continue to improve this week, and that was the starting point here this morning.” 

Regardless of the outside noise, staying focused is a main priority of Texas' roster, especially to sophomore defensive back Ryan Watts.

“You can’t get carried away from one win, and knowing that, we can’t get complacent,” Watts said. “Every team is going to try to come and ruin our parade, especially in Wyoming. Every game you have to be consistent and see every game is like (it’s the) Super Bowl.”