Longhorns Country

Texas Longhorns Rank Top Five in Final AP Poll

The Texas Longhorns are among the top teams in this season's final AP poll.
Jon Alfano|
Jan 10, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian before the College Football Playoff semifinal against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images
Jan 10, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian before the College Football Playoff semifinal against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-Imagn Images | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

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Texas Longhorns

The 2024 college football season has officially come to a close, with the Ohio State Buckeyes defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday night to claim their ninth national title in program history.

Naturally, the final AP Poll of the season was released on Tuesday morning, and the Texas Longhorns remain near the top.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian speaks to media before the Cotton Bowl.
Texas Longhorns Head Coach Steve Sarkisian speaks during the Coaches' Press Conference at AT&T Stadium, Jan. 9, 2024. Both coaches answered questions from the media during the conference, and will face each other in the Cotton Bowl College Football Playoff semi-final game on Friday. | Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Longhorns finished the season ranked No. 4, the exact same placement they had in the previous AP Poll before bowl season. The only teams ahead of them are the Buckeyes, Fighting Irish and Oregon Ducks.

Texas had a decent run in the College Football Playoff, defeating the Clemson Tigers 38-24 in the first round and the Arizona State Sun Devils 39-31 (2OT) in the quarterfinals. However, its run came to an end when it lost to the Buckeyes 28-14 in the semifinals, marking the second straight year it has fallen just short of the national championship game.

At the very least, the Longhorns did finish the season as the highest-ranked team in the SEC. The Georgia Bulldogs held that title heading into bowl season, as one would expect from the conference champions, but fell four spots following their 23-10 loss to the Fighting Irish in the quarterfinals. Granted, that loss came without starting quarterback Carson Beck, who suffered an injury in the SEC Championship Game against the Longhorns, but it's still an early loss nonetheless.

All things considered, the Longhorns had a good first season in their new conference. However, they have their sights set on a national championship, and falling short for the second year in a row will leave a bad taste in their mouths.

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Jon Alfano
JON ALFANO

Jon is a lead writer for Baltimore Ravens On SI and contributes to other sites around the network as well. The Tampa native previously worked with sites such as ClutchPoints and GiveMeSport and earned his journalism degree at the University of Central Florida.

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