Texas Longhorns Top 2025 Preseason SEC Power Rankings After Phenomenal Year 1

If teams could win Rookie of the Year in college football, then the Texas Longhorns would've been the runaway winner for their incredible first season in the SEC.

The Longhorns enjoyed a reign atop the AP rankings for a short time, blew out fellow SEC newcomer Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry, capped off their regular season with a Lone Star Showdown victory over Texas A&M, and found themselves in the SEC Championship, coming up just short to the Georgia Bulldogs in overtime.

Despite the conference championship loss, Texas made the 12-team College Football Playoff with ease, winning their first-round game against Clemson and holding off the Arizona State Sun Devils in a barn-burning second-round matchup before falling to the eventual national champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes, in the third round.

Now the Longhorns will look to the 2025 season, where they will be without stars such as quarterback Quinn Ewers, tight end Gunnar Helm, and wide receiver Isaiah Bond, who are all heading to the NFL this upcoming season.

But according to USA Today, that shouldn't stop them from repeating their success from their rookie year into their sophomore year in 2025.

In the publication's preseason conference rankings, the two SEC Championship teams are 1-2, with the Longhorns leading the way over Georgia.

Despite the change at quarterback and loss of receivers and defensive lineman, the Longhorns remain the favorites to win the SEC, as well as the national championship.

Here are the full preseason SEC rankings, courtesy of USA Today:

1) Texas Longhorns

2) Georgia Bulldogs

3) LSU Tigers

4) Tennessee Volunteers

5) Alabama Crimson Tide

6) Florida Gators

7) Ole Miss Rebels

8) Auburn Tigers

9) Texas A&M Aggies

10) South Carolina Gamecocks

11) Oklahoma Sooners