Longhorns ranked second in USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll

Austin — Texas is ranked second in the annual USA Today Coaches Preseason Top 25 Poll, which was released on Friday, including receiving four first-place votes.

It marks fourth time in the last five years the Longhorns have opened in the Top Five, including their third No. 2 ranking to go along 2005 and 2006. It is also the 10th straight year Texas has opened in the Top 10, which is a UT best.

“We’ve been ranked among the Top Five in the coaches preseason poll several times recently and that’s rewarding because it shows respect for our program from coaches around the country,” head coach Mack Brown said. “It also is a tribute to how strong we’ve finished in winning our last five bowl games. But, at this point, no one has earned the right to be in the upper part of the polls. I’ve always said I think we should start the polls in October like they do with the BCS Standings. That’s a much truer evaluation of a team because at that point you’ve proven it on the field.

“All of that said, Coach Royal told me a long time ago that preseason polls are like beauty contests, and if they’re going to enter you, you want to be near the top. We’re proud of everything we’ve built and the hard work our guys are putting in, but also realize that the preseason ranking means nothing. We need to be sure the guys understand that where you finish at the end of the year is important; where you rank at the first of the year is simply respect.”

Texas has been ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll for 169 straight weeks dating back to late in the 1998 season. The 169 straight weeks is the longest UT streak in any poll and the nation’s longest active streak in the coaches poll. The next longest active streak is USC’s 114 weeks. The Horns’ previous longest streak in the coaches poll was 54 weeks from 1977-80.

Texas has been ranked in the first and last coaches poll in all 11 of Mack Brown’s seasons in Austin.

Florida was ranked No. 1 in this season’s poll, receiving 53 first-place votes, while Oklahoma was third and USC was fourth with each receiving one first-place vote. Alabama, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Penn State, LSU and Mississippi round out the Top 10.

Overall, the Big 12 had four teams ranked with Oklahoma State at No. 11 and Nebraska at No. 22, while Kansas and Texas Tech finished with the most and third-most votes, respectively, of teams not ranked.

Texas opens the season against Louisiana-Monroe at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. on FSN Pay-per-view.

Source: MackBrown-TexasFootball.com