DALLAS — Twelve ESPN staff members published preseason College Football Playoff predictions Wednesday, and five Texas programs landed somewhere on the ballots. Texas appeared on all 12.
ESPN published the predictions at 5:30 a.m. CT, with each voter submitting a top 12 instead of filling out a bracket. TCU and Baylor were the two Power 4 programs in the state that went without a vote.
Texas Longhorns Appear On All 12 ESPN Ballots
Jake Trotter was the only voter to put the Texas Longhorns at No. 1, with Notre Dame second and Ohio State third on his ballot. Andrea Adelson had Texas at No. 9. Nobody ranked the Longhorns lower. Eight voters still put Texas among their first five teams.
Texas comes into the season fifth in the Associated Press poll and fourth in the US LBM Coaches Poll.
Texas missed the Playoff last season after going 10-3, ending a two-year run in the field. Arch Manning completed 248 of 404 passes in his first season as the full-time starter. He finished with 3,163 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Manning also ran for 399 yards and 10 scores. His record as a starter is 12-3.
Steve Sarkisian liked what he saw from Manning during fall camp, calling it a great camp last week. For Manning, it was his first extended run of full practices since foot surgery in January.
Texas State is in Austin on Saturday. The game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium kicks at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. Ohio State comes in the next week, Sept. 12, for a 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff on ABC.
Texas Tech Red Raiders Land On Eight Ballots
Eight voters found a place for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, second among the Texas programs only to Texas. Max Olson was highest on the Red Raiders, ranking them fifth. Ryan McGee, Mark Schlabach and Paolo Uggetti all put Texas Tech at No. 9.
Last season Texas Tech went 12-2, won the program’s first Big 12 title with a 34-7 win over BYU, and lost 23-0 to Oregon in the Orange Bowl in the Playoff quarterfinals. The 12 wins set a school record.
Joey McGuire enters his fifth season at Texas Tech with a 35-18 record. Earlier this week, he told his quarterback that the Red Raiders being ranked No. 12 reflected questions about the position.
Texas Tech begins at home against Abilene Christian on Saturday, a 6 p.m. CT kickoff on FS1. Its first road trip comes Sept. 12 at Oregon State, where CBS has the 6:30 p.m. CT game.
Texas A&M Aggies Draw Four Ballots
Four panelists included the Texas A&M Aggies. Adelson was the most bullish, putting Texas A&M fifth. Hale and Olson each had them at No. 10, while Wilson slotted them 11th.
Texas A&M went 11-2 in 2025 and reached the Playoff for the first time in program history, losing to Miami in the first round after an 11-0 start. Texas A&M coach Mike Elko is going into his third season in College Station.
The Aggies open against Missouri State at Kyle Field on Saturday at 6 p.m. CT. They are No. 8 in the AP preseason poll.
SMU Mustangs And Houston Cougars Each Get One Ballot
The SMU Mustangs showed up once, at No. 11 on Eli Lederman’s ballot. Houston also appeared once. Trotter had the Cougars 11th.
SMU went 9-4 a year ago and ended the season with a 24-19 Holiday Bowl win over Arizona, its first bowl victory since 2012. Its two ACC losses were both on the road, both decided in the final minute and separated by four combined points.
Rhett Lashlee is 38-16 since taking over at SMU. Against conference opponents, his teams are 27-5. Kevin Jennings is back for his fifth year after throwing for 3,641 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2025. The Oak Cliff native played his high school football at South Oak Cliff.
The season starts Monday for SMU with a 6:30 p.m. CT game at Florida State on ESPN. It will be the Mustangs’ first game inside Doak Campbell Stadium. SMU’s 2027 matchup with the Oklahoma Sooners at AT&T Stadium has been moved to Labor Day weekend.
Houston finished last season 10-3. Its final win came in the Texas Bowl, 38-35 over LSU. Houston coach Willie Fritz is going into his third season with the Cougars, who won four games in his first year.
TCU Horned Frogs Missing From Every Ballot
No panelist ranked the TCU Horned Frogs. TCU received 11 points in the AP preseason poll, short of the top 25.
TCU has already played. North Carolina beat the Horned Frogs 15-10 on Aug. 29 at Aviva Stadium in Dublin in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. TCU led 10-3 in the first quarter and did not score again. Jaden Craig, a transfer from Harvard, went 20-of-32 for 175 yards in his first start. Jeremy Payne ran for 142 yards on 25 carries.
Two straight nine-win seasons have not satisfied TCU coach Sonny Dykes, who is going into his fifth year in Fort Worth without a Big 12 Championship Game appearance since 2022.
“I think we’ve been pretty good,” Dykes said in August, before the North Carolina game, in comments to the Associated Press. “Being great really is about reaching your potential as a team, and I don’t think we’ve done that in the last three years.”
TCU went 9-4 last season and finished No. 25 in the final AP poll, closing with a 30-27 overtime win over USC in the Alamo Bowl. Dykes is 36-17 in four seasons. Both starting linebackers in the Frogs’ 4-2-5 were drafted in April.
Grambling State comes to Fort Worth on Sept. 12. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
Seven Teams Appeared On Every ESPN Ballot
Texas was not alone in appearing on every ballot. Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia, Miami and Indiana also went 12 for 12.
Ohio State collected five first-place votes, Notre Dame four, Oregon two, and Texas one. BYU was next behind the unanimous seven at nine ballots, followed by Texas Tech and Boise State at eight apiece.
Indiana beat Miami in January for the national championship.
AT&T Stadium in Arlington hosts the Big 12 Championship Game on Friday, Dec. 4. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on ABC.
