Yahoo Sports' Preseason College Football Top 25: As Arch Manning enters his second season as a starter, No. 5 Texas eyes a national title
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College football officially begins this month.
Now that it's August, there are just weeks to go until Week Zero arrives on Aug. 29, and since the season is quickly approaching, we're rolling out our preseason top 25.
After revealing our teams in the back half of our top 25, we continue our previews of the top 12 teams in the country with a star-laden program looking to contend for a title.
Previously: Teams Nos. 13-25, No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 11 Alabama, No. 10 Texas A&M, No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 7 Miami,No. 6 Georgia
No. 5 Texas
2025 record: 10-3
Odds to win national championship: +650
Odds to make College Football Playoff: -175
2025 in 100 words or less
The Arch Manning era officially began with a loss. Texas scored just seven points in a 14-7 Week 1 defeat at Ohio State. It was a game that came to define the season. Texas simply wasn't good enough to make the playoff.
A 29-21 loss at Florida dropped Texas from the top 10 to unranked as Manning was sacked six times. The Longhorns rebounded with four straight wins to keep their hopes of the postseason alive. But it was clear that Texas needed to beat Georgia to have any realistic chance of making the playoff. And boy, did that not happen.
The Bulldogs shellacked the Longhorns 35-10. A run game that had been inconsistent all year was nonexistent and Georgia QB Gunner Stockton had just five incompletions. The regular season ended on a high note with a convincing win over Texas A&M, before Manning had four total touchdowns in a Citrus Bowl win over Michigan.
The QB
Arch Manning
Take away the preseason expectations of simply being Arch Manning and the redshirt junior's first full season as a starter would get a passing grade on a blind test. Manning was 248-of-404 passing for 3,173 yards, 26 TDs and seven interceptions. That loss to Florida was Manning's only multi-interception game of the season.
Manning ended the season strongly after that loss to Georgia. He threw four touchdowns and rushed for another in a win over Arkansas before scoring two touchdowns in the win over A&M.
He also showed just how valuable he was as a runner. Manning rushed 92 times for 399 yards and led Texas with 10 touchdowns on the ground. Given the way Manning ran the ball in 2025, it's hard to call that part of his game underrated any longer.
But Manning's running was also part of Texas' problem. The Longhorns had to rely on him on the ground too often. Tre Wisner led Texas with 131 carries for 597 yards. No other player had more than 55 carries or 236 rushing yards. Given Texas' offseason moves to add running backs Raleek Brown (Arizona State) and Hollywood Smothers (NC State) in the transfer portal, it's obvious that Texas doesn't want Manning to be it's No. 2 rusher again in 2026. The offense will be better for it if he isn't.
Non-QB to watch
WR Cam Coleman
Texas sure acted like a team loading up on playmakers to surround a star quarterback this offseason. While Brown and Smothers should anchor an improved run game, the star offseason addition was the uber-talented Coleman from Auburn.
Over two seasons with the Tigers, the former five-star recruit had 93 catches for 1,306 yards and 13 TDs. And he was catching those passes from quarterbacks who are not considered to be in the same stratosphere as Manning.
Coleman's addition should free up space for Ryan Wingo — and Wingo should prevent defenses from paying too much attention to Coleman. After Wingo had 54 catches for 834 yards and seven scores in 2025, the two players should form one of the top receiving duos in the country.
"The thing about Cam, everybody sees the highlight plays, the playmaking ability, the physical ability that he has," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said at SEC media days. "What I love is the person. The guy is a great human being. He's a guy that is a great teammate. He's one of our hardest workers. I think he's been a great addition to [the wide receiver room], to that offense. I know he's got a good rapport with Arch."
Eric Edholm's NFL Draft prospect to watch
QB Arch Manning
Did you expect someone else? Reasonably, the Longhorns have multiple candidates who could be the top UT prospect in the 2027 class — especially if Manning stays in school another year — including Coleman and Wingo, OT Trevor Goosby and EDGE Colin Simmons. But Manning is the pick here because NFL teams have been fascinated with him since before he ever set foot in Austin. He's far from a perfect prospect, even while carrying a name befitting of football royalty, and scouts have questioned his occasionally loose mechanics and average arm strength. But Manning is a quality athlete with a pro-caliber frame and underrated toughness who made notable improvements down the stretch in 2025 and could be in line for his best season yet in 2026.
College fantasy football player to watch
RB Raleek Brown
If you're all-in on the Texas passing game, you'll be looking at drafting Manning, Coleman and Wingo early in your drafts. Don't sleep on Brown or Smothers given Texas' concerted efforts to bolster the run game.
Brown had the best season of his college career in 2025. The converted wide receiver rushed 186 times for 1,141 yards and four touchdowns at Arizona State and is also, unsurprisingly, an asset in the passing game. He had 34 catches for 239 yards and two scores.
Smothers, who chose Texas over Alabama, had 160 carries for 939 yards and six scores in 2025 along with 37 catches for 189 yards. Both players can be assets in a full PPR league. And don't overlook that the Texas offensive line returns three starters from last year's team and added Wake Forest tackle Melvin Siani.
Biggest game
Sept. 12 vs. Ohio State
There are so many options for this category. Texas' schedule includes the Buckeyes, a trip to Tennessee, the annual rivalry game vs. Oklahoma, Ole Miss and three road games in November, including trips to LSU and Texas A&M.
But much like a season ago, the Ohio State game will be a barometer for the Longhorns. Sure, it helps that it's the game of September — and the biggest non-conference game of the year — but Texas will be in a far more advantageous playoff position with a victory.
Why Texas is No. 5
Any team in our top six or seven is capable of winning the national title. It's easy to envision everything coming together for the Longhorns this year as they are toughened up by one of the nation's best schedules and make a playoff run. That schedule could also produce three or four close losses to top-10 teams and put Texas out of the playoff again.
We're banking on a season closer to the former possibility. And for as much as we've talked about the Texas offense in this preview, it's the defense that will be the reason why the Longhorns are better in 2026.
Texas' passing defense took a major step back last season. After holding opponents to 174 yards a game in 2024, quarterbacks threw for 235 yards a game in 2025 and completed nearly 63% of their passes. Sarkisian bemoaned the defense's ability to give up big plays all season and with Will Muschamp back at defensive coordinator (but not the head coach in waiting this time), Texas should be a lot better against the pass.
It helps that star safety Jelani McDonald returns after leading the team in tackles and former Rutgers CB Bo Mascoe should be an immediate starter. Also, don't discount the impact that CB John Meredith III could make later in the season after he enrolled this summer and reclassified from the class of 2027.
But even if the defense is one of the best units in the country, all of the focus is still going to be on Manning and the offense. Manning knows that. Texas knows that. And it's why the Longhorns used the transfer portal to add top-tier talent around him.
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