Texas Football: Where USA Today ranked Longhorns in post-spring top 25

Texas football is deserving of a top 25 ranking, as USA Today agreed in their latest poll still early on during the 2020 offseason.

The solid footing of the Texas football program in the post-spring top 25 rankings across the media landscape continues to hold out in the top 15. In the latest edition of the USA Today top 25 college football rankings with most spring camps across the country already cancelled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Texas held a similar spot to most that you would see at this point in time.

In this list from USA Today, the Texas Longhorns football program ranked at No. 15 in their post-spring poll. This isn’t the most favorable ranking for the Longhorns, but is still has an optimistic outlook for their 2020 campaign.

There is still a small chance that the Longhorns hold their spring practice. But that chance seems to be dwindling by the hour given quarantine orders around the country are still firmly in place.

The top five in that poll rounded out with the Alabama Crimson Tide, Oregon Ducks, Georgia Bulldogs, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Clemson Tigers (in that order from bottom-to-top). Although there weren’t any teams from the Big 12 in the top five, they did have a good number that made the rankings in general. The Longhorns were one of four Big 12 teams in the top 25.

Those other three Big 12 teams in the USA Today rankings were the Oklahoma State Cowboys (No. 19), Iowa State Cyclones (No. 16), and Oklahoma Sooners (No. 6). Other teams with relevance to Texas that were on these rankings included the No. 13 Texas A&M Aggies, No. 9 LSU Tigers, and No. 20 North Carolina Tar Heels.

The only former Texas head coach ranked in the top 25 here was Mack Brown, with the Tar Heels. Current Texas head coach Tom Herman had his team in a good position to make a run at Oklahoma and the Big 12 Championship this fall.

Here’s what USA Today had to say on the matter of where they ranked the Longhorns.

"Pegging where Tom Herman’s program will land feels like guesswork as much as anything, given how last year’s team flopped amid high expectations. This seems like a safe preseason starting point given the leadership of senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger and the possibility that massive coaching changes lights a fire under a program in need of a spark."

Herman and the Longhorns have a lot on the line whenever they’re set to take the field next. Spring camp likely is out the window and summer workouts will be up in the air. Getting up and running by fall camp is key to getting this coaching staff going for Herman, though.

This might be one of the final chances that Herman has during his time as the head coach of Texas. The Longhorns are coming off a 2019 campaign where they finished with a record of 8-5 (5-4 Big 12) after an Alamo Bowl win over the No. 11 Utah Utes.