Did PFF overrate Texas in their way-too-early 2022 top 25 rankings?
Most of the “way-too-early” rankings/top 25 polls for the upcoming season have a wide range in terms of where Texas football is slotted. But one of the more recent major early top 25 rankings to drop in the midst of spring camp included Texas higher than usual.
Pro Football Focus dropped their “way-too-early top 25 rankings” for the 2022 season in the midst of spring ball. And they had a very favorable slotting in their rankings this spring for head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns.
Texas rang in at No. 14 in PFF’s way-too-early top 25 for the 2022 season, which seems high for this team. And considering the fact that PFF is usually harsher on Texas than most media outlets each passing offseason in their early top 25 rankings, this comes as a real surprise.
Granted, PFF tends to be higher on the Longhorns under Sark as head coach than they were in the days under former head coaches Charlie Strong and Tom Herman.
For instance, the preseason poll last year from PFF ranked Texas at No. 16. Obviously, Texas didn’t come anywhere close to living up to that type of expectation last season. Thus, it’s easy to say that PFF has overrated the Longhorns in their preseason rankings in the last couple of years.
Steve Sarkisian and Texas football rated unusually high in PFF’s early 2022 rankings
Texas getting slotted at No. 14 in PFF’s way-too-early college football rankings this spring doesn’t mean much. But it does serve as an interesting frame of reference in terms of seeing how the 2022 season plays out for the Longhorns compared to the preseason rankings from PFF.
Some of the other Big 12 teams that made it into this way-too-early top 25 were the Oklahoma Sooners (No. 9) and Baylor Bears (No. 20). The Oklahoma State Cowboys were the only Big 12 team listed as “just missed the cut”.
There also weren’t many surprises in the top five of PFF’s way-too-early rankings. The top five, in order from top-to-bottom, included the Alabama Crimson Tide, Ohio State Buckeyes, Georgia Bulldogs, Clemson Tigers, and then the Michigan Wolverines.
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Sark and the Longhorns wrapped up the 2021 season with a record of 5-7 (3-6 Big 12), missing out on bowl season for the first time since 2016. Texas is set to open up the 2022 regular season on Sep. 3 at home against Louisiana-Monroe.