Phil Steele tabs Texas football as a top 20 team in 2022
We’re not all that far from the release of the first set of preseason polls for the upcoming college football season, and there is already some hype around this Texas football team in 2022. In one of the more recent media preseason polls that was released this summer, Texas managed to crack the top 20.
Phil Steele released his preseason top 40 poll recently, and the Longhorns got a pretty good spot well inside this ranking. In his preseason poll for the 2022 college football season, Steele ranked the Longhorns at No. 18.
Texas was also ranked as having the top running back unit in the entire country in 2022 and as one of the 10 most improved teams to watch this season.
Steele clearly has some pretty lofty expectations for the Longhorns during the 2022 season. But this isn’t far off the expectations that some other media and analytical sources have for the Longhorns for the season ahead.
Phil Steele ranks Texas football No. 18 in the country for the 2022 season
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More Phil Steele stuff.... Surprise teams of the Year:
— Lisa Horne (@LisaHorne) June 27, 2022
No. 1 Pitt
No. 2 USC
No. 3 NC State
No. 4 Baylor
No. 5 Miami (FL)
No. 6 UCLA
No. 7 Ole Miss
No. 8 PSU
No. 9 Texas
No. 10 BYU
For instance, the latest update to the ESPN College Football Power Index for the 2022 season ranks Texas as the No. 7 team in the country, which also has them topping the Big 12 just ahead of the Oklahoma Sooners.
Moreover, Texas falls in line as the fourth-best team in the Big 12 in Steele’s preseason poll behind the No. 15 Oklahoma State Cowboys, No. 14 Baylor Bears, and No. 8 Oklahoma.
Among Steele’s surprise teams to watch this season, the Longhorns were one of just two programs from the Big 12 included in the mix. The other was Baylor.
It’s worth noting that one of the teams that Texas faces in the non-conference portion of the schedule this fall topped the list for Steele’s preseason poll. The reigning National Champion runner-up Alabama Crimson Tide topped Steele’s preseason poll this year, and Texas faces them in Week 2 of the regular season at home (specifically on Sep. 10).
Next. 3 transfers that could make-or-break Texas in 2022. dark
Texas finished up last season with a record of 5-7 (3-6 Big 12), missing out on bowl season for the first time since 2016. Head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns are set to open up the 2022 regular season at home on Sep. 3 against Louisiana-Monroe.