Where Texas football ranks in post-Week 3 ESPN FPI

A nice win for head coach Steve Sarkisian and No. 21 ranked Texas football over head coach Jeff Traylor and the UTSA Roadrunners on Sep. 17 delivered the second win of the season for the men in burnt orange. Texas kept it close for a while with UTSA, even taking a tie into the locker room at halftime in this key matchup on the night of Sep. 17 at home at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

Yet, Sark and the Longhorns started to get more separation in the second half. In fact, the Longhorns wound up winning the second half of this game over the Roadrunners by a score of 24-3. That led Texas to notch this win over UTSA in the end by the final score of 41-20.

This was a convincing win for Texas that was much needed to make it through this latest wave of injuries before the start of Big 12 play.

Texas is also put in a position to really head into the thick of the Big 12 slate with some real confidence and momentum depending on how this team can cap the September slate next weekend.

So, after this convincing three-score win for Sark and the Longhorns over UTSA this weekend, where does this team stand nationally?

According to the updated ESPN Football Power Index post-Week 3, Texas ranks as the No. 6 team in the country and the top team in the Big 12 ahead of the Oklahoma Sooners. It’s also worth noting that Texas is the highest-rated one-loss team in the country coming out of Week 3.

Steve Sarkisian and Texas football nearly crack the top five in the post-Week 3 ESPN FPI

Following Texas’ Week 2 one-point loss to the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, they actually slid up one spot in the FPI to No. 6. Thus, Texas holds serve following the three-possession win over UTSA this weekend. Texas was the No. 7 team in the FPI after their season-opening win two weekends ago over the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks at home.

The next highest-rated one-loss team in the updated FPI is the LSU Tigers, who came up with a big win over the previously-undefeated Mississippi State Bulldogs and head coach Mike Leach at home on Sep. 17.

And the next-highest rated team in the Big 12 in the updated FPI is Oklahoma, who rings in at No. 9 following their dominant 49-14 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers on the road on Sep. 17.

Moreover, the FPI now gives Sark and the Longhorns roughly a five percent chance to win out this season, a 42 percent chance to win the Big 12, and a 16 percent chance to make it to the College Football Playoff.

Texas now holds a record of 2-1 (0-0 Big 12) following this convincing 21-point win over UTSA at home on Sep. 17. Next up for Sark and the Longhorns is a meeting with new head coach Joey McGuire and the Texas Tech Red Raiders on the road in Lubbock to open up Big 12 play on Sep. 24.