Where Athlon projected Texas to finish the 2024 season

In just over a couple of months, Texas football will return to the field at DKR in Austin for the first game of the 2024 regular season. Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian enter the 2024 campaign with high expectations after putting together a tremendous 2023 season.

It's national magazine preview time for this offseason for Texas football in the SEC in 2024

Most early preseason projections and polls expect the Longhorns to be a part of the 12-team Playoff in its first year for the 2024-25 season as a top-five team. Texas is also tabbed as a top SEC contender a couple of months before preseason camp starts for 2024.

One of the more prominent national preview magazines from Athlon Sports (write up thanks to On3) for the 2024 season arrived in the last few weeks. And it's worth noting the Longhorns position in the postseason projections by Athlon for the 2024 campaign.

Athlon Sports projects the Longhorns to make the 12-team College Football Playoff in 2024-25 as a six-seed facing the 11-seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish. According to this postseason preview, the Longhorns will make it back to the CFP Semifinals in 2024-25.

Texas is projected to beat Notre Dame in the first round of the 12-team CFP to face the three-seed and ACC Champion Florida State Seminoles in the quarterfinals. Athlon has Texas falling short of the two-seed Ohio State Buckeyes in the CFP Semifinals at the Cotton Bowl.

This would set up a College Football Playoff National Championship game between the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs and No. 2 Ohio State. Texas and the No. 5 Oregon Ducks were the two teams defeated in the CFP Semifinals.

Texas is one of four teams that will make the 12-team Playoff according to Athlon from what is expected to be a hyper-competitive 16-team SEC field in 2024. No. 8 Alabama, No. 1 Georgia, and No. 7 Ole Miss are the other three teams from the SEC projected to make the 12-team Playoff.

Sarkisian and the Longhorns return a third-year starting quarterback in Quinn Ewers, along with four out of five starters along the offensive line. Over half of Texas's starters return on the defensive side of the ball as well for the 2024 season.

Texas will be tested early in non-conference play during the 2024 regular season. The Longhorns travel up to Ann Arbor, MI, in Week 2 for a high stakes SEC-Big Ten battle between the defending National Champion Michigan Wolverines and Texas on Sep. 7.

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