Texas' 2026 hype just got real thanks to PFF's way-too-early top 25 list

Pro Football Focus, along with quite a few other outlets, have recently released their "way-too-early" top 25 team rankings heading into the 2026 season. Texas is consistently ranked within the top 4-5 on the majority of lists, but PFF seems to like them a bit more than the others right now.

PFF has the Longhorns ranked at No.2, right behind Oregon in their initial top 25. That's completely fair as the Ducks are also returning most of their impact players in 2025, specifically on the offensive side of the ball.

Dante Moore has the potential to be the No.1 overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, and Dan Lanning is one heck of a coach.

With that being said, Texas could be entering the 2026 season with one of their best overall teams of the past 10 years. The offense led by Arch Manning, Hollywood Smothers, Raleek Brown, Cam Coleman, and Ryan Wingo (just to name a few) could be one of the most explosive in the league with Steve Sarkisian at the helm.

Coleman is the highest-rated transfer recruit to ever commit to Texas, and Smothers was one of the most dominant ball-carriers in the ACC last year. Raleek Brown could end up being a better version of Jaydon Blue for the Longhorns, and the offensive line will be much stronger in regards to it's starting five.

New Longhorns DC Will Muschamp's defense might also be more chaotic than what Texas fans were used to under Pete Kwiatkowski. Colin Simmons and the rest of the team's pass rushers could be utilized more effectively going forward and that's bad news for opposing offenses. Though Anthony Hill Jr. and Michael Taaffe are gone, Rasheem Biles transferring in and Jelani McDonald coming back should prove to be monumental for the defense in 2026.

Needless to say, there are a lot of reasons to be optimistic about Texas football heading into the spring, and the national media obviously recognizes it as well.