Updated Preseason College Football Rankings Feature New No. 1 Team

In the new edition by On3, Texas and Ohio State are flip-flopped from the ones by McMurphy while Oregon drops in at No. 3 and Penn State is at No. 4. 

Texas being ranked at No. 1 by On3 and No. 2 by McMurphy is a bit surprising given how much talent the Longhorns have lost to both the NFL draft and the portal. 

On the other hand, it is officially the Arch Manning show in Austin after Quinn Ewers declared for the 2025 NFL draft. 

Here's what Staples wrote after Texas got the top spot: 

"Are we putting too much on Arch Manning when Texas will be losing four starting offensive linemen and several skill position playmakers? Maybe. But Steve Sarkisian has shown in his time in Austin that he understands how to build and replenish a roster. Under Sark, the Texas future NFL player factory has chugged back to life following a long dormant period. Time for that assembly line to keep humming."

The good news for Texas is also that head coach Steve Sarkisian earned a new contract extension despite drawing interest from NFL teams. 

Texas and Ohio State also faced off in the Cotton Bowl in the CFP semifinals, and these two programs begin the 2025 season with a game against one another in Columbus, so it could be a battle of the top two teams early on. 

Ohio State is also expected to lose a lot of talent to the NFL this offseason, including Howard, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, defensive ends JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer, and guard Donovan Jackson, among others. 

That means the 2025 roster will look much different, and Ohio State is likely going to see Julian Sayin as the QB1 unless something changes over the next few months. 

All in all, Texas being at the top of the rankings by On3 seems to have a lot to do with Arch Manning, and only time will tell if he can live up to the hype.