It likely will not stay that way for long, as the No. 1 Longhorns will visit the No. 2 Buckeyes in both teams’ season opener on Aug. 30 at Ohio Stadium.
It is the first time in the history of the coaches’ poll that Texas will open the season at No. 1. The Longhorns were picked to finish first by 28 of the 67 panelists, who are chosen by random draw from a pool of applicants to the American Football Coaches Association showing a willingness to participate.
Ohio State received 20 first-place votes, with Penn State (14), Georgia (3) and No. 6 Clemson (2) also being picked as the preseason No. 1.
The Texas-Ohio State matchup headlines a massive first weekend of the college football season. In other games on Aug. 30, No. 6 Clemson hosts No. 9 LSU (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) and No. 8 Alabama visits Florida State on Aug. 30 (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
On Aug. 31, the No. 10 Hurricanes face the No. 5 Fighting Irish (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
The SEC, with four teams ranked inside the top nine, leads all conference with nine teams in the poll: No. 13 South Carolina, No. 15 Ole Miss, No. 17 Florida, No. 18 Tennessee and No. 21 Texas A&M (tied) are also ranked.
