Curiosity abounds over Longhorns’ first-place vote
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas coach Steve Sarkisian seems to be a rational man. He at least understands that handing out rankings and awards before a single game has been played is nonsensical.
“I never really understand preseason polls,” Texas’ second-year coach said Monday. “I don’t quite get them.”
And on Monday, no one, save for one anonymous/infamous FBS coach, could understand how a Texas team coming off a 5-7 campaign filled with some breathtaking lows would earned a first-place vote in the preseason USA Today coaches poll.
Three other teams received first-place votes from the 66 voting coaches: No. 1 Alabama (54 votes), No. 2 Ohio State (five) and No. 3 Georgia (six). So, last year’s national champion, the national runner-up, an 11-win Rose Bowl champion — and a middling Big 12 team that lost at home to Kansas.
For Texas to even be ranked 18th in this initial poll seems outlandish considering what transpired last season. And considering Sarkisian doesn’t have a vote, everyone’s eager to uncover the who and the why of it all.
The likeliest candidates: Alabama’s Nick Saban, Temple’s Stan Drayton and UTSA’S Jeff Traylor.
Sarkisian won a national title as Saban’s offensive coordinator during the 2020 season. Alabama also visits Texas in Week 2 this season, so this could all be some Jedi mind trick sort of ploy by the most successful college football coach of all-time.
Drayton spent five years 201721) as Texas’ running backs coach before taking the top job at Temple. He was one of two Tom Herman-era holdovers Sarkisian retained for his staff, so perhaps it was a show of goodwill on Drayton’s behalf.
Traylor’s now a rising star at UTSA, but he broke into the college ranks with the Longhorns in 2015. He spent a couple seasons in Austin, and the Roadrunners do travel up the road to Royal-memorial Stadium in Week 3.
Or maybe the vote was cast as a low-key troll job designed to drum up some preseason hilarity. But unless someone comes forth, the mystery will linger on. USA Today keeps the ballots anonymous until the final poll released after the College Football Playoff.
“I never quite understand (preseason polls) because you are the way you play,” Sarkisian said. “You are the record that you end up with, and we got a lot of work to do. You know, we’re picked to finish fourth in the in the Big 12. So that should motivate us to get our asses moving and practice really well.”
The preseason USA Today coaches poll:
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Georgia
4. Clemson
5. Notre Dame
6. Michigan
7. Texas A&M
8. Utah
9. Oklahoma
10. Baylor
11. Oklahoma State
12. Oregon
13. North Carolina State
14. Michigan State
15. USC
16. Pittsburgh
17. Miami
18. Texas
19. Wake Forest
20. Wisconsin
21. Kentucky
22. Cincinnati
23. Arkansas
24. Ole Miss
25. Houston