Football Returns, But How Is Texas in the Top 25?

No matter what your thermometer may say, today is an important day for football fans.

For one thing, the NFL's Hall of Fame game is being played tonight between the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals. The game means nothing in the standings, and few starters — if any — will play tonight, but its importance is more symbolic than anything else.

It tells football fans — who have suffered through basketball, baseball, hockey, tennis and golf since February's Super Bowl to get to this point — that football is back.

For another, USA Today released its preseason college football poll today.

And that always has a few eyebrow–raising items.

Like, for example, the fact that the University of Texas, 5–7 last year (including a loss to lowly Kansas), is ranked No. 23.

Considering their records last year, I suppose the rest of the Top 25 deserved to be there — at least, most of them did.

But I can't justify the Longhorns being in the Top 25. Admittedly, Sports Illustrated reports that UT is doing better at recruiting than it has in awhile, and that definitely will be a factor in the future. But it won't have an impact on this season — and it may not have much of an impact on the 2018 season, either.

If Texas is ranked in the Associated Press poll, which will come out shortly before the season begins, my guess is it will be short lived. The Longhorns play at Southern Cal (No. 4 in the USA Today poll) on Sept. 16 and host Kansas State (No. 19 in the poll) on Oct. 7 before the annual battle with Oklahoma (No. 8 in the poll) on Oct. 14 — followed by a home game against Oklahoma State (No. 11 in the poll) and a trip to Baylor.