Top-ranked Texas likes the view from No. 1 but is focused on long season ahead

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas has seen the view from No. 1 and the Longhorns know the fall from the college football summit can be hard.

The goal now is to make sure they get more than a fleeting glimpse from the top.

Texas (2-0) jumped to No. 1 after a wild 24-23 victory over Ohio State, which knocked the Buckeyes from No. 1 to No. 6. The Longhorns play UTSA this week before starting Southeastern Conference play Sept. 26 at No. 15 Tennessee.

“A week ago, the narrative was we can’t win the big game,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Monday. “The opinion now is we’re the best team in the country, allegedly, and so everybody is patting us on the back.”

And he cautioned his team about getting carried away with it.

“This is the third straight year we’ve been ranked No. 1 at some part of the season,” Sarkisian said. “I don’t know how we handled it. And I don’t know how worthy we were of those rankings, of the opinions of others.”

The Longhorns look worthy of the top spot for now. How things shake out by season’s end is yet to be seen.

In 2024, Texas rose to No. 1 for the first time since 2008. The Longhorns stayed there for a month before losing to Georgia. They wouldn’t get back to No. 1, but made it all the way to the College Football Playoff semifinals before losing to eventual national champion Ohio State.

The fall last year was much farther and much harder.

Texas started the season No. 1 only to lose the first game at Ohio State. They were 3-2 a few weeks later and unranked. A 9-3 regular season left the Longhorns out of the playoff.

Senior linebacker Justin Cryer, a transfer from Florida State, seemed unimpressed with life at No. 1.

“It’s cool to post on Instagram or whatever,” Cryer said. “We have 10 more games to play.”

That’s where quarterback Arch Manning said the focus should be. He remembers the quick fall from No. 1 last season and getting left out of the postseason.

“The rankings don’t really matter until the playoffs,” Manning said. “We’ve got a lot to prove.”

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