The Big Ten has now won three straight National Championships with Indiana's victory on Monday night. As the look ahead for the 2026 season has already begun, the hype train for Arch Manning is in full force. With an eye on 2026, will Texas be a contender for a title next season?
In a way-too-early look at the 2026 campaign, Texas is currently ranked second in the nation by ESPN, only behind Indiana. The Longhorns are ranked third by On3, sitting behind Ohio State and Georgia.
The return of Manning is one of the biggest selling points for the Longhorns in 2026. After a slow start to the campaign, he took off in his first year as the starting quarterback. Manning went on to throw for 3,163 yards and 26 touchdowns, with just seven interceptions. He also ran for 299 yards and found the end zone te times on the ground.
He has lost some of his offensive weapons, though, as receiver DeAndre Moore Jr and runningback Quintrevion Wisner will both be gone from the program. Regardless, the Longhorns did a great job of bringing in replacements. Cam Coleman is coming in from Auburn, and he will pair well with Ryan Wingo. Meanwhile, Texas brought in the duo of Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown from NC State to solidify the backfield.
Meanwhile, the defense needed some repair. They will be losing Trey Moore, Anthony Hill Jr., Michael Taafee, and Malik Muhammad, but brought in some solid new pieces. They also upgraded at the coordinator position. Steve Sarkisian fired defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and brought back former defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.
The question that remains is did they improve enough? Georgia is likely to be solid again in 2026, plus Ole Miss, LSU, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Texas A&M all have solid squads in the conference. Indiana has shown it can be a perennial threat, and Ohio State could start the season as the number one team in the nation.
If the SEC is going to get back to their former dominance, Texas will need to play a role. Right now, they are projected to be in a prime position to do so.
