Texas ranked No. 18 in preseason USA Today Coaches poll

Monday marked the release of the preseason USA Today Coaches poll and the Texas Longhorns were voted into the top 25 by the panel of 65 FBS coaches, coming in at No. 18.

Notably — and strangely — the Longhorns were one of four programs to receive a first-place vote. No. 1 Alabama 54 of the 65 first-place votes, No. 2 Ohio State received five, and Georgia received six. Perhaps the head coach who voted the Horns first was confused and thinks the year is 2009.

In any case, Texas is one of four in-state programs to land in the preseason poll, along with Texas A&M at No. 7 and Houston at No. 25. Big 12 schools include Oklahoma at No. 9, Baylor, the other in-state program, at No. 10, and Oklahoma State at No. 11. The Bears landing 136 points behind the Sooners is a reversal from the Big 12 preseason poll, in which conference beat writers chose Baylor over Oklahoma, marking the first time for the Bears as the preseason top choice.