The Texas Longhorns fell two wins short of capturing the national championship in each of the past two seasons. The college-football commentariat expects Steve Sarkisian's squad to finally break through this winter.

After the coaches tabbed the Longhorns as the nation's top team last week, Texas was voted as the No. 1 team in the first AP Poll of the campaign released Monday. Since 2000, only USC and Alabama have won the national championship after starting the season ranked first.

The preseason AP top 25 poll, which was released on Monday, has the Longhorns ranked No. 1 in its first poll ahead of the college football season. It will be the only poll released before Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) games officially kick off on Aug. 23.