The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Texas ranked fourth in Associated Press preseason poll
08.18.2007 | Football
AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas football team will open the season as the nation's fourth-ranked team, according to The Associated Press Preseason Poll released on Saturday.
With a No. 4 ranking, the Longhorns open the season in the poll's Top Five for the third-straight season and the sixth time in the last seven years. It is also the eighth-consecutive season UT has been ranked in the Top Seven.
"We've been ranked among the Top 5 in The AP preseason poll several times recently and that's rewarding because it shows respect for our program from writers and reporters around the country," Brown said. "We're proud of everything we've built and the hard work our guys are putting in but also realize that like our team motto for this year, this group has to earn the right to be ranked that high. We need to be sure the guys understand that where you finish at the end of the year is important; where you rank at the first of the year is simply respect."
It marks the ninth time Texas has been ranked fourth in the preseason poll, and the first since 2002, when the team finished with an 11-2 record and a 35-20 Cotton bowl victory over LSU. Texas also was ranked fourth in The AP Preseason Poll prior to the 1954, '60, '61, '64, '67, '69 and '79 seasons.
Texas has now been ranked in The AP Top 25 for 109 consecutive weeks, which is the nation's longest active streak and the Horns' longest stint in that poll since a 114-week streak from 1968-76.
The Longhorns have finished the year ranked in The AP Top 10 in four of the last six years and are riding a UT-record streak of seven-straight AP Top 15 finishes. In addition, Texas has finished in The AP Top 15 in eight of Mack Brown's nine seasons.
The Longhorns open the 2007 campaign on Saturday, Sept. 1, when they host Arkansas State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium (6 p.m./FSN PPV).
