The US LBM Coaches Poll is a big deal.

Composed of a panel of 67 Division I head coaches, all members of the American Football Coaches Association, the poll is a metric to determine what the most dominant presence in college football is before the season even starts.

That dominance isn’t determined by journalists, analysts or fans. It’s voted upon by the heads of the teams looking to battle one another for a national championship in January, each coming up with their list of top 25 teams.

And for the first time in the history of the Coaches Poll, Texas sits at the top.

With 28 first-place votes and 1,606 total points, the Longhorns have solidified themselves as the preseason favorite. Ohio State follows with 20 votes for first and 1,565 votes, with Penn State at third with 14 votes and Georgia at fourth with just three.

Nine total teams from the Southeastern Conference made it to the Top 25, but Texas is the only one within the top three. 

Although this is the first time that Texas has been a preseason favorite within this particular poll, the Longhorns have been ranked within the first five places 35 times. This is the ninth consecutive season in which Texas has found a place on the Coaches Poll.

As Texas prepares to head into the season, this poll creates even more hype around the opening Aug. 30 game against Ohio State. College Gameday will already be visiting Columbus, Ohio, as the Buckeyes host the first Game of the Week, but with the Coaches Poll being the first ranking to make the day a No. 1 versus No. 2 matchup, the energy is palpable.

It’s also important to note that in the past 10 seasons, just one preseason Coaches Poll favorite has actually gone on to win a national championship — Alabama in 2017. 

Yet, the Longhorns don’t have to lose hope too soon. It’s fully possible to beat the odds. At any rate, the poll has the opportunity to be proven true or false at the end of the month.