Texas football has marked another first in program history. 

The Longhorns ranked No. 1 in the preseason Associated Press Top 25 for the first time Monday, after earning their first No. 1 ranking in the Coaches Poll last week. The margins for the top spot were the closest they’ve been since 1998, barely inching out Penn State by five points. 

Texas ended with 25 first-place votes and 1,552 points overall from the panel of 65 media members who cover college football. Penn State followed with 23 first-place votes and 1,547 points. Then comes Texas’ Week 1 matchup, Ohio State, which received 11 first-place votes to take the third spot in the poll. 

With Texas’ ranking, the Southeastern Conference has now broken two records. For the fifth-straight year, the conference has put up the No. 1 team in the preseason AP polls. 

The SEC also leads all conferences with 10 teams in the preseason Top 25 with additions like No. 5 Georgia and No. 8 Alabama. This is one more team than the SEC had in the Top 25 last year, and the most ever by any single conference. 

Now, all that’s left to be seen is if Texas’ No. 1 ranking ends up being a blessing or a curse. 

Only 11 teams since the creation of the poll in 1950 have started and ended the season at No. 1. During Texas’ national championship season in 2005, led by Longhorn legend quarterback Vince Young, the team didn’t get the No. 1 ranking, instead sitting at No. 2.