Steve Sarkisian and Arch Manning hardly broke a sweat on a sweltering Saturday in Austin as the Longhorns rolled past overmatched Texas State to open the season. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)

The Longhorns, Aggies and Red Raiders were on a different level than the rest of the state last season. After one week of 2026, it could be more of the same but we've got UH's game on Sept. 18 in Lubbock circled on our calendar.

The Chronicle's first regular-season rankings for 2026 of the 13 FBS teams in Texas:

1. Texas (1-0) | Last year: 2

We're always reluctant to jump on the Longhorns' bandwagon but Arch Manning, transfer receiver Cam Coleman and Will Muschamp's defense sure looked good in a 59-7 win over Texas State. But the Bobcats are no Ohio State, which comes to Austin next week.

2. Texas A&M (1-0) | Last year: 3

Mike Elko is quick to remind the Aggies that they haven't really won anything yet despite last year's appearance in the College Football Playoff. A 50-0 win over Missouri State is a nice start, but the Bears are no Arizona State, next week's opponent for A&M.

3. Texas Tech (1-0) | Last year: 1

Red Raiders mega-donor Cody Campbell said the school wouldn't forget how it was treated during the Brendan Sorsby eligibility controversy and would still be throwing when up 40-0 in the fourth quarter. Tech was passing some in the fourth quarter against Abilene Christian but was only up by 23 at the time. We don't think Tech was that mad at Abilene Christian.

4. Houston (1-0) | Last year: 6

We are ready to get on board with the Cougars, we just wish more than 28,742 would show up for the opener, a 33-20 win over Oregon State.

5. SMU (0-0) | Last year: 7

We will wait until Monday night for a true reading on the Mustangs, who open against Florida State.

6. Rice (1-0) | Last year: 11

If only Scott Abel could just play season openers. He's 2-0 in his two seasons at Rice after beating Houston Christian 31-3. Notre Dame will be a bit more challenging next week.

7. UTSA (1-0) | Last year: 9

UTSA quarterback Owen McCown looked like the 2024 version of himself in a 45-16 win over UT-Rio Grande Valley and that's a good thing for coach Jeff Traylor.

8. Baylor (0-1) | Last year: 10

It was a great call that the Bears went for the two-point conversion to beat Auburn. But tight end Matthew Klopfenstein was stopped inches short. We're not sure how much credit Dave Aranda will get at the end of the year if things don't improve.

9. North Texas (0-1) | Last year: 4

The Mean Green limited defending champion Indiana to 46 offensive plays. So that's something to build on after a 52-16 loss in coach Neal Brown's debut.

10. Texas State (0-1) | Last year: 8

Texas State coach G.J. Kinne said the Bobcats were "pretty terrible" in their 59-7 loss to Texas. Texas State gets the University of Texas team from San Antonio next week.

11. Sam Houston (0-1) | Last year: 13

Sam Houston will get to finally play at Bowers Stadium next week against Tulsa. After playing away from Huntsville all of last season, the Bobcats opened with a 24-21 loss - where else - on the road at Troy.

12. UTEP (0-1) | Last year: 12

The Miners have moved to the Mountain West but a 51-0 loss to Oklahoma shows they still have a way to go. Texas Southern comes to El Paso next week.

13. TCU (0-1) | Last year: 5

We're glad to see that TCU finally restored press credentials to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. But we're free to penalize them after their opening loss in Dublin to North Carolina.

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This article originally published at Texas college football rankings: It's a new season and Longhorns have early edge over Aggies.