Danny Kanell Says 1 Team Is ‘Underrated’ In Preseason AP Top 25 Poll

The AP Top 25 preseason poll came out on Monday, stirring up additional excitement for the start of the 2021 college football season.

The release also sparked quite a discussion about what programs were snubbed and what teams were overrated. For college football analyst Danny Kanell, one team was thoroughly underrated: Texas.

The Longhorns came in at No. 21 in the preseason poll on, but for Kanell that was too low. He explained why he was so high on Steve Sarkisian’s program on Monday.

“I’m gonna say underrated,” Kanell said of Texas during an appearance on CBS Sports HQ. “Now I am bullish on the Texas Longhorns. The season last year they only lost three games and all of them by one possession and they were tight losses. Now they squeaked out a couple ugly wins, too, to counter that. But I feel like Steve Sarkisian is inheriting a great situation. I think Tom Herman left the cupboard pretty full. Now he’s gotta develop that talent. The offense, you almost don’t have to worry about with Sark. They already were pretty prolific last year with Sam Ehlinger. Whoever wins the quarterback battle will have one of the best running backs in the country in Bijan Robinson.

“But Pete Kwiatkowski, the defensive coordinator they went with, I think you will see improvement on the defensive side of the ball. I would put them at least three or four spots higher in this one. Although you know those other Big 12 teams are gonna put a bullseye on Texas’ back because of that exit to the SEC, which is probably coming sooner rather than later.”

Texas is UNDERRATED ranked at No. 21 in the AP Poll@dannykanell | @TomFornelli | @Chip_Patterson pic.twitter.com/QTHgK54rVV

— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) August 16, 2021

As Kanell points out in his defense of Texas, the Longhorns will need to settle their quarterback competition before they’re ready to climb the ranks of the AP poll. Casey Thompson and Hudson Card are the two players looking to fill the hole left by four-year starter Sam Ehlinger, but neither one has grabbed the reins just yet.

The two young quarterbacks won’t have long to get ready for the start of a new season. Texas kicks off its 2021 campaign against Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 4.

[ 247Sports ]

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