What Are Texas Longhorns National Championship Odds After Four Games?

FanDuel placed the Longhorns third to win the national title behind Ohio State and Georgia.

Longhorns players celebrate after winning the game against ULM at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. / Mikala Compton/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Claiming the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll for the second week in a row, the Texas Longhorns continue to ink their name as one of the best college football programs in the nation.

As their SEC campaign begins this Saturday against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, head coach Steve Sarkisian has made it clear that each week of success and domination brings his team one step closer to winning a conference championship, and the ultimate goal, a national championship.

According to sports betting company FanDuel, the Longhorns are firmly in the race for the golden trophy come January 20th, 2025. FanDuel currently has Texas marked as the third most likely candidate to win it all, with reigning champions Ohio State in first place and Georgia in second.

This year marks the first time that a 12-team playoff format will be introduced, leaving plenty of time and room for new contestants to enter the national championship scene.

Despite what analytics and polls suggest four games into the season, Sarkisian has continuously repeated the fact that predictions don't hold value, but what does is the product that is physically put on the field week in and week out.

"What you think of us is irrelevant. What we do on the field is what matters," Sarkisian said during Thursday's SEC media conference. "That is what it is, and that's the belief that our team has, you know, in this day and age of the polls, polls are kind of irrelevant. You know, there's a 12-team College Football Playoff, and to finish number one at the end, you're gonna have to go earn it."

Various team members have harped on how a No. 1 showing in the AP Poll doesn't automatically put them in one of those 12 slots, and that it takes consistent effort and preparation in order to survive the rest of the season. The Longhorns have yet to face three ranked teams in their conference lineup with No. 15 Oklahoma, No. 2 Georgia, and No. 25 Texas A&M, all hungry to knock Texas off its high horse.

It'll be a long and grueling grind for every team trying to claw its way into the playoffs, and Texas is not exempt from that. Sarkisian and his players are equipped with the mindset that polls don't dictate their entitlement and that their focus must go into overcoming the opponent at hand, and keeping that determination will ultimately be reflected eight weeks from now.