Editor's Note: Beginning with No. 25 TCU and counting toward the release of the 2007 College Football Annuals, Athlon will release one spot in its Top 25 every weekday for five weeks. The No. 1 team will be revealed June 1. Check AthlonSports.com every day to see who’s next in the countdown as Athlon Sports celebrates its 40th anniversary. The 2007 versions of Athlon’s College Football Annuals hit newsstands June 5th.

No. 2: Texas

A year removed from a national title, the Longhorns are reloading, as usual. The most significant difference between this preseason and last is a settled quarterback situation. Colt McCoy started all 13 games last season as a redshirt freshman and was sensational. He completed 68 percent of his passes, set a school freshman passing mark with 2,570 yards and a school single-season record with 29 touchdown tosses. He became the first freshman quarterback in UT history to win 10 games, was the Offensive MVP of the Longhorns’ 26–24 Alamo Bowl win over Iowa and is the reigning 2006 Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year.

McCoy will have his top four receivers back from last year, led by Limas Sweed, who averaged 17 yards on 46 receptions, 12 for touchdowns. Quan Cosby, Billy Pittman and tight end Jermichael Finley also return after combining for 111 catches and another nine touchdown grabs.

Over the last two years, running back Jamaal Charles has run for 1,709 yards at 6.2 per carry with 18 touchdowns despite starting only four games. He has the job to himself now and should have a breakout year. Three offensive linemen who started a combined 115 straight games among them need to be replaced, but this is not an area where the Texas is ever found wanting. Guard Cedric Dockery will spearhead this year’s charge.

Frank Okam, Derek Lokey and Roy Miller comprise a formidable three-man tackle rotation. Brian Orakpo and Aaron Lewis are battle-tested and proven at the ends. Last year’s starting linebacker trio of Rashad Bobino, Scott Derry and Robert Killebrew returns in force. The secondary needs three new starters to fill in around safety Marcus Griffin, who contributed 90 tackles and a pick last fall, and there are experienced hands available at each vacancy.

The most challenging out-of-conference game for the Horns this fall is TCU in Game 2. Nebraska visits Texas Memorial Stadium in October, the Longhorns travel to Texas A&M for the season finale, and of course there is the Red River Shootout with Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl on Oct. 6.

Notes:
» Offensive tackle Justin Blalock started a school-record 51 straight games for the Longhorns over his four-year career.

» Colt McCoy’s 29 touchdown passes last year tied an NCAA freshman record.

» Mack Brown is second among all active coaches with a streak of 17 consecutive winning seasons, behind only Bobby Bowden with 30.

2007 Schedule
S.       1    Arkansas State
S.       8    TCU
S.     15    at UCF
S.     22    Rice
S.     29    Kansas State
O.       6    #Oklahoma
O.     13    at Iowa State
O.     20    at Baylor
O.     27    Nebraska
N.       3    at Oklahoma State
N.     10    Texas Tech
N.     23    at Texas A&M
                 #Dallas, TX

Read the entire Texas preview by ordering your Athlon Sports 2007 College Football Regional and National magazines today!

Also coming to AthlonSports.com this summer:
– Top 25 Heisman Hopefuls
– Live chats with Athlon editors
– Conference-preview videocasts.

Follow the entire 2007 football season on AthlonSports.com where we preview every game from every conference in Division I-A and recap the weekend’s BCS action in conference notebooks.

Other in-season offerings:
– Fantasy Games
– Sideline Spirit Voting
– Scenes From Saturday
– Updated Athlon 119
– Much more

Del.icio.us | Digg it | Athlon Sports RSS Feeds