Texas gets an early chance to prove it belongs. A showdown with the No. 2 Buckeyes in the season opener on Aug. 30 in Columbus looms large as a potential defining moment in the Longhorns' pursuit of their first national title in two decades.

Ohio State’s 19-year-old Jeremiah Smith (yes, we’re going to keep mentioning his age until he turns 20 on the day the Buckeyes play Michigan) takes the top spot, unseating South Carolina’s literal track star, Nyck Harbor, who last year became the list’s first-ever repeat No. 1. I asked Bruce how close Harbor came to pulling off a three-peat: