CBS Sports writer Brandon Marcello believes the Texas Longhorns' 2026 football roster is better than the one Steve Sarkisian rolled out to begin the 2025 year ... the one that was ranked No. 1 in the country after back-to-back CFP Semifinals berths.

After quarterback Arch Manning got off to a slippery start and the Horns lost pivotal SEC matchups midway through the year, Sarkisian and his staff have opened up the check books to ensure one of college football's most elite rosters is recruited to Austin for the next season.

That's exactly what has happened, and now Marcello is one of the pundits picking Texas to take home its first national championship since 2005.

"No program made more money moves to win a championship than Texas in the offseason," Marcello says in his article covering the "bold predictions" in the SEC for this season.

The Longhorns competing for a national title hasn't necessarily been a "bold" prediction during the spring, since the NIL era has fielded some of the most talented teams in recent memory, but the execution, of course, is always up in the air.

Marcello credits some of Texas' high-priced transfer portal additions as reasons why Manning is equipped with enough firepower to reach that mountaintop once and for all.

"From surprise firings and hirings (Will Muschamp in as defensive coordinator), to stealing the best receivers (Auburn's Cam Coleman) and running backs (NC State's Hollywood Smothers), the Longhorns have built a roster that's even better than the one that started last season at No. 1 in the polls," Marcello said. "The difference this season is that Texas will end the year atop the polls and hoist the national championship trophy in January."

Manning's connection with the electrifying wide receiver Coleman is already something to behold, and Smothers projects to be an immediate reinforcement to a rushing unit that lost its position coach and nearly all of its depth.

For Muschamp returning to be the new DC, he's sending a message about what type of mentality the Longhorns will strive for.

Muschamp wore a shirt at Texas' recent media day that said "NT=NP", meaning "no thud equals no play." It is meant to emphasize that players won't see the field if they aren't hitting the opposition with the strength or physicality that Muschamp wants to see.

"This is a very important shirt, this is no thud equals no play," Muschamp said. "So if you don't thud at practice, and you don't throw your face into the fan at practice, that means you're probably not going to be a good tackler. So if you don't thud at practice, that means you're not going to be a good tackler, and the best defenses I've been a part of they tackled extremely well."

With a versatile roster headlined by All-American edge rusher Colin Simmons and a promising sophomore Graceon Littleton, Muschamp believes his philosophy can put players in the best opportunities to not just succeed individually, but also impact the winning.

"I‘m all about what our players do best," Muschamp said. "Let's get our best players in the best situation and let them cut loose and play. And it's not about throwing a scheme on players and saying, this is what we do. I don't think that's right. There's some things that I really like schematically that really don't fit what we do. So we've kind of made some adjustments on some things that I'm familiar with, but I want to put our best players in the best situation to cut it loose and play."

And if they can do that? The Longhorns could be hoisting the program's second national championship trophy at the end of the year.