The Texas Longhorns are the favorite to win the national title this year. They're also the preseason number one team in the country, and no matter what poll you look at, they're near the top. They are expected by everyone to be among the legitimate contenders this year.
The Athletic is therefore going with the safe pick, but the sensible one. Everyone thinks Texas is going to win it, and that includes 12 of the 28 employees they polled, an overwhelming majority. The next most popular name was Clemson with just five votes.
The Longhorns are just too good, and they finally might have the player to take them over the top. Matt Baker said, "Although [Arch] Manning’s sample size (95 career passes) is too small to tell us whether he’ll live up to his sky-high ceiling, it’s large enough to show a high floor."
He continued, "That might be good enough with this defense and supporting cast. My feelings about the Longhorns are similar to how I felt about Ohio State before last year and Georgia before Kirby Smart’s titles: They’ve amassed enough talent and gotten close enough (back-to-back semifinalists) to make me think they’ll eventually break through. Why not this year?"
The Longhorns have come close, and they've continued to stockpile talent. Even if Manning isn't the second coming of Tim Tebow, Cam Newton, or Joe Burrow, he's still going to be good enough that the talent on this team should outweigh most of their opponents. That includes whoever, they may face if they make it to the CFP Final.