It’s the argument that never dies: who’s got the best program in Texas high school football?

Let’s stir it up again.

With data help from Jerry Forrest at PigskinPrep.com, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football is proud to roll out the 2026 edition of the Texas High School Football 6-Year Program Rankings — our attempt to measure the relative strength of every UIL program in the state over an extended window of time.

The mission is simple: evaluate the health and horsepower of each program across the last six seasons, not just who caught lightning in a bottle one magical December.

Why six years? Because six seasons give us something sturdier than a snapshot. That’s one-and-a-half full graduation cycles — enough to smooth out the impact of one transcendent senior class or one generational quarterback. Good programs spike, but great programs sustain.

The formula is built around five data points:

Games Won — Total victories relative to the maximum possible (96 for 11-man programs, 90 for 6-man). In other words: of all the games you could’ve won, how many did you actually win?

Winning Percentage — When you took the field, how often did you walk off with a win?

10-Win Seasons — Out of six years, how many times did you hit double digits?

State Championships — Rings talk.

State Championship Game Appearances — And getting to the last game matters, too.

Those five categories are calibrated to a 100-point scale. A perfect six-year stretch — 96-0 (or 90-0 in 6-man) with six state titles — earns a perfect 100. A perfectly miserable six-year slog at 0-96 (or 0-90) nets a zero. Everyone else lands somewhere in between.

This year’s rankings reflect the 2020 through 2025 seasons; last year’s edition covered 2019 through 2024. As always, a program must have competed in six varsity seasons to qualify. That means emerging powers that haven’t completed a full six-year run — like Richmond Randle, San Antonio Davenport and Canyon West Plains — won’t appear just yet.

After diving into the data, here are a few key takeaways from our eighth annual Six-Year Program Rankings.

All Hail the New King of Texas High School Football

Two years, two new No. 1s — for the second consecutive season, there is a new top team in Texas, although it’s hardly a newcomer. The Carthage Bulldogs are the No. 1 ranked team in Texas high school football, knocking Gunter from its short stint in the pole position. It’s pretty easy to see how it happened: a staggering 85-3 record and four state championships over the last six seasons. Gunter dropped down to No. 2, while South Oak Cliff crashes the Top 5 for the first time at No. 3. There are two new entries into the Top 10 with the arrival of No. 7 DeSoto (up from No. 16) and No. 8 Gordon (up from No. 11), taking the spots of Austin Westlake (now No. 11) and Mart (now No. 25).

One Weird Trick to Jump In The Rankings: Win A Title

The most effective rocket fuel to jet up the TXHSFB Program Rankings is to hoist some hardware in Arlington, with every reigning state champion making moves. 6A Division I state champion Galena Park North Shore nudged up one spot to No. 4, and the aforementioned DeSoto Eagles lept nine places up to No. 7. Going back-to-back as 5A Division I champs boosted Smithson Valley in a major way, up 25 spots to No. 18, while 5A Division II kings South Oak Cliff moved up six spots to No. 3. Stephenville made a big leap with its second 4A Division I title in the last five years, up 36 spots to No. 19; and, of course, you know about Carthage in 4A Division II. Yoakum’s long-awaited first title gave them a massive boost, up 347 spots to No. 157 (the largest leap of any state champion), while Wall’s own long-awaited championship did a similar trick, boosting the Hawks up 38 spots to No. 45. The remarkable Hamilton Bulldogs’ first state championship jumped them 225 spots up to No. 111, while Muenster’s second consecutive title moved the Hornets up 23 spots to No. 27. And in the six-man ranks, Gordon’s three-peat boosted the Longhorns into the top 10, up three spots to No. 8, while Jayton’s second consecutive title in 1A Division II gave the Jaybirds a flight to No. 13, up 14 spots.

Someone's Missing...

If you’re looking for a team that’s not there, remember: you have to play six varsity seasons before you are eligible for the Program Rankings. That means some really good programs are ineligible for the rankings — the top 10 best ineligible programs would be, in order: Richmond Randle, San Antonio Davenport, Canyon West Plains, Alvin Iowa Colony, Prosper Walnut Grove, Frisco Panther Creek, San Antonio Pieper, Frisco Emerson, Katy Jordan and Peaster.

Other Noteworthy Tidbits

• The highest-ranked team in Class 6A is No. 4 Galena Park North Shore (it was Austin Westlake last year); in Class 5A, it's No. 3 South Oak Cliff (it was Aledo last year); in Class 4A, it's No. 1 Carthage (same as last year); in Class 3A, it's No. 2 Gunter (same as last year); in Class 2A, it's No. 10 Shiner (it was Mart last year); and in Class 1A, it's No. 8 Gordon (same as last year).
• The highest-ranked teams with the exact same résumé: Nos. 45 Wall and Stratford — both are 65-16 in the last six seasons with four 10-win seasons and a state championship.
• The highest-ranked team without a state championship in the last six years: No. 16 Southlake Carroll.
• The highest-ranked team without a title game appearance in the last six years: No. 53 Alamo Heights.
• The highest-ranked team without a 10-win season in the last six years: No. 303 Blanket.