ARE THE LONGHORNS BACK? TEXAS SEC SEASON PREVIEW

The burnt orange silhouette of the Texas Longhorn is one of the most iconic symbols representing the Lone Star State. An emblem connotated with all things Texas: Beef, freedom, and most importantly, football. In the state of Texas, football is treated almost as a religion, with its own masses at High School stadiums on Friday nights and gatherings at the Cathedral of Daryl K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium on hot Saturday afternoons. But when a state places such emphasis on its football, its premier public university must deliver on a national scale, and for a while, they haven’t.

The identity of Texas is directly related to its football, and now that it’s entered into the defining feature of a southern state, the SEC, the men from Austin have to show that it just means more in Texas; more than anywhere else. Texas has now entered into their 3rd year of SEC play and in the past two years, they’ve shown that they’re a force to be reckoned with by almost winning the conference their first season. It, however, seems now from a bird's-eye view that Texas was just getting lost in the shuffle of southern football teams since, by Texas standards, there has been no success. Semifinals and runners-up aren’t what Texas football is made of. But now, it may seem the 2nd most important religion in Texas has found its redeemer in the Son of Manning, Arch. A quarterback with high expectations is looking to put the nepotism accusations to bed once and for all and bring back pride to the state of Texas.

Coached by Steve Sarkisian, a man looking for his own redemption, Texas has started out 3-0 with the biggest win in college football, coming back from down 20 to defeat the No. 1-ranked Ohio State in a revenge game from last year and taking the number one ranking for themselves. Now with conference play beginning in the next week, let's take a look at who stands in the way of taking a championship back to deep in the heart of Texas.

Oct 10 Neutral vs Oklahoma 

The signature rival of the Longhorns and their partner in the exodus from the Big 12, Oklahoma, will play Texas in the 122 installment of the Red River Rivalry. Texas currently holds a 2 game winning streak coming into this game and as it currently stands are likely to make it three in a row. Oklahoma, while starring at 10 in the pre-season poll, have dropped all the way out and now just receiving votes. They opened with a strong showing in a 51-0 victory over UTEP but then lost in Ann Arbor to a Michigan team who looked very concerned in their “win” over Western Michigan. Now in the past week, they were only able to muster 14 points in their slug fest win over New Mexico. While John Mateer looks very solid under center, the running game is the real point of concern as they were limited to 61 total yards on the ground. And since Texas’ does a good job of shutting down a passing offense like Ohio State(at the end of the game), Oklahoma won’t have the offensive ability to compete with Texas and Golden Cowboy hat will stay south of the Cotton Bowl.

Oct 17 Vs (21) Florida 

Florida’s game versus Texas is one that is very hard to predict. While I believe that Texas could and should walk into this game undefeated, Florida’s record at this point could be undefeated or sitting at 500. With this being their first week being ranked, they also face their real first test undefeated and high off of beating their traitor coach Lane Kiffen, Ole Miss. But whether or not Florida is seen as a powerhouse by the time they play Texas, this is the SEC, there are no easy wins. Both the throwing and running game are strong, led by Aaron Philo throwing for more than 400 yards and 6 touchdowns complemented by Jadan Baugh who has 458 yards and 8 touchdowns. While the offense seems high octane, the defense might need a little more gas as they’ve shown weakness in their first few games, an aspect Arch and Sark are going to look to exploit. 

Oct 24 Vs (4) Ole Miss

Tiridad Chambliss Vs Arch Manning might be the most interesting quarterback matchup of the season. One played division 2 football and had to grind his way to the top, eventually leading his team, without their head coach, to a CFP semi-final. The other is descended from the most famous family in football with two legendary super bowl quarterbacks and had offers from what seemed like every major college football program, but has really yet to prove the hype was worth it. In what could be the game of the season, the Rebels are walking into Austin with something to prove; that this season is not just about revenge against Lane Kiffen, but revenge against everyone. And while this game is not simply based on whose quarterback is better, the deciding factor is going to come down to both men dueling it out. 

Oct 31 Vs (24) Mississippi St

As I said before, there are no easy games in the SEC. And no exception to this rule is bulldogs from Starkville. They went 5-8 last year and 1-7 in conference play and in a year already, they’re back in the rankings. While I think Texas still has the upperhand, an underrated part of this game is very similar to the previous one: the QB matchup. Kamario Taylor has been absolutely slinging it from behind the line this year so far with 11 touchdowns through three games already. We’ll see if Texas’ secondary is able to snuff him out. 

Nov 7 @ (19) Missouri

In what will be the Longhorns first away game in more than a month, they will travel up to Columbia Missouri for their 4th ranked match up in a row. Texas clearly already has one of the toughest seasons in college football but the difference between good and great teams comes down to whether they can show up when the crowd is against them. I think that this is the most dangerous of all trap games in the Longhorn’s season. In the following week they’ll play a higher ranked LSU and have a target on their back for running the SEC. The strong secondary is going to be Missouri’s key to stopping Arch. 

Nov 14 @ (10) LSU

Every team needs to lose. In the first year of a coach, no matter how good, there will always be growing pains and struggles to find their footing. But this late into the season, I think LSU will have found their stride and have a better understanding of their game, especially after the lossto Ole Miss. This is why I think this is the hardest game for Texas this year. They’re walking into one of the most violent atmospheres in the SEC against a national title contender after having only played 3 total away games. It's hard to build yourself up mentally and physically for away games and it only gets harder when you can barely hear yourself think; and believe me, in “Deaf Valley” it's going to be loud for the number 1 overall team. Mark this game on your calendar folks because we might see the game of the year in this one. 

Nov 21 Vs Arkansas

There are no guarantees in the SEC, there are no easy wins. I’ve already said that plenty in this overly long article so thank you if you're still reading, but there has to be the runt of the litter. While I think Ryan Silverfield has the potential to bring pride back to the state of Arkansas, it's not going to be this year. Upsets happen and I’m looking at a game miles down the road but 1-2 to start the season and only 1 major win in the past 2 years, it looks like the rebuild is just laying its foundation. Every aspect of Texas looks to have the advantage in this game and it should easily go their way. 

Nov 27 @ (23) Texas A&M

I’m so happy this rivalry has been revived. The fact that the two biggest programs(don’t fight me Tech fans) didn’t play from 2011 till 2024 is preposterous in a sport that is defined by tradition, history, and rivalry. And this installment of the Lone Star Showdown is shaping up to be to be remembered. Last year A&M was sitting almost at the top of the college football rankings when knocked off in Austin by the Longhorns, only playing out of pride as the win didn’t get them into the playoffs. This year, it seems the roles have reversed as A&M currently looks to play spoiler to Texas’ season in a revenge game.