The Texas Longhorns got a taste of the College Football Playoffs last year, and the way they’re playing this year, they could have their eyes on more than a trip to the playoffs, but they look like a national championship team. Last season, the Washington Huskies stopped the Longhorn thrice on the 12-yard line that would’ve potentially sent them to the title game against the Michigan Wolverines, but quarterback Quinn Ewers missed on the last three passes in the endzone. Now, Texas is back, and in the first two weeks of the college football season, they’re playing some of the best football.
Texas dominated both opponents. They blew out Colorado State 52-0 and the commanding victory over the defending champions Michigan in Ann Arbor, where the Wolverines had previously held a 23-game win streak. Currently, the Longhorns are riding a 29-game regular season win streak, and their coach, Steve Sarkisian, believes his team can win anywhere in any condition.
“We’ve gone into Tuscaloosa and played and won,” Sarkisian said during his post-game interview. “We’ve played in a Big 12 Championship game, we’ve played in the College Football Playoff. None of the moments should feel too big for us anymore. That’s just what I commend them for in the locker room. This is who we are. This is how we know how to play.”
Texas entered the game as the third-ranked team in the country, while Michigan held the tenth spot. Texas’ 31-12 victory over the Wolverines not only ended their 23-game home winning streak but also marked their first home loss in a decade. This victory, along with their previous season’s win against Alabama in Tuscaloosa, marks the first time in the program’s history that the Longhorns have defeated an AP top 10 team by double digits in consecutive seasons.
Coach Sarkisian is highly impressed with his team not letting the pressure of playing on the road get to his players. He said having composer and emotional stability is a character trait that’s embedded in his team.
“There’s nothing better than going on the road and when you have great composure and you can play that way because that’s a way to kind of take over a game and you can start to eliminate a crowd, and then that fuels what we’re doing,” Sarkisian said. “When we can go in with the right mentality and we can embrace the challenge, but also keep our mental intensity, but there’s that fine line of not crossing over, still staying poised and composed, and I thought we were able to do that. But we’ve been doing that. That’s something I want to impress upon our players. That’s just who we are now.”
As of Sept. 9, the Longhorns are ranked second behind the Georgia Bulldogs, who also dominated their opponents in their two victories. The two programs are scheduled to play each other on Oct. 19 and that game should be the college regular season game of the year, and I believe that Texas is the team to beat. Here’s why.
Last season, despite being the 2022 National Champions, Georgia didn’t make the College Football Playoffs to defend their title, and a win over a team with momentum like Texas would help their case at the end of the season when it’s time for the selection committee to pick the 12 teams to play in this year’s playoffs. Georgia should be a lock, but you never know what could happen, so they must take care of business against Texas.
Another reason why Georgia needs to beat Texas is because the Bulldogs is the last quality team on Texas’ schedule. If Texas wins, then there is a high percentage that the Longhorns will run the table and have an undefeated record going into the CFP. Meanwhile, Georgia has a much tougher schedule. They still have to play 4th ranked Alabama, before they play Texas. Then 5th ranked Ole Miss, who has a high-powered offense. Then lastly, they have to play 7th ranked Tennessee. I’m not saying that Georgia will lose any of those games, but if they lose against Texas, then their margin of era decreases. I believe a two-loss team can make the playoffs, but based on the strength of the schedule, Georgia could possibly lose more.
How good is the Texas Longhorns? They’re probably one of the most complete teams in the country. Texas has a future NFL quarterback in Ewers, who should play his way into the Heisman conversations. They have one of the best offensive lines in the country with left tackle Kelvin Banks, 5-star DJ Campbell and fifth-year senior center Jake Majors. They also have one of the best-receiving corps in the nation with a combination of Matthew Golden, Isaiah Bond and Gunnar Helm, and they have improved dramatically on defense.
The Texas Longhorns are Back and is the Team To Beat in College Football
If you don’t believe me when I say Texas is one of the best teams in college football, other intelligent people agree with me. ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum, who has a track record of being one of the smartest analysts covering the sport, has declared Texas to be legitimately back.
“Back again, and this time for good,” Finebaum said in an appearance on SportsCenter. “Listen, all those false alarms are in the past. I mean, you can’t do what they have done in the last two years and call it a false alarm. It was a year ago this weekend, they beat Alabama by double digits and what they did yesterday was really program-defining. They destroyed Michigan on every aspect of the game, and really when you look at this score quickly on your phone this morning or on our screen, it’s really deceiving. It was much much worse.”
Next week, the University of Texas San Antonio will travel to Austin to give their best shot at knocking off the Longhorns. The game is scheduled for Sept. 14 and kick-off time is at 6 p.m.
