From the second last season was over, the questions arose and the expectations were set. In order for the Longhorns to improve upon last season, and the past three seasons, a 10 wins, including a win over Oklahoma, were the expectations for the Texas football program and still are. And in order to reach these expectations, the question marks lie with David Ash, the defense, and the offensive line. But since that first second after the bowl game, I've seen many, many articles stating what the Longhorns must do, how it's now time for "so and so" to step up, that it's now or never for the Longhorns to rally together, etc. All of those articles are nice to read, often optimistic, and can usually get most Longhorn fans excited for the up-coming season.
But what if the Longhorns don't meet expectations? What if David Ash has the same ups and downs we saw last season? What if the defense stills struggles to stop the run, and the secondary continues to miss tackles? And what if the offensive line still struggles to become the dominant force we are hoping they can be? Could we be looking at another 4 loss season?
Luckily for the Longhorns, their schedule appears to be one of the easier ones around. The Big 12 is in a bit of a down year due to many turnovers on rosters, specifically at the QB position. But with that said, there are 3 games that stand out to me as potential losses and 4 additional teams that are wild cards.
Oklahoma, TCU, and Oklahoma State are the three games that stand out as potential losses.
Oklahoma: Sure OU may not be as strong as they were last season, but until David Ash and Texas beat the Sooners you can't write them off. Plus, this game is a rivalry game, it can never be written off.
TCU: The Horned Frogs are in an interesting situation at quarterback with Casey Pachall returning to the roster. If he ends up winning the job over Trevon Boykin, TCU's passing game would be elevated from last season. And on top of that, you know a Gary Patterson led football team always plays tough.
Oklahoma State: Plug whoever you want in at quarterback, the Cowboys seem to have a handful of QB's that can get the job done in Gundy's offense. The Longhorns got the best of them last season, but it was a close game. You better believe OSU will be fired up to come to Austin to try to take down the Longhorns again.
Other than those three teams, I'd say Baylor, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, and BYU are all wild cards. Each have potential of some sort to perform better than expected. And if the Longhorns have a performance where the defense can't seem to slow down the opposing offense and consistency lacks from Ash and the offensive line, the Longhorns could find themselves in another depressing situation.
Personally, I see the Longhorns having 10 win season. Or I may just be hoping it all comes together on both sides of the ball... But the Longhorns do have a relatively easy schedule and a lot of returning players compared to most teams. The expectations are a 10-win season and a win over Oklahoma. But the questions still remain and can only be answered during the season.
Is it football season yet?
Hook'em
But what if the Longhorns don't meet expectations? What if David Ash has the same ups and downs we saw last season? What if the defense stills struggles to stop the run, and the secondary continues to miss tackles? And what if the offensive line still struggles to become the dominant force we are hoping they can be? Could we be looking at another 4 loss season?
Luckily for the Longhorns, their schedule appears to be one of the easier ones around. The Big 12 is in a bit of a down year due to many turnovers on rosters, specifically at the QB position. But with that said, there are 3 games that stand out to me as potential losses and 4 additional teams that are wild cards.
Oklahoma, TCU, and Oklahoma State are the three games that stand out as potential losses.
Oklahoma: Sure OU may not be as strong as they were last season, but until David Ash and Texas beat the Sooners you can't write them off. Plus, this game is a rivalry game, it can never be written off.
TCU: The Horned Frogs are in an interesting situation at quarterback with Casey Pachall returning to the roster. If he ends up winning the job over Trevon Boykin, TCU's passing game would be elevated from last season. And on top of that, you know a Gary Patterson led football team always plays tough.
Oklahoma State: Plug whoever you want in at quarterback, the Cowboys seem to have a handful of QB's that can get the job done in Gundy's offense. The Longhorns got the best of them last season, but it was a close game. You better believe OSU will be fired up to come to Austin to try to take down the Longhorns again.
Other than those three teams, I'd say Baylor, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, and BYU are all wild cards. Each have potential of some sort to perform better than expected. And if the Longhorns have a performance where the defense can't seem to slow down the opposing offense and consistency lacks from Ash and the offensive line, the Longhorns could find themselves in another depressing situation.
Personally, I see the Longhorns having 10 win season. Or I may just be hoping it all comes together on both sides of the ball... But the Longhorns do have a relatively easy schedule and a lot of returning players compared to most teams. The expectations are a 10-win season and a win over Oklahoma. But the questions still remain and can only be answered during the season.
Is it football season yet?
Hook'em
