Paul Finebaum isn’t leaving much room for debate when it comes to Texas.
On ESPN’s Get Up, the college football analyst said the Longhorns are firmly in national championship-or-bust territory heading into 2026. When host Mike Greenberg asked whether that was the standard in Austin, Finebaum didn’t soften it.
"You know the answer, Greeny. It is yes," he said. "You don't get to this point with one of the most celebrated players in modern college football history and lay an egg like Texas did last year."
Finebaum pointed back to the 2025 season as the reason the pressure is so heavy now. Texas opened as the preseason No. 1 team, but the path unraveled after losses to Ohio State and Florida, with the Florida defeat coming a couple of weeks later and effectively knocking the Longhorns out of the College Football Playoff race. They also lost to Georgia later in the year.
From Finebaum’s view, the roster is still built to chase the title.
"They have one of the best rosters, if not the best in all of college football, certainly the best in the SEC. They have to get to the title game."
Texas also added firepower around Arch Manning, pulling Auburn’s top target, Cam Coleman, out of the transfer portal and pairing him with Ryan Wingo. That gives Manning a receiver group with two proven outside options.
But the quarterback remains the center of the conversation, and Finebaum’s co-panelist Jordan Rodgers made the case that Manning’s biggest issue is still on the basics.
"He was one of the most inaccurate quarterbacks in the country on the short game," Rodgers said.
"0 to 10 yards, he was last in the SEC, and 122nd in completion percentage, at just 56%. He's the most inaccurate from 0 to 25 yards as well, and all that has to do with footwork and mechanics."
Rodgers said the short and intermediate game is where offenses stay on schedule, and if a quarterback struggles there, talent alone won’t carry the day. He said the fix starts with Manning’s mechanics.
"He's got to clean his footwork up, which in turn is going to clean up his release point, some of that sidearm lean that you see at times."
Rodgers also said Manning finished 2025 better than he started it.
"You start to see it get a little bit better as the year went on," Rodgers said, before adding, "If he's more efficient and consistent, the explosiveness is going to be there. And Texas will get to a national championship."
The schedule only raises the stakes. Finebaum called Texas one of the toughest slates in the SEC when he ranked the league’s most demanding schedules on SEC Network in June, listing Ohio State, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Florida, Ole Miss, plus road trips to LSU and Texas A&M.
"Ohio State, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Florida, Ole Miss. I mean at LSU, at A&M. This is one of the trickiest schedules for a contender I have seen," he said.
Bill Connelly’s SP+ projected Texas with the toughest schedule in the nation, beginning with a Week 2 rematch against Ohio State in Austin and followed by nine SEC games under the league’s new nine-game format.
That leaves Manning facing a brutal test: a quarterback who was among the nation’s least accurate short passers trying to clean up his mechanics against the hardest schedule in the country. And with the Longhorns already missing the playoff once, the margin for another slip is gone.
In Other News...
Former Texas A&M Star Arrested After Heartbreaking Family Incident
A heartbreaking family incident in Baton Rouge has drawn attention to a former Texas A&M standout after his two-year-old son was injured in an accidental shooting at Moss' apartment. The child was taken to Our Lady of the Lakes Children Hospital, and while medical details have not been fully released, the case has already raised serious questions about how the weapon was stored and how the situation unfolded.
Investigators say the circumstances pointed to severe negligence, turning what began as a domestic emergency into a legal matter with major consequences. For Longhorns fans who remember the broader college football rivalry landscape, it is another grim reminder of how quickly off-field decisions can spill into tragedy, leaving a family to deal with the aftermath while authorities continue their review. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Just Got A Crucial Ahmad Hardy Update Before Missouri Trip
Missouris backfield picture got a little clearer heading into Texas trip to Columbia, with head coach Eliah Drinkwitz saying running back Ahmad Hardy is on the road to recovery after being injured in a shooting. Hardys status has been one of the more unsettling storylines around the matchup, and while the Tigers now have a better sense of where he stands medically, his return still sits in a waiting period that stretches well beyond the immediate future.
For Texas, the timing matters because Missouri is also sorting out its offense under a new starting quarterback in Austin Simmons, the Ole Miss transfer who has already been handed the job. The Longhorns will spend the week preparing for a Tigers team with some significant moving parts, but Hardys uncertain availability leaves one more layer of intrigue in a game that already had plenty of it. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Nearly Landed A Star SEC Back After Key Staff Move
Jadan Baughs name came up at SEC Media Days for a reason beyond Floridas own backfield. The sophomore running back had a strong season for the Gators, and his relationship with former running backs coach Jabbar Juluke followed him into the summer after Juluke took a job on the Texas staff in 2025. In a league where coaching moves can quickly reshape recruiting paths, Baughs connection to Juluke was one of the more interesting side stories surrounding the Longhorns offseason.
Texas, meanwhile, has continued to stock the room around Juluke with new talent, bringing in transfers Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown along with freshman Derrek Cooper. The Longhorns clearly had enough pull to make themselves part of Baughs conversation, even if that door never fully opened, and Julukes presence in Austin only adds another layer to what Texas is trying to build at running back. [Read more 🡒]