The first regular-season AP Top 25 Poll didn’t just give Texas a shiny ranking. It put a spotlight on the path ahead, and it made one thing plain: the Longhorns need to cash in on their non-conference schedule before SEC play turns brutal.
Texas checks in at No. 7, and that placement comes with a clear backdrop. Last season, the Longhorns went 9-9 in SEC play, lost in the first round of the SEC Tournament, and fell short of the standard the program expects.
Sean Miller has put together a roster with real talent, and the hope is that this year looks very different. But the league won’t offer much breathing room.
That’s why the early stretch matters so much. Texas has 13 non-conference games on the schedule, and only two of them are against ranked opponents right now. On paper, the Longhorns should be able to stack wins before January arrives, with an 11-2 mark looking very attainable if they take care of business.
The AP poll only sharpens that reality. Texas’s two ranked non-conference tests over the next two months are against No.
10 Louisville and No. 17 Miami.
Beating either one would qualify as a major Quad 1 win. Dropping any of the other 11 games would do real damage to the resume.
Two of those wins are already in the bank, which gives Texas a head start. And it’s not as if the rest of the schedule is completely devoid of quality.
Baylor and East Texas A&M, two of the Longhorns’ only Power Conference opponents outside the SEC, received votes in the first poll of the season. Texas A&M also drew votes, and the Longhorns will see the Aggies twice once conference play begins.
That SEC slate is where things get serious. Texas has seven ranked matchups waiting there, including two meetings with No.
1 Florida, one at home and one on the road. The Gators are joined by a long list of ranked league opponents, and the full AP poll reflects just how stacked the conference is.
Florida sits at No. 1, followed by Duke, Illinois, UConn, Michigan State, Virginia, and then Texas. Houston, UCLA, Louisville, Tennessee, Arizona, St. John’s, Gonzaga, Kansas, Texas Tech, Miami, Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan, USC, Vanderbilt, BYU, Kentucky, and Nebraska round out the top 25.
For Texas, the message is straightforward. The non-conference schedule offers a chance to build a cushion. Once the SEC schedule starts after the new year, there won’t be much room to breathe.
In Other News...
Texas Just Proved Something Huge About Steve Sarkisians Team
Missing a starting left tackle and a key receiver on the road against a ranked SEC opponent is usually the kind of setup that exposes a teams flaws. Instead, Texas went into Missouri and walked out with a 34-20 win, with Arch Manning throwing for 297 yards and three touchdowns while the Longhorns kept finding answers around the absences of Trevor Goosby and Cam Coleman.
Steve Sarkisian has talked all season about toughness and connection, and this was the kind of night that gives those words real weight. The offense adjusted, other players filled the gaps and Texas kept its composure when the game could have tilted the other way, which is exactly the sort of proof a team wants in November before the bigger questions arrive. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Faces Its Biggest Road Test Yet With Playoff Pressure Rising
Texas left its last outing with a little more balance than it had shown earlier, beating Missouri by two touchdowns and looking more in sync on both sides of the ball. That kind of complementary football matters now more than ever, because the Longhorns are moving into the part of the schedule where style points and survival start to blur together.
Next up is a trip to Death Valley, where LSU is favored by 3.5 points after dropping a home game to Alabama in a finish that turned quickly once the Tide strung together three unanswered touchdowns. For Texas, this is the kind of road test that can sharpen a playoff rsum or expose how much work still remains, and the margin for error is getting smaller by the week. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Escaped Missouri But One Problem Still Followed The Longhorns
Texas left Columbia with another impressive rsum win, but the trip also reinforced a familiar concern that has been hanging around this team. The Longhorns beat No. 18 Missouri 34-20, extending their run of success against elite competition and adding another ranked victory to a stretch that has made them one of the most battle-tested teams in the country. Emmett Mosley Vs fumble recovery helped ignite a 21-point rally, and Jonathan Cunninghams blocked punt set up a field goal, the kind of momentum plays that can flip a road game in a hurry.
Even with those sparks, the performance did not fully erase the questions surrounding Texas up front. The offensive line was again a talking point, and the postgame comments from players and coaches made clear the issue is still part of the conversation after the win. Texas got the result it needed, but the way it got there left one problem very much in view as the Longhorns move deeper into the season. [Read more 🡒]