Texas has climbed to 4-0, grabbed the No. 1 spot in the country and put itself in the best position yet to reach the College Football Playoff. At the same time, two of its biggest rivals have gone in the opposite direction, and the collapse has been hard for Longhorns fans to ignore.
Oklahoma and Texas A&M both opened the season in the preseason AP Top 25, with each team in the top 10. Four games in, neither is ranked anymore.
Both are 2-2, and both sit near the bottom of the SEC standings. For Texas fans, that kind of turnabout has made for a pretty entertaining start to the year.
The reaction from some fans has been frantic enough to border on comedy. One Texas A&M supporter called for head coach Mike Elko and his entire staff to be fired, then looked to AI for help with the problem. Another Aggie fan suggested the program should try to poach Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian to replace Elko.
#TexasAM should steal Steve Sarkisian away from #Texas. pic.twitter.com/UbF3nV2AIX
- Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) September 27, 2026
Oklahoma’s online mood has been no calmer. One Sooners fan called for a boycott of the program, comparing it to what happened with Arkansas just a couple of weeks ago.
#Oklahoma fans need to boycott the program. pic.twitter.com/EuRwZvTEcT
- Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) September 27, 2026
The Sooners’ latest loss only poured more fuel on the fire. Georgia beat Oklahoma 41-13, and fans were already calling for Brent Venables’ job after the first quarter.
🚨MELTDOWN ALERT 🚨 #Oklahoma is down 7-0 in the first quarter. Game over!
Brent Venables is a fraud! #MeltdownAlert pic.twitter.com/2dAD6RV1zA
- Message Board Geniuses (@BoardGeniuses) September 26, 2026
If you go digging through the message boards, Arkansas is melting down too, though that wasn’t exactly a shock given the expectations around that program. Still, the bigger story for Texas is that its rivals’ struggles may actually help more than hurt.
The Longhorns don’t need Oklahoma or Texas A&M to be elite for their schedule to hold up. Their own résumé is already strong, and the rest of the regular season still includes five ranked matchups.
Texas has already picked up two top-15 wins, beating then-No. 1 Ohio State and then-No.
14 Tennessee.
That means the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma and the Lone Star Showdown against Texas A&M could end up being the kind of games Texas wants right now: opportunities for lopsided wins over familiar enemies while the bigger body of work keeps building. The article compared those potential blowouts to the cherries on top of an “ice cream sundae” that already looks good enough for the CFP.
Texas still has Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas A&M as the only unranked opponents left on its regular-season schedule. With the rest of the slate packed with ranked teams, even one or two losses may still leave the Longhorns in the playoff mix.
For now, the No. 1 team in the country has every reason to enjoy watching its rivals spiral.
In Other News...
Texas Defensive Front Is Becoming A Problem For Road Opponents
Texas defensive front has been giving road opponents a different kind of problem, and the latest glimpse came against Tennessee when junior lineman Maraad Watson got to freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon for a notable sack. It was the kind of snap that fits what Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns have been saying about this group, with Hero Kanu and Lance Jackson also pointing to the overall strength and depth up front as a real edge for the defense.
What makes the line so difficult to deal with is not just the talent, but the way Texas keeps bodies moving and fresh. The Longhorns have leaned into rotation and mobility among their defensive linemen to preserve explosivity and physicality, a formula that becomes even more important away from home when the game can turn into a grind. For opponents trying to hold up against that kind of pressure, there does not seem to be much relief coming. [Read more 🡒]
Sarkisian Admits Texas Offense Has Not Met Early Expectations
Steve Sarkisian came into the season with the kind of setup a head coach usually welcomes, with Will Muschamps arrival as defensive coordinator giving him more room to stay in the offensive lane and work more closely with that side of the staff. After a strong opening win, though, Texas has not quite looked like the finished product many expected, and the early numbers have reflected that uneven start.
Through four games, the Longhorns have been solid without being sharp, sitting 57th nationally in points per game and 83rd in total offense. That is the backdrop as Texas keeps trying to find a higher gear on offense, especially with Florida showing what a fast start can look like after climbing near the top of the national rankings behind Jadan Baughs production in the backfield. [Read more 🡒]
Colin Simmons Is Giving Texas A Heisman Debate Fans Can't Ignore
Colin Simmons has pushed his way into a conversation Texas fans are not used to hearing around a defensive player. The Longhorns edge rusher is drawing Heisman buzz after a recent run that has made voters take notice, and even the mention of his name in that race says plenty about how disruptive he has been. Defense almost never gets this kind of award chatter, with only two defensive players in the trophys history ever getting over the top.
For Texas, the appeal is obvious: Simmons is giving the program a rare kind of Heisman candidate, one whose value is measured in pressure, disruption and the way he changes games on that side of the ball. The catch is that the award still tilts heavily toward offense, and current odds leave him behind several more traditional contenders. Even so, his rise has made him impossible to ignore, and whether he can keep forcing his way into the debate will come down to how voters view a defensive season in a race built for quarterbacks and skill players. [Read more 🡒]