Paul Finebaum isn’t leaving much room for excuses in Austin.
The ESPN analyst has made it clear that Texas is supposed to be in the national championship conversation in 2026, and anything less is going to feel like a letdown. That is a harsh line, but it matches the way Steve Sarkisian has built this roster.
Texas hasn’t put together a team just to reach the College Football Playoff. The Longhorns have gone after a roster built to handle the SEC, go toe-to-toe with the sport’s biggest names and still have enough left to matter in January.
Sarkisian has gone all-in. Texas reportedly spent more money on transfer-portal talent than any other program in the country, adding proven pieces to a roster already packed with NFL-level talent. He also brought Will Muschamp, the former Auburn head coach and accomplished defensive coordinator, back to Austin to run the defense.
And then there’s Arch Manning.
Few quarterbacks in college football have entered a season with this much attention before becoming the centerpiece of a title push. The name brings instant buzz, but the expectations go well beyond that. Manning has the arm, the mobility and the supporting cast to be one of the defining players of the 2026 season.
That’s why Finebaum’s warning lands the way it does. Texas can’t hide behind patience anymore.
Not with Manning at quarterback. Not after investing so heavily in the portal.
Not with a roster that could produce four top-10 NFL Draft selections. Not after adding Muschamp to help shape a defense that is supposed to stack up with the best in the SEC.
This is not a rebuild. It’s a championship push.
Of course, the schedule won’t make anything easy. Texas has to go on the road to face Texas A&M, Tennessee and LSU. It will also meet Oklahoma in Dallas and host Ohio State in a game with major playoff weight.
There’s almost no breathing room there, and very few weeks when Texas can afford to look flat.
That said, the schedule also keeps people from falling into the trap of thinking a title team has to go unbeaten. Texas could lose twice, navigate the SEC race and still be very much alive for a national championship run.
The real line is between losing hard-fought games and squandering a roster built for more.
Nobody should be talking about firing Sarkisian if Texas makes the playoff and then bows out in a tight quarterfinal or semifinal. The expanded field has made the postseason too unpredictable for a title to be the only acceptable finish.
Still, Finebaum’s bigger point stands. Texas has spent like a champion, recruited like a champion and marketed its quarterback like a champion. Eventually, it has to play like one.
A nine-win season and a decent bowl game would fall short. Sneaking into the playoff only to get exposed would feel empty. Even another year of progress talk and promises about “taking the next step” would wear thin with a fan base that has heard that script before.
Sarkisian doesn’t have to win the trophy to prove Texas is headed in the right direction. But the Longhorns do have to look like a team that can win it from the first week of the season all the way through the postseason.
In Other News...
Texas May Finally Need This Former Five-Star To Deliver
Texas is heading into 2026 with a defense that already has a clear headliner in Colin Simmons, but the Longhorns are also looking for another former blue-chip talent to make the leap. Lance Jackson, once a five-star recruit, did not have a major impact last season, yet the expectation around the program is that his role will grow as Texas reshapes its front and adds pieces like transfer defensive tackle Ian Geffrard.
Will Muschamps plan gives Jackson a chance to matter in more than one way. The Longhorns want his versatility available both on the edge and in heavier looks inside, and if Simmons keeps drawing the kind of attention he usually does, Jackson may find the kind of opening that turns potential into production. For Texas, that kind of development would go a long way toward making the pass rush feel deeper and more dangerous. [Read more 🡒]
Texas May Have An Unexpected Answer In Its Biggest Line Battle
Laurence Seymore arrived at Texas with the kind of resume that usually earns a quick look, having started every game for Western Kentucky last season, and he has only helped his case since getting into the Longhorns offseason program. Steve Sarkisian has been encouraged enough by Seymores conditioning and overall fit to single out the transfer as someone who has made real progress in a short time, which matters on a line still trying to sort itself out.
The guard picture remains unsettled, and that is where Seymores rise becomes especially relevant. With uncertainty around who will actually be available, Texas needs answers in a hurry, and Seymore is pushing into a spot that could give the Longhorns some stability if he keeps trending the way he has so far. The competition is still open, but he has already made this a more interesting battle than it looked like when he first arrived. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Fans Are Furious Over A Viral Longhorns Clip
A resurfaced TikTok clip has put Texas football back in the social-media crosshairs, with the video showing multiple Longhorns players doing a high-energy dance routine inside a team facility. The footage has been circulating again on X, where it quickly picked up steam and stirred up the kind of reaction that can follow a program with national expectations.
For plenty of fans, the backlash has centered less on the dance itself than on what it seems to say about focus and culture around the program. It comes with Texas still carrying the weight of a 10-3 finish under Steve Sarkisian and a Citrus Bowl win over Michigan, which is exactly why even an old clip can spark a fresh round of scrutiny this close to a new season. [Read more 🡒]