Big 12 Football Preseason Power Rankings: Boomer Sooner
By VF Castro
No. 5: Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns finished its 2015 campaign at 5-7 overall, and 4-5 in the Big 12. For head coach Charlie Strong, that’s simply not good enough, and he reminds fans and players of that during his media availabilities that have “national champions” on full display.
During this “offseason,” I saw a number of Tweets that all said this is Strong’s year; if he doesn’t pull off a winning season, he’s on the hot seat, as losing is not acceptable at 40-Acres.
The quarterback battle between Tyrone Swoopes and Shane Buechele is still up in the air, and Strong is smart not to specify who will start against Notre Dame on Sept. 4 because that could give the Irish an advantage.
With a new offensive coordinator in Sterlin Gilbert, there isn’t much aside from camp notes to suggest Texas is taking a more avant-garde approach to its offensive schemes. Hopefully, Gilbert makes the Longhorns adaptive and dynamic in the spread, but the stakes are equally high for defensive coordinator Vance Bedford.
Texas Tech humiliated the Longhorns’ defense with some trick plans last season in Austin, but with losses against Notre Dame (38-3), California (45-44), Oklahoma State (30-27), TCU (50-7), Iowa State (0-24), West Virginia (38-20), and Texas Tech (23-17), patience is wearing thin.
The Longhorns haven’t crossed the 10-win threshold in a long time, and that’s an absolute necessity to get into playoff discussion. Texas’s strengths might not stick out on paper, but a close game or a win against the Irish this weekend could be that early momentum the Longhorns need to have a breakout season.
Silver Lining: Since 1823, the Texas Longhorns have only started a freshmen quarterback in 19 games. But if Buechele is named the starter, it could mean 3-4 years of commanding an offense, and help shape the Longhorns’ identity.