Texas Football: 5 reasons the Longhorns will be better than Oklahoma in 2018

4. Baker Mayfield is gone

Oklahoma relied heavily on Baker Mayfield last season, but they no longer have the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Kyler Murray will take over as the starting quarterback, but losing a leader like Mayfield will hurt the Sooners this season.

Mayfield threw for 4,627 yards last season and finished with 43 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also completed 70.5% of his passes and won the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell, Walter Camp, and Davey O’Brien awards.

He had three very successful years at Oklahoma after transferring from Texas Tech and was the face of the Oklahoma program. Now, Oklahoma has to find a way to replace their star quarterback and leader.

Kyler Murray likely will be the starter in Week 1, and he could be very successful as the Sooners quarterback. He transferred from Texas A&M after being a five-star recruit and the top dual-threat quarterback in his class according to 247sports.

Murray is a very good player, but it will be difficult to fill the shoes of Mayfield, who was the undisputed leader of the team and had that “it” factor that made him a winner. Texas will benefit greatly from Mayfield no longer leading the Sooners.