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Texas Football: Way-too-early game-by-game predictions for 2020

By Jake Mitchell

HOUSTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 14: Head coach Tom Herman of the Texas Longhorns prepares to lead the team onto the field before the game against the Rice Owls at NRG Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 14: Head coach Tom Herman of the Texas Longhorns prepares to lead the team onto the field before the game against the Rice Owls at NRG Stadium on September 14, 2019 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JANUARY 13: Head coach Ed Orgeron of the LSU Tigers, Joe Burrow #9 of the LSU Tigers and Grant Delpit #7 of the LSU Tigers celebrate with the trophy after defeating the Clemson Tigers 42-25 in the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 13, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JANUARY 13: Head coach Ed Orgeron of the LSU Tigers, Joe Burrow #9 of the LSU Tigers and Grant Delpit #7 of the LSU Tigers celebrate with the trophy after defeating the Clemson Tigers 42-25 in the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Mercedes Benz Superdome on January 13, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

These teams played a classic Week 2 game in 2019, but then went in very different directions. While Texas would limp to 8-5 and cap the year off with a 38-10 Alamo Bowl victory over Utah, LSU would go on to reach the pinnacle of the sport with a win over Clemson in the National Championship Game.

Not only would the Longhorns like to follow in the Tigers’ footsteps, but Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger would like to follow in Joe Burrow‘s as well. The LSU passer had over 6,000 all-purpose yards and 65 touchdowns on his way to a Heisman Trophy.

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The Texas gunslinger is entering his senior season, which means this will be his final chance to make a mark in Austin. His 2019 campaign was solid, throwing for 3,663 yards and a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 32-10. He added 663 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground as well, but the passing numbers will have to elevate from “solid” to “jaw-dropping” if Ehlinger is to make it to New York in December.

As far as matchups go, this LSU team may not be the one it was a year ago. Gone from the bayou are Burrow, offensive coordinator Joe Brady, defensive coordinator Dave Aranda, and a host of great players that includes names like Grant Delpit, Kristian Fulton, Patrick Queen, K’Lavon Chaisson, Thaddeus Moss, Justin Jefferson, and many more.

Last year, an LSU team with a veteran quarterback went into Austin and showed that, after years of struggling to elevate to elite, they had finally become a championship-level team. Who’s to say Texas doesn’t go into the bayou and do the same thing in 2020?

Prediction: Texas 35, LSU 24 (2-0)

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