Texas Football: Ranking Longhorns’ 2020 opponents by toughness

Tom Herman has to get Texas football back on track in 2020 and that all starts with getting through a tough schedule untouched.

“Texas is back.”

Those are the muttered words that make evert Texas football fan cringe. While they want to believe that phrase, it’s better left unsaid and more so proven.

That’s why when Sam Ehlinger said it after a Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia in 2018, it felt right, but it was proven wrong in 2019. The Longhorns finished just 8-5 after going 3-3 in the final six games of the year. It was a forgettable season for Texas and Tom Herman even though it did end with a blowout win over playoff contender Utah in the Alamo Bowl.

Losing by seven points or less to LSU, Iowa State and Oklahoma just shows how close the Longhorns were to being a 10-11 win team and potentially contending for another Big 12 title.

Heading into the 2020 season, Herman and Co. are hoping to move in silence and surprise some people. Many believe the Longhorns are one of the top 15 teams in the country and with Sam Ehlinger returning at quarterback, they also have a serious Heisman Trophy contender.

Add in Keaontay Ingram, Brennan Eagles and a defense that returns nine starters and you have a squad that could be a problem for the Oklahomas and Oklahoma States of the conference.

But just how tough will Texas’ road be in 2020?