Can Texas Football contend for the College Football Playoff?
By Dante Pryor
How many games will Texas football win this fall?
September 2: Rice W: The Owls should be improved with journeyman quarterback JT Daniels, but Texas takes care of business here.
September 9: at Alabama W: Both the Crimson Tide and the Longhorns have this game circled. Texas can’t help but think about what could have been if they won this game last year. The Longhorns go to Tuscaloosa and shock the world.
September 16: Wyoming W: The Longhorns return home and should have no problem with the Cowboys.
September 23: at Baylor W: The Bears should be better, but Texas wins here because of the talent advantage.
September 30: Kansas W: Kansas’ upset of Texas seems like a lifetime ago. The Longhorns put the boots to the Jayhawks last season—Texas with a blowout win at home.
October 7: Oklahoma (Neutral Site) W: A big reason for the massacre at Red River in 2022 was the injury to Dillon Gabriel. He’ll be back, but Texas’ offense will be better than Oklahoma’s defense.
October 21: at Houston W: There is a possibility that Dana Holgorsen won’t be the head coach for this game. It doesn’t matter who’s the head coach for Houston, Texas wins big.
October 28: BYU W: This might not quite be a 50-50 game, but the Cougars keep this one close.
November 4: Kansas State L: There is a possibility this game is also the Big 12 Championship game. Texas has the edge because it’s a home game.
November 11: at TCU W: The Horned Frogs lost a lot from last season’s team. Texas wins against a team that has given them fits in the previous few years.
November 18: at Iowa State W: Head coach Matt Campbell has no idea what his roster will look like when the smoke clears on this betting scandal. Texas wins big.
November 24: Texas Tech W: The ‘Horns had to wait until the end of the season to get their win back from last year.
Prediction (11-1, 8-1 Big 12)
On paper, this schedule has nine wins and three 50-50 games. That is on paper, of course. This season is the proving ground for the Longhorns. They have the best roster in the conference, but they need to play like it.
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They have to finish games and not have losses like they did to Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. If the Longhorns can finish better than it did in 2022, Sarkisian can shed that “Seven Win Sark” label.