Texas one of three SEC teams described as having a national title ceiling
On3’s Andy Staples looked around the Southeastern Conference on Friday to determine the floors and ceilings of all 16 members of the league, including the Texas Longhorns. He wrote that three teams within the SEC with national championship ceilings in 2024: Georgia, Alabama, and Texas.
[Sign up for Inside Texas and get ONE MONTH for $1!]
Here’s what Staples had to say about the Longhorns, who have to face fellow national title contender Georgia on October 19…
Ceiling: National title
Floor: 9-3
Laugh all you want for this obvious “Texas is back” take, but the Longhorns seem to have remedied the two big issues that were holding them back: losing games in which they had a decisive talent advantage and not developing NFL talent. Texas didn’t lay any eggs last season against less-talented opponents, and the Longhorns produced 11 NFL draft picks with more clearly in the pipeline for the next few years.
In short, Texas enters the SEC in the best position it possibly could. The roster is sound, with a veteran quarterback playing behind a talented, veteran offensive line. The interior defensive line could be a little deeper, but the Longhorns should be excellent off the edges and at linebacker. Plus, some of the portal additions feel like perfect fits. Former Alabama tight end Amari Niblack, for example, should be able to fill the Ja’Tavion Sanders role nicely.
Steve Sarkisian seems to have taken the right lessons from Nick Saban about development and roster-building, and that’s why it’s tough to find more than three losses even with a fairly challenging schedule. It’s also why the ceiling is Sark holding the trophy as confetti rains.
Texas is likely to be paced by a Quinn Ewers-led offense this year, one On3 believes has some of the best skill position players in college football. Plus, the Longhorn offensive line was labeled the No. 2 unit in the nation, just behind LSU’s group.
In addition to the Longhorns, the Crimson Tide, and the Bulldogs, a few other teams were described as having a ceiling of making the 12-team College Football Playoff. LSU, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Texas A&M were in this tier. Two of those teams, Oklahoma and Texas A&M, are on the Longhorns’ 2024 schedule.
[Subscribe to the brand new Inside Texas YouTube channel!]
Sarkisian’s program is coming off its final year in the Big 12 and entering its first in the SEC. The Longhorns went 12-2 in 2023 with a Big 12 Championship and a berth in the final scheduled iteration of the four-team College Football Playoff. Sarkisian is 71-49 as a head coach and 25-14 at Texas.
