Texas Longhorns stats, records, schedule, and standings

Longhorns

Texas Longhorns

NCAAF – BIG 12

TEAM LEADERS

Texas Longhorns Football Team

The Longhorns have watched their Big 12 rivals to the north win six consecutive conference titles, so a very respectable 7 – 3 record in 2020 wasn’t enough for Texas to retain head coach Tom Herman, instead turning to former Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.

With previous stops as the head coach at Washington and USC, Texas is convinced Sarkisian is the savior who will restore the program to past glory.

Texas Longhorns Standings

The Texas Longhorns are a dominant force in the NCAAF, with a storied history of success on the field. Their current standings reflect their continued excellence, with impressive stats across the board.

The Longhorns have a talented roster and a coaching staff dedicated to bringing out the best in their players. Fans of Texas football can expect another exciting season from the Longhorns.

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2020 Summary

A high-powered offense that was seventh in the nation in scoring powered Texas to wins in five of its last six games, including a 69 – 31 beat down of Kansas State in their regular-season finale followed by a 55 – 23 win over Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. Departed quarterback Sam Ehlinger completed 60% of his passes for 26 touchdown passes and only five interceptions with an additional eight rushing scores.

Their three losses were by a total of 13 points, with the largest losing margin of eight coming in an overtime defeat at Oklahoma. Although most of the team’s shortcomings were on the defensive side of the ball, Texas moved one offensive-minded staff aside for one with many of the same strengths and weaknesses.

Key Players

Junior quarterback Casey Thompson is the likely starter, although he may face a challenge from redshirt freshman Hudson Card. Filling the shoes of four-year starter Ehlinger will be instrumental if the Longhorns are able to build on the reasonably solid 2020 season, and Thompson’s highly efficient 12 completions in 17 attempts with six touchdowns and no interceptions in limited duty is a good basis on which to move ahead.

As a freshman, running back Bijan Robinson averaged 8.2 yards a carry, a mark that had stood for 59 in the Texas program. With a new starting quarterback, his consistency and experience will be instrumental for a team that has aspirations far beyond a winning season and a bowl game appearance.

Texas needs improvement on the defensive side of the ball if they hope to move up in class and contend for a conference title, so returning senior linebacker Demarvion Overshown will need to once again put in the kind of performance he had with eight tackles for loss, a sack and two interceptions in 2020.

New Additions

LSU graduate transfer Ray Thornton will be a key contributor at linebacker for the Longhorns, filling the spot vacated by Joseph Ossai, who left for the NFL. He’ll be assisted by Ovie Oghoufo, who comes in from Notre Dame to add depth to the unit.

Texas landed a top recruit in highly rated athlete Ja’Tavion Sanders out of Ryan High School in Denton, Texas. How they use the 6’4’ 235-pound prospect could have an impact on how they end up finishing in the Big 12 race.

Key Subtractions

On a defense that wasn’t particularly impressive, linebacker Joseph Ossai’s team-high sixteen tackles for a loss and five sacks won’t be easy to replace. He was the third-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2021 NFL draft.

Although the Longhorns may find a suitable replacement, it’s still difficult to adjust to the departure of a four-year starting quarterback like Sam Ehlinger. He was a clutch performer in late-game situations, and his leadership will be missed on a team adjusting to a new head coach.

Along with the loss of Ossai, fellow linebacker and leading tackler Juwan Mitchell entered the transfer portal, leaving a big hole in the middle of what was just an average Longhorn defense in 2020.

Conference Outlook

The two teams at the top of the Big 12 in 2020 appear to be well-positioned to stay there for 2021, with runner-up Iowa State returning almost all of their starters from last year and champion Oklahoma restocked for another title run. The Sooners have won the last six league titles, and it will take a terrific effort from the other teams in the conference to keep them from claiming a seventh consecutive crown.

Texas has the offensive firepower to contend, but they’ll need to address some defensive losses and successfully break in a new starting quarterback to make a run. Oklahoma State and TCU both have the talent to break into the top two and get into the championship game, but neither one is strong on both sides of the ball, so they’ll need their respective strong units to perform well to make that happen.

Texas Offense

With a great offensive head coach and a deep group of returning skill players, the only real unknown is how the new starting quarterback will play in an unfamiliar role. The talent appears to be there, whether it’s Casey Thompson or Hudson Card, but throwing passes in a backup role in games where the outcome is already decided is much different than performing as the starter.

With more carries by the explosive Robinson and a seamless transition for the new signal-caller, this could be a special Texas offense that could easily cover for any struggles on the other side of the ball. To have a chance at the title and maybe even a spot in the College Football Playoff, the Longhorns will have to find a way to outscore either Oklahoma or Iowa State and perhaps even both.

Texas Defense

On average, the defense gave up 28.5 points a game in 2020, 61st among the 128 FBS teams. Only marginal improvement will probably result in a great season for the Longhorns, but they’ll need to address losses at linebacker and keep from giving up the big play in order to pick up wins against Oklahoma and Iowa State, not to mention high powered Oklahoma State, who took Texas to overtime a year ago.

Fortunately for the Longhorns, only West Virginia and TCU have defenses that rank in the top fourth of the nation, so they don’t have to make dramatic improvements. Still, relying solely on the offense is a high-risk strategy that new head coach Steve Sarkisian can’t afford to employ.

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