Texas Football didn’t need the money — if anything, its got too much. It didn’t need the hype — one good quarter of play spurs declarations of “Texas is Back.” It didn’t need a boost of recruiting credibility — top-five classes are common.
It certainly didn’t need a path to the College Football Playoff — the one it had in the Big 12 was actually easier.
No, Texas (and to a degree Oklahoma) jumped to the SEC because it was bored, because it wanted something new, because, despite a 91-72 record since 2010, it wanted a challenge, the biggest challenge actually.
Well, the Longhorns are about to get their wish.
The SEC released its 2024 schedule Wednesday, the first with no divisions and 16 teams due to the arrival of the Horns and Sooners.
There are more difficult slates — hello, Florida. There are bigger games — would Georgia at Alabama interest anyone?
There may not be a single program in the country, however, that will walk into 2024 with as much of the spotlight, the rivalry venom and the pressure as Texas.
Win or lose, ready or not, this isn’t going to be dull.
Texas will play in at least four games that are likely the biggest and most anticipated in the entire nation on their respective weekends, and that doesn’t count a couple others that could wind up that way. ESPN’s “GameDay” might as well set up a satellite office next to Steve Sarkisian’s in Austin.
Sept. 7, Texas visits Michigan in a major non-conference clash and television ratings bonanza.
Soon after — likely as part of a Welcome to the SEC doubleheader with Alabama visiting Oklahoma — the Longhorns will host current two-time reigning national champion Georgia.
Oct. 5, it’s Red River Rivalry time, with the annual season-defining battle against Oklahoma in Dallas amid the Texas State Fair.
Late November brings the renewal of the blood feud (even if UT won’t admit it) with Texas A&M. The teams have played 118 times but not once since 2011, when the Aggies left for the SEC. Now they are back as conference foes and the first game will be in College Station, perhaps as part of a demand by A&M athletic director Ross Bjork. The intensity will be alarming.
These are four titanic clashes and don’t even include a visit from Florida or a trip to Fayetteville to reboot the historic Hogs-Horns series that once dominated the sport, most notably in 1969 when President Nixon showed up for the “Game of the Century.” (Visits by Kentucky and Mississippi State and a trip to Vanderbilt round out the SEC slate.)
Oh, and the projected starting quarterback for the 2024 season?
No less than Arch Manning.
For a Texas program that doesn’t just covet center stage but believes it is something of a birthright — that the college football world revolves around it — this was pretty much the goal. The Longhorns were willing to rock the foundation of the entire sport just to grab it.
Everyone knew a schedule like this was coming, but seeing it laid out on Wednesday brought reality home. It could have been even stronger had the SEC moved to a nine-game slate, rather than stick with eight. That will likely be changed for 2025 and beyond.
Call it arrogance or call it intelligence, but Texas grew weary of having its sizable fan base, reliable television audience and oversized brand prop up (or so it believed) the Big 12. It no longer wanted so many trips to a little college town on the plains, let alone trying to sell Austinites on buying tickets for off-brand opponents.
Everything is bigger in Texas and if nothing else, Texas craved the big-time.
The fact that it kept losing to the likes of Texas Tech and TCU and Kansas and Baylor and Iowa State and the rest of the Big 12 somehow didn’t matter. Neither did the fact there has been just one 10-win season since the glory days of Mack Brown.
Texas believed it was better than the company it was keeping and fair or not, it had enough clout to change it.
So now comes reality. Is Sarkisian’s program ready not just for the grind of the SEC, but the series of monster clashes that challenge anyone? Recruiting is great, but recruiting is always great for Texas.
The new day is coming. The next challenge is almost here.
Texas wanted to matter again and the SEC gave it that before it even played a league game.
The Longhorns may not be the best team in 2024, but 2024 is going to deliver a whole lot of Longhorns.
Who knows if Texas is actually “Back.” It is back to mattering, though, no matter what.
Share
Print