The Texas Longhorns may be transitioning to the toughest conference in college football, the SEC, but the expectations are still to compete for a conference title and Playoff bid.
The schedule is no joke for the Longhorns in 2024 with a road trip to the Michigan Wolverines, a visit from the Georgia Bulldogs, and renewed rivalry games against the Arkansas Razorbacks and Texas A&M Aggies. Fortunately, Texas enters the season with one of the three or four best rosters in college football despite massive turnover from last year’s team.
In 2023, Ewers guided the Longhorns to their first Playoff appearance and should take another massive step forward in his third year as a starter. Brad Crawford of 247 Sports projects that Ewers will lead them to their second consecutive Playoff appearance as he projects each SEC members potential bowl games.
Crawford projects that the Longhorns will finish second in the SEC behind Georgia and will earn the No. 5 seed in the Playoff. They will take on the No. 12 seeded Group of Five champion Liberty Flames in the first round saying,
“Back in a major game for the second-straight year under Jamey Chadwell, this time, Liberty should get to the playoff as the Group of Five’s unbeaten representative. The schedule is out of a bakery shop, so if there’s another Group of Five team with better wins saddled with a single loss, perhaps they get the nod. As for Texas, a projected second-place finish in the SEC in this spot puts the Longhorns with the No. 5 seed and a first-round home game with a guaranteed sellout coming.”
After being the Flames, Crawford expects Texas to take on the Florida State Seminoles in the Peach Bowl. Crawford says of the first-ever potential matchup between the two blue bloods,
“Can the Longhorns get back to the final four to cap their first season in the SEC? It’s possible. No disrespect to the Seminoles, our projected ACC champion, but battling this roster will be their toughest task of the season if we get to that point. Texas has a Herculean two-deep in terms of talent, while Florida State once again largely rebuilt its lineup through college football’s version of free agency. Surprisingly, these two bluebloods have never met on the gridiron.”
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