What a roller coaster ride this Texas football season has been thus far.
It’s enough to make you dizzy. The Longhorns certainly struggled throughout their first three weeks of conference play. Texas needed a miracle to defeat Texas Tech in overtime prior to suffering back-to-back losses to TCU and Oklahoma.
The losses to unranked teams were inexcusable. Texas looked completely flat, committed dozens of penalties and were severely outcoached. However, they quickly turned it around and won three consecutive games.
Was it a little too late?
Texas appears to be playing to the level of their competition each week. The lack of consistency is still a primary concern under head coach Tom Herman, especially in a down year for the Big 12 as a whole. However, a W is all that matters in the grand scheme of things.
When the College Football Playoff debut rankings were released this week, Texas was listed at No. 17 overall. According to CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee, that was far too high for the Longhorns.
“The Big 12 is, admittedly, a mess. But Texas (5-2) at No. 17? With a loss to 3-4 TCU on its resume? Hard pass.
Texas’ only signature win is over No. 23 Oklahoma State in a game that, let’s be honest, it was lucky to win. The Longhorns were out-gained 530-287, had 17 first downs compared to the Cowboys’ 32 and were only 2-of-15 on third down.
I know that none of that matters since they got the win. But in a year that is as self-contained as this, the “eye test” matters more than it ever has in the previous six years that we have been doing this. What about Texas makes it more impressive than No. 19 North Carolina, No. 20 Coastal Carolina, No. 21 Marshall or No. 22 Auburn? Nothing.”
It’s tough to argue against any of Sallee’s points. Outside of UTEP, Texas hasn’t confidently defeated an opponent this season. Even the 11-point win over Baylor felt too close — the other W’s included two overtime wins and a four-point spread over West Virginia.
The Longhorns have the fifth-most talented roster in the country this season and are somehow still underperforming. Although college football is more enjoyable when Texas is doing well, they’re not at that level yet.
With the lack of consistency and recruiting downfalls recently, Herman’s future in Austin is hanging on by a thread. It’s certainly a possibility that Texas runs the table and secures the Big 12 title this season, but how can you feel confident to bet on that at this point?