It was a running question for years. Then it became a punchline. “Is Texas Back?”
Former Texas QB Sam Ehlinger thought so. After leading the Longhorns to a win over Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Ehlinger announced to the crowd during the trophy ceremony, “We’re back!” Texas fans can still hear it ringing in their ears.
Texas followed up the 10-win Sugar Bowl season with two seven-win campaigns, and the ‘Texas is back’ question became a way for rival fans and pendants to troll the Longhorns program. Some were even calling it the “Sam Ehlinger Jinx.”
But now, in Steve Sarkisian’s fourth year, it seems like Texas is truly back. A college football playoff semifinal appearance in 2023 is being followed this year by a team that looks every bit of the title contender experts predicted.
It’s hard to see Texas taking a huge step back in the next few seasons with the way Sark has built the program.
Now, college football analysts are starting to put the question in the past because it’s now irrelevant. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum says Texas is back for good.
“Back again and this time for good. All those false alarms are in the past. You can’t do what they have done in the last two years and call it a false alarm. It was a year ago this weekend they beat Alabama by double digits and what they did yesterday is really program defining. They destroyed Michigan on every aspect of the game. And really when you look at the score quickly on your phone this morning or on our screen, it’s really deceiving. It was much, much worse.” — Paul Finebaum
https://twitter.com/TreyLuerssen/status/1832788415550566685
Certainly, Texas fans would agree. So would Michigan fans.