Texas has a fairly favorable football schedule in 2021.
Their nonconference games include Rice, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Although the Ragin’ Cajuns won’t be a walk in the park as some may think, the Longhorns are clearly the more talented roster than each of these programs.
Don’t get used to lesser nonconference opponents, though.
Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte has been pushing towards scheduling quality nonconference opponents. To be the best, you have to beat the best. For example, the Longhorns have a home-and-home series with Alabama in 2022 and 2023. The following two seasons include a matchup with Michigan and Ohio State.
There’s a new era beginning at Texas in 2021 under head coach Steve Sarkisian. He essentially replaced former head coach Tom Herman’s entire staff outside of the running backs coach and wide receivers coach.
Herman’s squad underperformed last season with the fifth-most talented roster in the country. His personnel use, game management and leadership were often questioned. However, Texas still finished No. 6 overall in ESPN’s Football Power Index.
The FPI is a predictive rating system developed by ESPN that measures team’s true strength. Each team’s FPI rating is composed of predictive offensive, defensive, and special teams value.
Let’s take a look at the Longhorns opponents next season and how they fared in 2020 according to the FPI ratings.