Is it Big 12 Championship or bust for Herman?
Griffin McVeigh, Staff Contributor
Nothing is new in Austin, as the head coach of Texas is on the hot seat. From the end of the Mack Brown era to Charlie Strong’s three years and now Tom Herman, scrutiny has been around the football program for the past decade.
It began for Herman with the home loss to TCU and continued with the bad performance in the Red River Shootout against Oklahoma. With a bye week following, his seat had never been hotter. Three consecutive wins against Baylor, Oklahoma State, and West Virginia have slightly cooled it down. However, with a loss in any of the final three games, Herman will be right back in the same position, if not worse.
Starting with Kansas, it should be a rather easy victory for Texas. The Jayhawks have not won a game yet this season and are losing by an average of 33.3 points. Anything other than a win would be worse than Strong’s 2016 performance which eventually led to his firing. The Longhorns need a big win with two weeks to prepare.
Iowa State and Kansas State are the two games that will determine if Herman can keep his job for the 2021 season. Win them both, and Texas has a really good shot at being in the Big 12 championship, despite the two losses. Lose at least one, and Herman will have at least three losses in all four seasons he has been in charge.
Herman has stated 2020 was the year circled to finally make a run. It has failed to this point. Upcoming games to end the season will be the most crucial stretch during Herman’s tenure in Austin. Make an appearance in the Big 12 championship and you can call that game the MOST important game of his coaching career.