CJ Mumme
Texas making a bowl game felt like a foregone conclusion after starting the season 4-1. The program has totally fallen apart since then.
For the Longhorns, making a bowl game this season is a huge deal. Not only for this year but for the future. It would provide extra practices for the younger guys and help out in recruiting.
Texas will need to refocus after the emotional loss to Kansas and beat both West Virginia and Kansas State to become eligible.
The Longhorns have shown the ability to compete with every Big 12 team they have played this year. Having second half or overtime leads in every single matchup. The problem is they keep finding ways to lose.
Winning the Kansas game felt like it would be the difference in making a bowl game or not. Since the Horns lost that game, while also losing Bijan Robinson in the process, I do not think a bowl game is in the cards.
Kevin Borba
With the way this season has gone, I have learned that something will always go wrong when it comes to this team. If the Longhorns were at full strength for these next two games I would still be hesitant to say they are making a bowl game, but factor in injuries to Bijan Robinson, Josh Thompson, and Jacoby Jones, there is no chance.
Ever since the second half of the Oklahoma game, Texas has gotten progressively worse. This stretch of losses highlighted the weaknesses on the team, which is literally everything but running back, Xavier Worthy, and Alfred Collins on the defensive line.
If they would have beaten Kansas I would have been comfortable betting the house that Texas made a bowl game, but factor in the demoralization factor of losing to Kansas and losing five straight, this team is probably already looking forward to next season. I unfortunately do not see the Longhorns making any sort of bowl game, and expect them to be where I am during bowl season…at home.
Cami Griffin
The lowest point of Texas’ season up to this point was losing to Kansas, I’m not sure anything else could top that. However, not reaching a bowl game would certainly sting. Somehow, someway Steve Sarkisian’s team needs to pull it together these final two games against West Virginia and Kansas State.
Although they’ve seemingly performed worse each week, I’m going to put a little faith in the Longhorns to close out the season strong.
Not only would they become bowl eligible if they’re able to snag these two conference wins, it would also provide a boost on the recruiting trail — which seems to be their primary focus at this point.
It won’t be easy considering two key starters are sidelined with injuries, but finishing the season with a 6-6 record looks much more respectable than 4-8 or 5-7. At this point, their best case scenario is to reach the Liberty bowl, and the other end is the Armed Forces bowl. I’ll project somewhere in the middle with the Guaranteed Rate bowl.