Tag: Texas football preview

College football analyst Kelley Ford ranks teams based on projected wins

Another college football rating source has Texas winning 9.5 games.

Power rankings are funneling in as we approach the 2023 college football season. One power rating slots Texas as the No. 9 team in the country based on projected wins. Albeit, there’s a surprise team ahead of the Longhorns in the rankings.

Oklahoma checks in just ahead of Texas in this rating system. Kelley Ford, a leading voice in college football analytics, gives Oklahoma 9.6 wins heading into the season with Texas right behind at 9.5 wins.

One can’t help but think the schedules for both teams play some role in the win projection. In nonconference play, Texas faces Alabama on the road while Oklahoma hosts SMU as its premier out-of-conference game. While the Mustangs pose a minuscule threat to upset the Sooners, SMU winning in Norman would be more shocking than Appalachian State’s upset win over Texas A&M last year.

Here’s a look at Ford’s projected win totals for the top 30 teams.

Why Texas QB Quinn Ewers holds the key to team success in 2023

If spring is any indication, Quinn Ewers will make these throws more consistently.

The 2023 college football season for Texas falls on Quinn Ewers’ improved consistency and development. That’s been a key theme of the offseason after mixed results for much of his first season in Austin.

On Friday we saw more outside perspective on the five-star talent. College football analyst Parker Fleming posted a clip of the quarterback and shared the following thought on Ewers.

“How much of Texas’ success this fall comes down to the simple question of ‘Can Quinn Ewers just hit the open guy?'”

Fleming then shared a telling clip from the Iowa State game that showed how off target the Longhorns signal caller was at times last season. Much was made of wide receiver Casey Cain’s drop against the Cyclones, but Cain wasn’t given much of a chance on this play.

On this missed opportunity, head coach Steve Sarkisian schemed Cain open with a mismatch on a slot fade. Despite having a wide open target, Ewers misfired on what was one of many errant throws on the season. The touchdown was there. Texas simply did not execute.

Fast forward to the 2023 offseason. Ewers is now hitting many of the throws he missed by wide margins. Even so, making those throws in games will be a much tougher task than in an Orange and White scrimmage.

The Southlake product appears locked in and more physically fit than he did last season. He appears to be a much improved passer. Now he’s got to prove it’s not simply a facade.

Looking at the advantage of continuity for the Longhorns in 2023

Texas is fortunate to retain key players and coaches for multiple seasons.

There is finally continuity for the football program on the Forty Acres. Many of the same faces from the 2021 and 2022 season return for a third year. It could manifest itself in a more consistent product in head coach Steve Sarkisian’s third season.

Through his three years, Texas has retained many of the ace coaches it added in Sarkisian’s initial coaching staff. A handful of veteran players are set to flourish because of it.

Jake Majors and Christian Jones will enjoy their third season with offensive line coach Kyle Flood. Byron Murphy, Alfred Collins and T’Vondre Sweat enter Year 3 with defensive line coach Bo Davis. Jaylan Ford and David Gbenda are reaping the similar results with linebacker coach Jeff Choate.

Teams aren’t going to win more games simply by retaining coaches. Albeit, they should improve by allowing great coaches multiple seasons to develop their players. Texas has that advantage with its collection of proven, successful assistants. The development is already evident, but we could just be seeing the tip of the iceberg for this coaching staff.

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Game-by-game predictions for Texas’ 2023 season following spring ball

We pick every Texas game and break down each matchup.

We’re around four months from the start of the 2023 college football season. Even so, we’re still looking ahead. The season will probably determine the overall success of the current coaching staff in Austin.

Texas has a decided advantage over the conference in talent and returning production. Kansas returns about as much as Texas but doesn’t match the Longhorns in talent. Oklahoma and TCU have starting talent to give Texas fits, but are at a disadvantage in depth. For that reason, head coach Steve Sarkisian and company need to win the Big 12.

The team will face a tougher than average conference slate facing all of last year’s Big 12 members but West Virginia and Oklahoma State. The Mountaineers and Cowboys figure to be in the bottom half of the league.

Taking roster advantages and schedule disadvantages into consideration, let’s predict the 2023 season.

Texas Longhorns Preview 2022: Season Prediction, Breakdown, Key Games, Players

Texas College Football Preview 2022: Team breakdown, season prediction, keys to the campaign, and what you need to know

Texas Longhorns Preview 2022: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Texas season with what you need to know and keys to the season.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

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Texas Longhorns Preview
Head Coach: Steve Sarkisian, 2nd year at Texas, 5-7
9th year overall, 51-42: 2021 Preview
2021 Record: Overall: 5-7, Conference: 3-6
Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Texas Top 10 Players | Texas Schedule & Analysis

Texas Longhorns Preview 2022

It shouldn’t have been a shock in any way that Arch Manning decided to take his talents to Austin, just like it shouldn’t have been surprising when Quinn Ewers decided to transfer there from Ohio State.

It shouldn’t be anything less than expected for the program to bring in high-end NFL-caliber players just by getting up in the morning.

It shouldn’t be asking for the world to get a Texas defense that can tackle, or a starting five on the offensive line that can pass protect, or for the program to simply go to a bowl game.

And now this football team that’s got more money and more power and more resources than anyone wants to go to the SEC?

How about first beating Kansas again?

Texas can’t win a Big 12 championship lately, all while being lapped by Baylor, and Iowa State, and Oklahoma State, and now it thinks it can go compete with Alabama, and Georgia, and LSU, and Florida, and – yeah, let’s go there – Texas A&M?

Yeah, it absolutely can, and this is the season to take the big step to get there.

Forgetting that the program is insane for not going to the Big Ten – or staying put in the Big 12 – rather than spending life beating its head against the SEC wall, it’s going, and if it can’t somehow happen next year it’s definitely going to be in 2024. But first, it really does have the talent in place to win big now.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian has a slew of all-star talents across the board, and he’s got the skill guys that could and should be as good as any in the country outside of Alabama and Ohio State.

Other than having to play the Crimson Tide, the schedule isn’t bad, the excitement is there with Arch on the way and the needle pointing up, and …

Enough of being college football’s sad trombone the moment any adversity strikes. You’re Texas. Go win the Big 12 this year.

You’re Texas. Go make the SEC worry about you.

You’re Texas. Go ahead and be awesome at college football already.

Get there faster.

Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Texas Top 10 Players | Texas Schedule & Analysis

Texas Longhorns Preview 2022: Offense, Defense NEXT

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Texas begins to fix offensive line for the foreseeable future in 2022

Improving in the trenches is the most pressing issue facing the Texas football program.

Steve Sarkisian is looking to do what has not been done on the Forty Acres in a long time. He and offensive line coach Kyle Flood are working on building a great offensive line unit for this year and beyond.

Texas flashed good offensive line play as recently as 2018, but for the most part the unit has been poor over the last decade. It is the most pressing issue facing the Longhorns in building a successful program.

Should Texas go 8-4 and begin to build a championship contending offensive line for the 2023 season, this year is a success.

If Texas goes 10-2 but cuts corners developing the offensive line, we could look back at the 2022 season as a failure.

There is a world in which Texas both wins ten games and maximizes offensive line development. Should two young starters emerge as impact players up front, the Texas offense could carry the team to a Big 12 championship.

Texas hopes it can both win now and win later. Nevertheless, the trajectory of the program hinges on whether or not they can build an offensive line and not let it deteriorate.

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Texas Football: Five developments we would love to see in 2022

There is a way to bring the best out of the Texas offensive line this season.

The Texas Longhorns enter the highly anticipated second year of the Steve Sarkisian era. Coming off a 5-7 season, Texas needs to improve in more than a few areas to win more games.

This year’s squad will have the benefit of improvement in the trenches. If nothing else, the Longhorns will have more, “big humans,” at the line of scrimmage that this staff covets.

Additionally, they will have an abundance of elite players at skill positions. If you missed it this week, Texas had two running backs make the Doak Walker Award preseason watch list and two receivers make the Fred Biletnikoff watch list.

Ja’Tavion Sanders qualified for the preseason Mackey Award list, and Jahleel Billingsley probably should have made it, too.

On defense there is confidence that the secondary can play more aggressive coverage this year.

Here are a few things that I would like to see occur this season.

WATCH: Experts preview Texas’ 2022 football season

Ja’Tavion Sanders might be a more complete player than many believe.

Bobby Burton and Paul Wadlington of Inside Texas shared their thoughts on the Texas Longhorns upcoming 2022 season in their podcast, On Texas Football.

The two shared interesting takeaways from spring game performances and overall feel for the 2022 roster. Among the takeaways, Wadlington details how Ja’Tavion Sanders might be a more complete player than many believe.

Additionally, Burton and Wadlington discuss where the running back and receiver rooms rank among past Texas teams. They go in-depth discussing the impact that newcomers Isaiah Neyor, Tarique Milton and Agiye Hall could have on the Longhorns 2022 campaign.

They don’t shy away from concerns along the offensive line and defense.

Perhaps the most significant and encouraging takeaway is the emergence of Ja’Tavion Sanders. The second-year tight end could finally showcase his five-star ability in meaningful games this year. Paired with Neyor, the two receivers could take the offense to a different level than we have seen.

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Texas Longhorns Top 10 Players: College Football Preview 2022

Who are the top 10 Texas players going into the 2022 college football season?

Texas Longhorns Preview 2022: Who are the top 10 players going into the season?

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Texas Longhorns Preview 
Texas 2022 Preview
Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Texas Schedule & Analysis 

Texas Longhorns: CFN College Football Preview 2021

College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Texas season with what you need to know.

College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Texas season with what you need to know.

– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Texas Longhorns Schedule Analysis
– Texas Longhorns Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015

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2020 Record: 7-3 overall, 5-3 in Big 12
Head Coach: Steve Sarkisian, 1st year (46-35 overall)
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 18
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 14
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 29

Texas Longhorns College Football Preview 2021: Offense

– Okay, let’s see if this works. Steve Sarkisian wasn’t your normal Alabama assistant coach. While there’s only one man running the Crimson Tide show, the offense took on a whole other level with Sarkisian heading it up as the offensive coordinator over the last two seasons – he had Nick Saban’s full respect with tremendous results.

The guy knows how to make an offense move, former Bama offensive line coach – and Rutgers head coach – new Longhorn OC Kyle Flood is fantastic at getting production out of the front five, and now it’s time to make a great situation better.

It’s not like Texas had issues on offense, averaging 475 yards and 43 points per game. That was great. Now it’s time to do even more with eight starters returning. But …

– Sam Ehlinger isn’t around anymore. The heart-and-soul leader during the last few years of the Tom Herman era was great, but there’s hope for Casey Thompson to be even more of a big play performer. The brilliance when stepping in for Ehlinger in the Alamo Bowl – 8-of-10 for 170 yards and four scores against Colorado – showed glimpses of his upside, but redshirt freshman Hudson Card is right there in the hunt for the gig.

Three of the top five receivers are back – led by Joshua Moore, who caught 30 passes for 472 yards and one scores – but there’s a whole lot of talent coming in. Cade Brewer is a solid tight end who’ll get the ball more.

Speaking of getting the ball more …

– Bijan Robinson was the team’s superstar recruit, but he only ran 86 times and caught 15 passes. However, he averaged over eight yards per pop, scored six total touchdowns, and turned into one of college football’s most dangerous home run hitters over the final few games of last year. He’s the main running back, but 6-2, 223-pound Roschon Johnson will be part of the rotation, too.

They’ll work behind a line that gets back four of the five starters going into the bowl game, but there’s some reshuffling being done. Jake Majors will stay at center, but Flood and the coaching staff will play around with the configuration throughout the offseason.

– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Texas Longhorns Schedule Analysis

NEXT: Texas Longhorns College Football Preview 2021: Defense

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