Tag: texas longhorns football schedule

College Football Playoff committee releases 2020-21 schedule

The College Football Playoff committee released their final 2020-21 schedule. They also made a change to teams traveling to playoff sites.

The 2020 college football schedule has been one in question for the better part of the last month or so. Speculation ran rampant in terms of playing nonconference games as part of a full schedule or keeping it conference only. On Wednesday the College Football Playoff committee released the schedule for the upcoming season.

The College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee will release its final rankings of the 2020-21 season Sunday, December 20, executive director Bill Hancock announced. The top four teams will participate in the Playoff Semifinals Friday, January 1, in the Rose Bowl Game and Sugar Bowl. The national championship game will be played Monday, January 11, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

The final rankings were originally scheduled to be released Sunday, December 6. The CFP Management Committee made the change as a result of several conferences having moved their championship games to December 12, 18 or 19.

The committee’s final meeting of the season will be December 18-19-20 in Grapevine, Texas.  The CFP will announce the full schedule of this fall’s selection committee meetings at a later date.

Executive Director of the College Football Playoff committee Bill Hancock released a statement in regards to the pandemic. Teams will do the game week prep on campus rather than the travel site in years past.

“In this unprecedented time, the Management Committee believes it is in the best interest for the health and safety of the student-athletes, coaches and staffs to complete their game-week preparation on campus, under the familiar protocols they will have used all season,” said Hancock. “This is an unfortunate consequence of the pandemic, but it is the right thing to do.”

Who is Texas’ most under-the-radar player this season?

Longhorns Wire compiled a roundtable discussion to make their case for which Texas player is currently flying under the radar.

It’s time for another Longhorns Wire roundtable discussion. Continue reading “Who is Texas’ most under-the-radar player this season?”

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Update on NCAA opt outs, scholarship protection for athletes

At least one Texas football player is likely to opt out of the upcoming college football season due to COVID-19 concerns.

There’s been a whirlwind of news this week regarding the upcoming college football season. Continue reading “Update on NCAA opt outs, scholarship protection for athletes”

Locked on Longhorns: Bijan Robinson and Big 12 Scheduling

The Locked on Longhorns podcast features a discussion about the upcoming Big 12 scheduling plus is Bijan Robinson poised to breakout in 2020?

After weeks of speculation the Big 12 Conference finally announced they would be going with a 10-game model. It would feature nine conference games with just one nonconference matchup at the home stadium of the corresponding Big 12 school. Who will Texas play? How will the schedule likely play out? Plus we provide an update on the Texas-Oklahoma game and Big 12 Championship. Athletic director Chris Del Conte provided an update stating the LSU game will be made up in the future.

The Longhorns finished the 2020 recruiting cycle with yet another top 10 class according to 247Sports composite rankings. Their top prospect Bijan Robinson ranked among the top 15 recruits in the nation. He was recently highlighted as a potential breakout candidate for the Longhorns. One person who was monumental in his recruitment was running backs coach Stan Drayton. Can he turn Robinson into a household name? 247Sports also put together their top 20 underrated defenses in the league with Texas making the list.

Arizona transfer linebacker Tony Fields II is set to visit Texas as he narrows down his list. According to Anwar Richardson of Rivals, Fields is looking at Texas, West Virginia and Minnesota. The Longhorns are also making a strong push to secure a commitment from four-star running back L.J. Johnson who is trending towards Texas A&M at this point in the process. Plus we discuss Sam Ehlinger as he has caught the eye of the decision makers for the Reese’s Senior Bowl.

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No fall championship ruling made at NCAA Board of Governors meeting

The NCAA Board of Governors meeting did not vote on whether or not to cancel fall championships. Instead it will fall to the D1 Board.

The NCAA Board of Governors meeting was expecting to make a ruling on the subject of fall championships. Many had the feeling that they could cancel the championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic currently going on. That led to Power Five leaders discussing the possibility of hosting their own fall championships. One step towards the top conferences leaving the NCAA.

According to Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated, the meeting concluded without a vote.

Brett McMurphy stated that each division of college football would determine their own course of action when it comes to fall championships. It is likely that for college football it would stay as is at this point. However, it now falls into the hands of the Division I Board of Directors. They have a meeting scheduled at 10 am on Wednesday.

The waiting game will continue tomorrow as we await to find out if they will cancel fall championships. If that is indeed the case, there is still the option on the table for the Power Five conference leaders to take this into their own hands.

Former Arizona linebacker, grad transfer expected to visit Texas

247Sports reported on Monday that graduate transfer linebacker Tony Fields is expected to visit Texas.

Graduate transfer linebacker Tony Fields could fill a significant position of need on Texas’ defense. Continue reading “Former Arizona linebacker, grad transfer expected to visit Texas”

Twitter reacts to Big 12 schedule change

Twitter, of course, had some reaction to the Big 12’s announcement. Find out on the next page how people reacted to the 9+1 schedule change.

The Big 12 finally announced their plan for the 2020 season on Monday, going with a 9+1 schedule. Texas will be playing their usual nine Big 12 opponents, plus a nonconference opponent.

According to Horns247, that nonconference opponent will be UTEP, keeping the scheduled matchup the two schools had for this season. The Longhorns will be losing games against SEC opponent LSU and USF of the American.

While the news of an altered schedule was expected, how the conference would approach the season was up for debate. Twitter, of course, had some reaction to the announcement.

Find out on the next page how people reacted to the 9+1 schedule change.

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Texas ranked a top 20 underrated defense by 247Sports

247Sports comprised a list of underrated defenses in the country. They say UT was not one of the worst in the country as it seemed.

Texas’ defense struggled mightily last season, surrendering 27.5 points per game. Injuries did not help the Longhorns, who were also thin across the front seven.

Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando was fired at the end of the season, leaving Tom Herman with his first major hire as head coach. He retained former Rutgers head coach Chris Ash, who had been with the team as an analyst.

247Sports compiled a list of the most underrated defenses in the country, naming the Longhorns. While they do not say Texas has an elite defense, the website says it was not one of the worst in the country as it seems.

Elliott’s take: “Texas’ defense was not good in 2019 by any measure. And the performance resulted in a change in coordinator, as Todd Orlando is out and Chris Ash is in. But was the Texas defense really as bad as its 97th ranking in yards/game allowed suggests? YPP says yes, as the Longhorns finished 98th! But SP+ tells a different story. The reason is clear when perusing the schedule. Texas had to play a standard slate of opposing Big 12 offenses plus a game against LSU, perhaps the most dominant offense in college football history. It did not do a good job against that slate, but in no way should the Texas 2019 defense be regarded as one of the worst in the country. It was simply an average unit.”

The 2020 skinny: Not to make excuses for the Longhorns, but Texas rarely played with a full deck defensively last season. With a plethora of starters back in 2020, this should be Tom Herman’s strongest unit on defense during his tenure.

Returning nine starters is going to be the biggest key for Ash’s defense this season. Stars such as Caden Sterns, Joseph Ossai, and D’Shawn Jamison are waiting to break out in their junior season.

Ossai will be the leader of the defensive line, the unit that will determine the improvement for the defense. Texas’ pass rush only produced 27 sacks, sixth in the Big 12. Five of them came against Utah in the Alamo Bowl, totaling for 18% of their season tally in one game.

With Sam Ehlinger going into his senior year, the Longhorns’ offense is going to be consistent under new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. If Texas wants to finally compete atop the Big 12, Chris Ash must turn the defense around.

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Texas continues to heavily target four-star running back from Cypress

Texas coaches, players have been pushing the hardest for four-star running back LJ Johnson.

Texas is pulling out all the stops to land four-star running back LJ Johnson. Continue reading “Texas continues to heavily target four-star running back from Cypress”

Texas Football: Is Bijan Robinson a breakout candidate in 2020?

Recently 247Sports named Texas running back Bijan Robinson a freshman breakout candidate in 2020. We examine that claim.

There is quite a buzz surrounding the newest running back for the University of Texas. Bijan Robinson was the number one rated running back in the country according to 247Sports Composite rankings. Throughout the 2020 recruiting cycle it seemed back and forth with Zachary Evans (TCU) and Robinson as to who would be the number one back.

Our friends at 247Sports put together a list of freshmen who could be top 50 players by seasons end. Several players on the list have Big 12 ties such as Spencer Rattler (redshirt freshman, Oklahoma) and Evans. Robinson is also on the list.

Sean Logan/The Republic

 

What 247Sports says

Head coach Tom Herman is hyping Texas’ running back depth. And while the Longhorns do return a pair of highly-effective rushers in Keaontay Ingram (5.9 ypc, 853 yards) and Roschon Johnson (5.3 ypc, 649 yards), it’s worth noting Johnson is entering only his second year playing the position and Ingram has already suffered a hamstring injury ahead of fall camp. Robinson, meanwhile, is a potential bell cow.

A ridiculously effective high school ball carrier, Robinson finished his senior season with 2,235 yards and 35 touchdowns while averaging 17.7 yards per carry. Those are video game statistics. The 2020 five-star and No. 1 overall back in the 247Sports Composite arrives with a college-ready frame and big-play potential. Given that the Longhorns have struggled to produce explosive rushing plays under Herman’s direction, ranking 100th (2017), 120th (2018) and 91st (2019) in runs of 20-plus yards, Robinson figures to have an instant role within the offense. Don’t be shocked if he quickly maneuvers his way into the status of Texas’ top back.

Next we give our take on Bijan Robinson

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