On Tuesday, ESPN released their top 50 games of the 2021 college football season.
Texas made the list on three different occasions, which all happened to be losses. It’s no surprise to see the Texas-Oklahoma matchup mentioned, as that was widely considered one of the best games of the year, but it may not be ranked as high as you think.
The losses to Baylor and Kansas also graced the list. Here’s where each game landed in the top 50:
No. 50: Baylor 31, Texas 24 (Oct. 30)
No. 11: Kansas 57, Texas 56 (Nov. 13)
No. 9: Oklahoma 55, Texas 48 (Oct. 9)
The loss to Baylor was a stinger for Texas fans, as they had a 21-10 lead at one point. Their second half collapse allowed three touchdowns for the Bears in the span of 12 minutes. The Longhorns had a chance to tie the game on a last-minute drive, but quarterback Casey Thompson tossed four incomplete passes to end the game.
While the Kansas-Texas matchup was certainly exciting at the end, the Jayhawks had a 21-point lead over the Longhorns at halftime. It was arguably the worst performance from Texas in decades.
The Red River Showdown graced the list at No. 9, but that may be a little low for the type of excitement this rivalry brought. After Texas took a 38-20 lead into halftime, true freshman quarterback Caleb Williams powered the Sooners to a stellar comeback in the second half.
Although the Longhorns were on the wrong end of these exciting games in 2021, Steve Sarkisian and his staff have made promising strides this offseason to improve just about every position on the roster.