When Texas was able to lure the best offensive mind in the country in Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian to Austin to be the head coach, many thought it would equate to immediate success.
The 2021 season was disappointing to say the least, as the Longhorns weren’t the same after blowing a 20-point lead to Oklahoma in October, ultimately leading to a free fall that saw them lose the next five games.
Sarkisian and his staff have since pulled out all the stops to ensure that the team can improve this next season. They have added major talent with their No. 5 recruiting class, and also are brought in one of the better transfer classes in the country.
The program has also seen a total of 18 players and counting hit the transfer portal, which makes more roster spots available to take in more taleneted transfers.
USA TODAY Sports’ Eddie Thomas pinpointed Texas as one of the seven teams that can turn around their misfortune after last season and have a bounce back year. Thomas provided an explanation of what went wrong in 2021, which Longhorns fans know all too well already. However, he did provide reasons to be optimistic for 2022.
Turning just a couple of those bad ‘L’s in conference play into ‘W’s will get the Longhorns back in the bowl lineup. The arrival of former five-star recruit and Ohio State transfer Quinn Ewers has created considerable buzz around the program. He has not been anointed the opening-day starter at QB, but some nice-looking deep balls he delivered in the spring game would indicate that is just a matter of time.
Something that Thomas did mention that could hurt their season was a blowout loss to Alabama in Week 2, as it is widely believed that the Longhorns need to keep it somewhat close otherwise their season will fall off the rails early.
It is safe to say that with all the additions during the offseason to the offense specifically, if Texas is unable to win at least eight games, seats could start getting hot in Austin.
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