Imagine the storylines surrounding a matchup between the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Texas Longhorns in a New Year’s Six game.
UNC head coach Mack Brown would be facing off against his former team for the first time. It’d also present a battle of the Sam’s — Sam Ehlinger and Sam Howell are two of the top quarterbacks in all of college football.
USA TODAY Sports released their updated bowl projections on Tuesday. Texas did not appear in the College Football Playoff, but they did secure an at-large bid to a New Year’s Six game. The Longhorns are projected to face UNC in the Fiesta bowl on Jan. 2.
Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Oklahoma were the four teams to squeak into the playoff. Of any of the bowl projections that have been released thus far, this is by far the most attractive potential matchup for Texas.
It’s somewhat disappointing considering Texas has the talent to make a push into the College Football Playoff. However, the excitement surrounding the Longhorns facing off against Mack Brown would be through the roof.
Brown led Texas to two National Championship appearances and is oftentimes still considered the face of their football program. He had a 158-48 overall record throughout 16 seasons in Austin.
Texas hasn’t quite gotten back to that level of play since Brown resigned in 2013. After his departure, the Longhorns have experienced numerous coaching changes and mediocre seasons.
Brown is still one of the most respected coaches in college football. Although he has a storied history at Texas, current head coach Tom Herman is hoping to prove his worth to remain in Austin long enough to lead Texas back to the promised land.
What better way to prove that than for them to go head-to-head?