If you told somebody during the preseason that Texas would enter the Red River Rivalry bearing the weight of two losses and having completely fallen out of the AP Poll top 25, you may have been cast from the college football community and labeled as a lunatic.
Texas entered the season as the number one team in the entire nation behind seasoned head coach Steve Sarkisian, Heisman trophy frontrunner Arch Manning, and the highest odds of winning the SEC championship by season's end. On paper, this team had all the right pieces for a dominant romp through the 2025 gauntlet.
But a loss to Ohio State in Columbus, and an incomplete effort against previously one-win Florida have cast the Longhorns to the depths of the sport. The pit of despair. Looking at the top 25 from the outside looking in. These are unfamiliar -- and uncomfortable -- circumstances for this program.
When questioned about his team's early slip-ups, Coach Sarkisian's response was a broad and vague rationalization that sheds more doubts on his programs than it offers comfort.
"I mean, take the other – how many teams are there in college football, 136?" the Longhorns leader explained. "Take the other 135 and have them go play at Ohio State and at The Swamp. See how they do."
Unfortunately for this coach and his team, this soundbite misses the entire point for Texas football this season.
Texas, the number one team and popular favorite to take home the national championship during the preseason, has lost at two admittedly challenging venues. No one is arguing that Ohio State and Florida are easy teams to topple on the road. But when your team is supposed to compete as the very best squad in the country, the Longhorns will be held to a higher standard.
Florida controlled the scoreboard for the duration of their 29-21 win over Texas. Likewise, Ohio State exposed most of the Longhorns' weaknesses in week one, and came out the clearly superior team.
Texas shouldn't be compared to the likes of Sam Houston State, UTEP, or San Jose State -- Steve Sarkisian should hold his own team to a higher standard, because the rest of the sport certainly does. If not, the Longhorns may be yet to experience the lowest lows of the season.
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