The Texas Longhorns needed to beat the Missouri Tigers, and plenty of people, myself included, spent the week talking about how Missouri was set up to make a major upset bid. Questions about the injury report hung over Texas, and so did the same questions we’ve been asking about this team all season long.

Those questions got answered. Maybe not in an overwhelming way every time, but in a positive direction nonetheless. And for a team that had its No. 7 ranking picked apart by the public all week, a positive win was exactly what the Longhorns needed.

The Texas offense finally looked like a contender

Let’s start with the offense, because this is the part that changes how I view the ceiling of this team. When Texas can finally move the football on the ground with Raleek Brown, the Longhorns look like one of the best national championship contenders in college football. Not a fringe playoff team. A real contender.

That’s why I would argue the No. 7 ranking is warranted. A lot of people criticized it and questioned whether it was justified, and I understand the skepticism. This offense has given us plenty of reasons to doubt it. But a functional run game unlocks everything else for Texas.

And you may say, Tegan, one good rushing performance doesn’t erase half a season of questions. Fair. I’m not stamping Texas as a title favorite off one Saturday. I’m saying that when the run game works, this is what the Longhorns look like, and that version of Texas is really really good.

Arch Manning deserves credit too. He did exactly what he was asked to do, which was not putting the ball in harm’s way. When Manning isn’t forcing throws, when he’s playing comfortable, extending plays, and being decisive, the entire complexion of a game flips on its head. That’s the quarterback Texas needs. Nothing flashy. Just smart.

The defense took this game over

But the defense is where Texas really sank its teeth into this game and took control. So much credit goes to Graceson Littleton, Rasheem Biles, and the entire defensive line.

The depth of that front seven was understated in the lead-up to this game. Yes, Texas has defensive pieces that are banged up. Nobody’s denying that. But this is a roster with so much depth up front that the injuries didn’t matter the way many of us expected them to.

Here’s the proof. Missouri came in with Jamal Roberts, the leading rusher in the SEC, and the Longhorns held him to just 66 yards. That’s a statement.

Shutting down Roberts put the entire game on the shoulders of Austin Simmons, and that pressure added up. Simmons got banged up toward the end of the game, and the Tigers never found an answer. The final margin was a 14-point Texas victory, and it never felt like Missouri was truly in position to steal it late.

As a Texas A&M guy, I don’t hand out compliments to the Longhorns lightly. This one was earned.

Death Valley is next, and it could be the game of the year

Now Texas hits the road for a trip to Death Valley to face LSU, and that has the makings of another game of the year candidate. It’s a make-or-break spot for the Longhorns, and it will tell us whether this offensive progress is real or just a good night against a banged-up Missouri team.

Here’s where I land. Texas answered the questions that mattered against Missouri, and the defense showed it can carry this team through a hostile environment. If the run game shows up in Baton Rouge the way it did against the Tigers, the Longhorns are a legitimate national championship contender, and the No. 7 ranking will look conservative.