Texas football's path through the SEC sure looks tougher after Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Texas A&M notch stunning wins
Facing Oklahoma, Georgia, Vanderbilt sounds like a daunting October gauntlet for No. 2 Texas
Off weeks are supposed to be easy. Take some time off. Get some rest and relaxation.
Chances are Texas coach Steve Sarkisian couldn’t unwind at all, not with the scores scrolling across the ticker throughout the day Saturday.
No. 25 Texas A&M 41, No. 9 Missouri 10
Arkansas 19, No. 4 Tennessee 14
And then this doozy from Nashville: Vanderbilt 40, No. 1 Alabama 35
Texas may still be favored throughout the rest of the regular season, at least according to ESPN’s analytics. But according to the eye test, the schedule suddenly looks dramatically more difficult. Buckle up, Longhorns fans. It’s about to get bumpy.
With Alabama losing, it’s likely that No. 2 Texas (5-0, 1-0 SEC) moves back up to No. 1 when the poll is updated at 1 p.m. Sunday. But realistically, it doesn’t matter at the moment.
This week’s matchup against No. 19 Oklahoma (4-1, 0-1 SEC) is the only thing that will have Sarkisian’s attention. The Red River rivalry is always a barnburner, but ESPN currently has UT with 85.6% odds of winning. You know that old saying about throw the records out the window? Throw 'em out for this one.
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Will Texas QB Quinn Ewers be healthy, ready to play for Longhorns vs. Oklahoma in Red River Showdown?
Ewers was questionable all week leading up to Mississippi State with strained abdominal injury before being ruled out.
Then comes a huge test on Oct. 19 as Georgia visits Royal-Memorial Stadium for the first time since 1958.
Georgia had a 31-13 win over Auburn on Saturday, but it was Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart’s postgame comments that really raised eyebrows.
“If anything, to be honest, I’m a little disappointed,” Smart said on his post-game radio show. “I’m probably disappointed in our fans for the first time that I thought there was a lack of really affecting the game crowd-noise wise, passion and energy. Hey, it was hot and our players have full helmets and pads… and I can’t get crowd noise. That’s frustrating for me, so I’ll just be honest about it. I think we’ve got to do a better job as fans.”
It was thought that OU and Georgia would be two tough tests, and then Texas could coast on Oct. 26 against Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Anybody still think that after watching the Commodores take down the Crimson Tide? Anybody still think it’ll be easy after watching Vandy fans rip down the goal posts, walk them right down Broadway in Nashville and throw them into the Cumberland River?
Before Saturday, Vanderbilt had lost all 60 games it had ever played against teams ranked in the top five of the AP poll. Vandy had not beaten Bama in 40 years.
“We’ve got more ahead of us, but this is what Vanderbilt football needs to be about: Big wins on big stages,” Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. “We’re going to go get some more.”
Florida remains dangerous, no matter the status of coach Billy Napier. The Gators come to Austin on Nov. 9.
Arkansas fans will be at full throttle when Texas arrives in Fayetteville on Nov. 16. The Razorbacks are down one week, then way up the next, as Saturday night's win over the Volunteers demonstrates.
Think it gets easy from there? Kentucky just knocked off then-No. 6 Ole Miss last week. The Wildcats are coming to DKR on Nov. 23.
And then comes the regular-season finale against Texas A&M, a team that sure looked rejuvenated with Conner Weigman back at quarterback. A&M slaughtered No. 9 Missouri 41-10 at Kyle Field. “They thought they was coming to get a piece of cake — easy,” A&M’s Le’Veon Moss said.
The Aggies are widely thought to have an easier schedule the rest of the way. How does a Texas-Texas A&M matchup on Nov. 30 for the right to play in the SEC title game or even the College Football Playoff sound?
Bottom line: Texas’ easy road to the postseason sure looks much tougher as the Longhorns return to work this week.
