3. Texas – 20/1
The Texas Longhorns hopes lie on the shoulders of quarterback Sam Ehlinger. He could end up being a Heisman Trophy finalist after he had 25 passing touchdowns and 16 rushing touchdowns last year.
Texas did lose a lot of starters from last year’s Sugar Bowl-winning team (five on offense and eight on defense), but that means more of Tom Herman’s own recruits can step in their place. Herman has preached patience for the Longhorns, but it’s time to win, and win big now.
Honestly, this is all about the coach and quarterback, since there’s so much turnaround. Ehlinger is going to have to win the Heisman if Texas is going to be a contender to win it all. That’s the thing, he has that kind of talent that he can lead them there. Texas’ schedule is also severely in their favor. They play LSU in their out-of-conference schedule, giving them major points with the voters, and they play Oklahoma and Oklahoma State at home. Their toughest road game is against Iowa State. The Cyclones will be better, but we don’t expect them to have the defensive firepower to stop Ehlinger.
Texas has a chance to make some moves, but they are the longshot on this list, even if the odds don’t say that.