Texas football 2019 season preview: Best and worst-case scenario

Is Texas football back? Sam Ehlinger said as much after the Sugar Bowl win, but can the 2019 version of the Longhorns back up his words?

Given some of the hardships the Texas Longhorns have faced in recent years, most fans would’ve taken the 10-4 finish they submitted in the 2018 season. However, it was hard to escape the possibility that Tom Herman and his team left some wins on the field, falling to Maryland in the opener, Oklahoma State and West Virginia in back-to-back single-digit losses and in the Big 12 Championship Game in a rematch against rival Oklahoma.

Regardless, that campaign was enough to have everyone believing that Texas football is back. Now the challenge becomes remaining back. Luckily for those donning the burnt orange, the Longhorns have the potential to not just maintain their 10-4 finish last season but better it in the 2019 campaign.

Sam Ehlinger returns to head the Longhorns offense and, while he may not be the most talented quarterback in Texas football history, he’s got plenty of skill and his tenacity and ability to rise to the occasion can be put up against anyone in college football. Pairing him with Collin Johnson again should help the offense continue to thrive under Herman.

The defense is a different story as they must replace nine starters from a unit that was lackluster in 2018. The secondary, led by safety Caden Sterns, will be the strength but the Longhorns need young and inexperienced players up front to step in and succeed in larger roles.

Looking at that picture, let’s take a look at the best and worst-case scenarios for Texas football in the 2019 season.

Texas football est-case scenario

• Aug. 31 – vs. Louisiana Tech – W
• Sept. 7 – vs. LSU – W
• Sept. 14 – vs. Rice – W
• Sept 21 – vs. Oklahoma State – W
• Oct. 5 – at West Virginia – W
• Oct. 12 – vs. Oklahoma – W
• Oct. 19 – vs. Kansas – W
• Oct. 26 – at TCU – W
• Nov. 9 – vs. Kansas State – W
• Nov. 16 – at Iowa State – W
• Nov. 23 – at Baylor – W
• Nov. 29 – vs. Texas Tech – W

Record: 12-0

That’s not a misprint; the best-case for Texas football in 2019 is an undefeated season heading into the Big 12 Championship Game. Despite the inexperience on defense, the Longhorns have the explosiveness on offense and the on-paper talent defensively to take on and dispose of every single team on their regular-season schedule.

Without question, the two toughest games for the Longhorns are the second game of the year against LSU and the mid-season Red River Showdown against the Oklahoma Sooners.

While both the Tigers and Sooners have an immense amount of talent, they aren’t without questions. LSU, even with Joe Burrow, still can be inconsistent offensively and they have some key players to replace on their defense. As for OU, Lincoln Riley is working with a new quarterback (again) and the defense was one of the worst in college football last season.

Given those two matchups and the window for Texas to win both, the possibility is there, particularly if the defense is at least passable early in the season, for the Longhorns to go unbeaten.

Texas football worst-case scenario

• Aug. 31 – vs. Louisiana Tech – W
• Sept. 7 – vs. LSU – L
• Sept. 14 – vs. Rice – W
• Sept 21 – vs. Oklahoma State – W
• Oct. 5 – at West Virginia – W
• Oct. 12 – vs. Oklahoma – L
• Oct. 19 – vs. Kansas – W
• Oct. 26 – at TCU – W
• Nov. 9 – vs. Kansas State – W
• Nov. 16 – at Iowa State – L
• Nov. 23 – at Baylor – W
• Nov. 29 – vs. Texas Tech – W

Record: 9-3

Of course, just as the potential is there for Texas football to post a flawless record, the chance is also there that they can’t overcome some of their deficiencies against teams like LSU and Oklahoma. Thus, the worst-case scenario sees the Longhorns drop both of those games.

As many questions may exist about Burrow and the LSU offense, they still aren’t incapable and that defense is elite. If Texas’ defense is a saloon door, the Tigers have the horses to stop Ehlinger and co. Then, Oklahoma has proven to be able to score and, though Jalen Hurts might not be Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, they can get Texas into a shootout and win that rivalry game.

The albatross here is a late-season loss against Iowa State. Matt Campbell’s Cyclones are a wild card in the Big 12 this season with a ton of upside and, with the Longhorns going on the road before two in-state rivalry matchups at the end of the season, they could very well trip up there is a worst-case scenario situation.