Texas football: 5 bold predictions for the Longhorns in 2020

Is this the year Texas football is officially back?

All of the momentum that built up for the Texas Longhorns after their big Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia in 2018 disappeared last season.

Quarterback Sam Ehlinger claimed that Texas was back at the podium receiving the trophy, but now because of a down year last season, Ehlinger is back for his senior season.

The Longhorns ended the season at 8-5 with a blowout victory over Utah in the Alamo Bowl. This was a Utah team that had a viable shot of making the playoff just a game before but fell to Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship game.

That is all great, but the truth is that Texas was looking for much more in 2020, and they just didn’t get it. The loss to eventual national champion LSU in the second game of the season is one thing. But falling to Oklahoma, TCU, Iowa State and Baylor in the Big 12 was well below their expectations coming into the season.

Now with Ehlinger returning, the expectations will be high, and head coach Tom Herman cannot afford to have another season like 2019. The stakes are high for sure, it is a toss-up as to how good this Longhorns team will be. But with everything there are a few certainties for them, but what are some things that might be a little crazy to put into words, but still have a legitimate chance of happening?

Let’s get into some bold predictions for Texas football in 2020.

5. Sam Ehlinger becomes a Heisman finalist.

Coming into last season, many wouldn’t have thought of this prediction to be very bold. Ehlinger was one of the most praised quarterbacks in the company, his game compared to the likes of Tim Tebow.

But after last season, where Ehlinger seemingly fell into the background after a lackluster season for Texas, it would be bolder to say this, this year. Especially with some of the talent that overtook him last season.

Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence are the obvious front runners for the award with a few others behind them before we even get to Ehlinger. But if Texas has a bounceback season with Ehlinger leading the charge. He can put himself right in the thick of those conversations.

This isn’t to say that Ehlinger had a bad season statistically last year because he didn’t by any measure. He completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,663 yards and 32 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.

If he wants to make it to New York at seasons end, he will have to put up a little more passing yards and bring down the interceptions a bit, but that is no doubt doable for him. In his sophomore campaign in 2018 he had very similar passing numbers but just 25 touchdowns on five interceptions. If he can keep those interceptions down there and throw 30-plus touchdowns again, there is no telling what Ehlinger can do this season.

If the Longhorns are competing for championships late in the season, it isn’t a stretch by any measure to think that he can win the Heisman, let alone just make it there.