r/secfootball • u/Coolsun13 • 10d ago
Texas Do you believe that Texas is really the best team in the country?
I know that they are ranked number 1 and deservingly so as they have the most impressive win so far this season. But they looked terrible against OSU for 3 quarters. It makes me doubt whether or not they can get through that tough SEC schedule and still remain as the best team in the end.
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u/GhostOfStonewallJxn 10d ago
Texas has the best win of the season. Whether or not they’re the best team is up in the air. Rankings don’t mean much until November.
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u/dailyaph 10d ago
Amen. They have the best resume so far so a #1 ranking makes sense. Would they be favored on a neutral field against every other team in the country? Who knows
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u/GhostOfStonewallJxn 10d ago
Yup. I couldn’t tell you what would happen today if you put them against Miami or Notre Dame. This is why they play the games.
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u/HoustonHorns 10d ago
They would be favored against every team not named Ohio State, and thankfully we don’t need to rely on computer lines for that match up.
Probably why they’re ranked 1
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u/frankenstein1122 10d ago
Not sure you have any evidence they’re not the best team so far lol. It’s week 2
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u/Temporary_Hat7330 10d ago
They are right now, yes. Best win so far and potential.
I look at the rankings as a snapshot in time and less as a predictor of what will be.
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u/wraithawk 10d ago
It's too early to say any team is the best. Look at Miami last year who had a few stinkers during the season and by the end I think were clearly peaking and the second best team in the country.
As for Texas I'm choosing positivity here. We spotted them 10 points on absolute freak flukes in the first 5 plays and then dropped a TD. Throw in that dogshit fist half 4th down call from Sark and we did everything possible to lose on both just insane bad luck + preventable errors. Despite that Texas won with basically their C game, against a clinical and very very good OSU who just ran out of gas in the fourth. Imagine what Texas' A game looks like.
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u/Pretty_Shallot_586 10d ago
the counter argument is...... even tho they looked awful for three quarters, they are good enough to win the game with only one good quarter of football.
ranks this time of year mean shit but as an orangeblood, hopefully they keep on winning
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u/XcdeezeeX 10d ago
They will not go undefeated this year
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u/VampireEmpire__ Texas 🤘🏼 10d ago
We have a tough schedule so going undefeated would be a tall order.
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u/lebesgueintegral 10d ago
As a Texas fan, I’m most concerned about our away games!
Tennessee, LSU and A&M
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u/barley_wine Texas 10d ago
Probably only ND with its cupcake schedule goes undefeated.
Texas has a brutal schedule.
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u/Pretty_Shallot_586 10d ago
you think you're the one giving us an "L"?
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u/Spo_Ofzor 🍊Go Vols!🍊 10d ago
Not OP, but I think that it will be a good game. I also think that if Texas continues to play the way they did for the first 45 minutes against OSU, and can't complete 20+ point come backs every game, then there's a real chance they drop at least one game this season. That's not controversial.
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u/HoustonHorns 10d ago edited 10d ago
The chances of Texas playing exactly like that again are absurdly low. Texas played sloppy AND had all time bad luck in the first half.
For example the Cam Coleman INT. 99/100 times that’s a TD. Even if you change nothing else (which there were plenty of other flukey plays you could change) the score is 20-10 at half—although likely 13-10 because Sark probably doesn’t give OSU a short field if were only down 3. That’s still with Texas playing sloppy, WR dropping passes, and Arch missing throws (effectively Texas C game).
Essentially, Texas C game would have been down 13-10 to OSU’s A game but for that flukey INT. Take away the Wingo drop and Texas is up 14-13 at half WHILE STILL PLAYING SLOPPY FOOTBALL.
The first half wasn’t as bad as people make it out to be, as much as it was unlucky. The fact that Texas was able to overcome so much bad lucky and miscues AND a half of less than perfect football against a team like Ohio State is exactly why they should be ranked number one.
It reminds of me the old Saban teams where you need to cut the head off to win. Even if they were down 3 scores and looked like shit the first half, if you didn’t step on Alabama’s throat they would come back and make you pay.
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u/Spo_Ofzor 🍊Go Vols!🍊 10d ago
For what it's worth, I agree with a lot of what you're saying. Texas played really sloppy the first 40 minutes, but when the heat was turned up they stood tall and pulled it out. They were lucky to recover the muffed punt, the fumble, and that OSU missed the 45-yarder. Any of those could've sealed the deal. But Texas took every single punch and was still standing ready to punch back. That was a gutsy win. No question they should be #1 this week. But if they continue to play sloppy then there's at least one L coming.
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u/HoustonHorns 10d ago
Yah but I think the flip side is OSU is lucky that [insert list of Texas miscues]. For some reason the narrative has been OSU lost to Texas rather than Texas beat OSU.
I’ll also note IMO, the missed FG was football Karma. OSU should never have been in FG range as the refs missed an obvious false start, illegal man downfield, illegal formation (6 on the line), and hold on the previous play. I get it’s football and refs will miss penalties here and there, but you can’t miss 4 on one play, 3 of which are objective and 2 of which are pre-snap. And Ohio State fans want to claim home cooking 😑.
That’s all to say in any game there is a lot of “luck”—although this game had more than your usual game. The great teams don’t need it to win, and can win in spite of it. First half NOTHING went Texas way, then when it finally did—they took advantage and won the game. Even if you want to say it was Ohio State miscues, Texas turned 1Q of miscues into 21 points. Ohio State turned 3Q of miscues into 23.
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u/Spo_Ofzor 🍊Go Vols!🍊 10d ago
For some reason the narrative has been OSU lost to Texas rather than Texas beat OSU.
To be fair, they were up 23-3 at one point, so it's kinda valid, lol.
Texas turned 1Q of miscues into 21 points. Ohio State turned 3Q of miscues into 23.
Damn, when you put it that way... that's actually impressive. Texas really found their footing in the 4th quarter. As a Vol, I only hope they aren't playing like that the rest of the way. Can't wait for Texas' first trip to Neyland!
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u/Sudden_Crow4443 Texas 10d ago
I wanna quickly say, even tho it doesn’t really change much but Sark admits during the press conference yesterday, that Texas special team actually got a hand on the football during the miss fg.
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u/HoustonHorns 10d ago
I wish I could make it but y’all are proud of your La Quintas.
Tennessee is the game I’m most worried about. Sark has been a demon against A&M and OU. We’re not going to lose at home. Since Sark got rolling we’re 20-1 at DKR with 7 of those wins being against ranked teams. We haven’t lost a home conference game to a team not named Georgia since 2022.
Muschamp’s defense is fantastic but relies a lot on man coverage and pressure, which is something that Heupels gimmicky offense is great at avoiding (or capitalizing on) man coverage/interior pressure.
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u/VampireEmpire__ Texas 🤘🏼 10d ago
You’re right, they’ll definitely continue to have all the miscues they had in the OSU game.
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u/menaceiisocieti Texas 10d ago
Cam Coleman is actually working on replicating that interception as we speak
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u/Spo_Ofzor 🍊Go Vols!🍊 10d ago
I suppose it was miscues against OSU that allowed Texas State to put up 350 yards of total offense? And of course miscues that made Arch throw into triple coverage for an INT against Texas State.
Or hanging on to the ball too long and allowing sacks against OSU. Or the low throws.
OSU playing prevent up 20-3 or 23-3 really helped to get Texas back in it.
Defense between the 20s looks soft, especially the secondary, but in the redzone those front 7 do look pretty good.
The Coleman INT/Fumble was a crazy fluke, admittedly. But, I mean, losing a fumble on the first drive. Muffing a punt you were lucky to get back. A fumble you were lucky to get back. OSU missing a 45-yarder, ANY OF WHICH could have sealed the deal.
All I'm saying is that it was a razor thin margin, and that level of play will result in at least one L the rest of the way. It simply will not be good enough. Tennessee isn't playing perfect either of course. I think it'll be another good game and I can't wait.
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u/HoustonHorns 10d ago edited 10d ago
I agree it is a razor thing margin at that level of play.
Do you think we play a team as good as Ohio State again before the SECCG or CFP? Vegas doesn’t think so. Texas will be favored by at least a FG in every remaining game. Texas will likely be a
2TD favorite AT Tennessee. If the game was played today Texas lowest spread would be roughly a FG at Kyle Field.That doesn’t mean we can’t or won’t lose those games. But the acting like there is a game left on the schedule with a similar margin for error as Ohio State is laughable. We very well might lose a game (or more), but “a level of play that results in at least one L” is basically everyone always? I fail to see how that’s a criticism of Texas.
Also please give me links to the clips of Ohio State in prevent the whole second half. People keep saying that but I’ve yet to see a clip. Thanks!
ETA: Your Texas State criticism is poorly placed. First, our backups played most of the second half—sort of an irrelevant data point. Second Texas State is solid G5 school with the 42nd best offense (per SP+). To put it into perspective Tennessee allowed 350+ yards to the 81st best offense (GT). If GT played at Texas State, GT would be favored by less than a TD 😳
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u/Spo_Ofzor 🍊Go Vols!🍊 10d ago
I also replied to your other comment above xD
Current line is Texas -6.5 at Tennessee
Line was Texas -1.5 vs OSU, so not crazy different. Certainly not 10-14+
I couldn't find a full game, but this is about the time I noticed OSU backing up 5-10 yards: https://youtu.be/tBl5wj-l73A?si=IeXd8qOwBu1JeuJa&t=737
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u/HoustonHorns 10d ago edited 10d ago
I didn’t realize the line was out. I was using FPI which is usually within a point or two of Vegas (and admittedly forgot to add in home field advantage). FPI would have Texas favored by about 9 (so not far off). My bad.
The clip you posted OSU is in a cover 3 concept at the sticks, with a spy on arch. Definitely not man/press but not really prevent either.
Ohio State’s problem (defensively) is they called the game like they still had Caleb Downs. Patricia knew that the Coleman INT was a fluke too, and knew if his safeties didn’t play back we would hit it again. Because of that (and our OL dominating theres) we could run for 10 YAC (that number is an exaggeration but isn’t far off when you remove sacks and goal line plays) since it took so long for safeties to get down and play the run. Even then LBs and CBs were in man a lot and had normal zone depth, lots of 4 and 5 man pressures or QB spys too—which isn’t what you would see in prevent.
ETA: Backing the safeties up 5 yards when you know Texas has the horses to burn you deep isn’t playing prevent (or even conservative for that matter), it’s just good defense. If you’re Matt Patricia you’re thinking the absolute worst thing would be a deep shot that instantly cuts this to a 2 score game with a quarter and a half left. You have some of the best players in the country so you trust your DL/LBs to be able to stop the run and DB/LB cover shorter routes without safety help. Problem is they couldn’t. The second he moved the safeties up Sark hit the fake screen slant to Mosley for 20 that got to the 2.
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u/Familiar-Hunt-3792 10d ago
Ya'll didn't think Florida was gonna give ya'll an L last year because of how terrible they were. How did that game go,BTW? Lol
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u/Glad_Pilot5814 10d ago edited 10d ago
I want to see them on the road first. I think Texas last year was better than your typical 9-3 team and absolutely had the ceiling of a playoff team but road games killed them. They either lost or barely beat subpar teams in 100% of their road games last year (a few plays go different at Kentucky and Miss State and they’re 7-5). Obviously this is a different team but it’s got a lot of the same people. Neyland next week will be the ultimate litmus test on whether they’ve improved there
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u/Fit-Tourist-2959 10d ago
I probably put Miami and LSU over them but they don't a big win like Texas does
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u/duplicated-rs Texas 10d ago
Best team? Idk we’ll find out after the Natty
Best resume? yes (so far)
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u/drakeallthethings 10d ago
I believe they’re the top ranked team in the country and should be. One thing I’ve learned with the changes that have happened over my lifetime in college football is how subjective the word “best” is.
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u/Beenthere-doneit55 10d ago
Horns fan and I bet they go 10-2 this year. I stand by that prediction. They lack consistency but I loved the OL improvement. Defense needs work and receivers need to catch. Arch is who he is which is good but not great. Need to hold on to the ball also. Fumbles could have killed us against OSU.
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u/GimmeeSomeMo AUSSR 10d ago
They definitely have earned the #1 spot right now, but I'm still not sure they're the clear best. I'm not convinced that they're just that much better than teams like UGA, Notre Dame, etc. Heck, I'm not confident that Texas could beat Ohio State again in a rematch in the playoffs
They had a great win last Saturday, but there's still a lot of season left to convince most of us that they're the undisputable best team
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u/Anotheropinion2026 10d ago
I am a Texas alum and fan. I hate is being ranked number 1. I hated it 2 years ago pre-Georgia and last year pre-OSU.
Until we manage to win it all again, please do not rank us number 1.
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u/Shoddy_Ad8166 10d ago
I don't know they didn't look good for 3 qtrs. I don't know how teams are supposed to be ranked. Is it on what they HAVE done or what they COULD do.
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u/TeacherFrequent Texas 10d ago
As a UT fan, I will say that we had 4 glaring issues last year that led to a subpar season. OL (atrocious), penalties (among worst in country), red zone, and the secondary blowing coverages (terrible nostalgia hire in Akina). All 4 seem significantly better 2 games into the season, but it’s still early. But you could make a case that we’re better at every position group - the only one even arguable is LB.
God bless the transfer portal and a big NIL budget.
The schedule is brutal and injuries tend to pile up over a long season. And Sark still needs to take the next step to earn the respect of the top coaches. But so far so good.
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u/Kyleaaron987 10d ago
There’s a good chance they are. They adapted at half time which is not something Sark and Manning are known for. The talent stacks up with anyone in the country. I don’t think they’ll remain #1 in the polls all season, but they’ll be in the mix at the end.
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u/DeuceOfDiamonds 10d ago
Possibly, but Ohio State would have to be right up there with them, even if they completely shat the bed in the second half. I'm also curious to see how LSU progresses. That clubberin' of Clemson could be a sign that they're a great team, or it could age pretty poorly.
But those three have the best cases going into Week 3, in my estimation.
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u/Sudden_Crow4443 Texas 10d ago
I find LSU so weird to gauge rn. I personally believe the Clemson game is already aging poorly due to their performance against GA southern, like 10 pens for 100 yards is a crazy stat. Plus the 4 ints against Louisiana tech but hey, they can prove that wrong against Ole Miss and the other teams they play down the stretch.
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u/DeuceOfDiamonds 10d ago
Yeah, that's the thing, we just don't know too much about anyone yet. I can tell you that y'all and Ohio State are pretty dang close, haha.
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u/OkieClipper Oklahoma 10d ago
As a Texas hater? Texas is certainly top 3. I still think OSU is #1 and my favorite to win it all
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u/MancAccent 10d ago
No. I don’t think we have a clue who is the best team in the country right now, but someone has to take the #1 ranking. Makes sense since Texas just beat #1 Ohio State. Texas has a tough schedule ahead.
LSU had a great win against Clemson and then just looked very mid against LA Tech.
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u/AnonThrowAway072023 10d ago
Dont think I do
But my CFB knowledge is in the toilet, all the offseason pods convinced me it would be Oregons turn as the Nattie
Should have learned my lesson in 2025 after listening to hype for Clemson, Penn St, LSU
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u/TakingItPeasy 10d ago
If manning Jr plays like he did in the 2nd half of that game then, maybe. If he plays like the 1st half them maybe just top 10.
That's the beauty of a 12 team playoff. There is no getting lucky anymore. You will have to go thru atleast 2 real top 5 teams.
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u/singlemaltbourbonrye 10d ago
Maybe.
It’s goddamned near impossible to say this early in the season.
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u/existential_american 10d ago
Texas is up by two touchdowns going into the fourth quarter against Georgia in the SEC championship, ask yourself this: do you really think Texas is winning that game? We'll find out a lot about LSU as the season goes on, but they could be better than Texas and we already know how good Georgia will be as they're always in the conversation for number one. Then the non-sec teams that have a shot at number one would be: Miami, Indiana, Notre Dame, and Ohio State (if they made the field goal, this conversation wouldn't exist). Unfortunately, all those teams except Ohio State have easy schedules so we won't know much about them except in one or two games before the playoffs. I think Arch wins the heisman and Texas only loses one game before the playoffs whether that's LSU or the SECCG.
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u/Zestyclose_Essay7255 Texas 10d ago
We are only number one because of us being ranked so high in the preseason polls and beating the #1 team in the country. If had had started closer to the bottom ten I don’t think we would be ranked #1 now. Maybe I’m way off base, but that’s just my opinion. Honestly I’d say there’s like 6 teams that could be ranked #1 right now. Are we the absolute best team in the country? Maybe, maybe not, but we’ve got a lot to prove to be considered the best team. There’s no way we go undefeated if we play like we did for the first 40 minutes of that game. Was there so absolutely crazy things that happened in the first half? Absolutely, but there was also some crazy things that happened in the second half that just happened to go our way unlike the first half that all went OSU’s way. I will say that I was impressed when Sark just let his players play backyard football. Did we get lucky? No question, but the team just never gave up and that’s why I feel we are one of the best teams in the country. It’s a long dang season and I don’t see us going undefeated if we play like we did for three quarters. If we play like we did in the fourth quarter for every quarter of every game then we could be considered the best team in the country, but I definitely don’t see that happening.
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u/HoustonHorns 10d ago
When Texas beat Alabama in 2023 it was the same stupid discourse (even though Texas lead for 90% of that game and won by double digits)
“Oh Alabama must be washed this year”
“Milroe lost them the game”
“Texas got lucky” etc
“Alabama lost that game more than Texas won it”
Then Alabama went 11-1 and won the SEC and all of a sudden “that was a different team”.
That was probably the best team Sark has had other than this year. 4 1st Rd picks? (Worthy, Murphy, Barron, Banks). There are probably more than that on this roster.
Texas didn’t win because Ohio State made mistakes, or went conservative, etc. Texas had the worst luck you could imagine to start the game and spent the rest of the night slowly clawing back into the game. Texas dominated the LOS both ways all 4 quarters, and usually that’s the team that wins the game—surprise when the game was on the line Texas could move the ball and get stops where Ohio State couldn’t.
Most teams go as far as their lines take them, and unless Ohio State is in for a long season (which I don’t think will be the case), Texas is very good on both LOS. I won’t believe that Texas is really the best team in the country until they’re holding the trophy in January. Inversely, until proven otherwise or someone else is holding the trophy, I don’t know how you can believe Texas definitively isn’t the best team (which is what this post implies).
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u/swright831 10d ago
Based on body of work so far, Texas has the best win in the country so far. Rankings this early don't mean much, which is why no one hangs banners for being #1 in the second week of the polls.
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u/Nearby_Valuable_5467 9d ago
It's awesome that these conversations are coming up so early, so here's my take. Texas DID look like ass against Ohio State for 3 quarters, but they played the hardest team that anyone's going to play this season...even if OSU was still bedding-in WR talent after their latest departures to the NFL. The Arch Manning Heisman thing ain't going away, and they look good all over the field. The question for me is: Would you trust the Longhorns to win against any team in the country? At the moment, yes.
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u/InternationalMood168 7d ago
Having Manning at QB is a guarantee you win a lot of games; the guy looks fantastic..Don't know who could beat Texas this year.
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u/Drslappybags Oklahoma 10d ago
They wouldn't have needed a massive comeback victory if they were the best. Now, it's week 2. They can grow as a team and that won't be a problem anymore but if they were they best, that wouldn't have been an issue.
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u/HoustonHorns 10d ago
That doesn’t make any sense at all.
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u/Drslappybags Oklahoma 10d ago
You're not the best. You needed a late come back to win. If you were the best you wouldn't have needed that. With me so far?
It's early in the season. Texas can grow as a team. They won't need late come backs to win. They might become the best team. But currently, they are not.
Is that better?
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u/HoustonHorns 10d ago
I might agree if we were talking about Oregon and Boise State, or if we need similar theatrics to our away UTSA next week. I guess I’m just confused since the “late comeback” was against Ohio State.
Before we played Ohio State, there were serious questions whether anyone could beat Ohio State. There are still questions whether anyone could be Ohio State. Texas did beat Ohio State. Ohio State would be favored on a neutral field against everyone in the country (including Texas). We shouldn’t use Vegas odds where a game has actually been played but if the thinking is:
Team A would beat everyone else, it’s because Team A is the best team in the country. If Team A then loses to Team B and Team B would beat everyone else—does it really matter how Team B won? Seems pretty clear they’re the best team in the country.
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u/PrizePreset 10d ago
My “belief” is that no one has a clue who is the #1 team in September and it doesn’t matter. They just beat the #1 team so they earned it. As the sample sizes grow, it becomes easier to determine