Will Texas Live Up to National Title Expectations? Expert Raises Concerns

The Texas Longhorns will likely begin the season ranked as the No. 1 team in the AP preseason poll. Or that seems to be the case as the Longhorns have long been viewed as the favorite to win the national championship in 2026, and are even viewed as the favorite to win the SEC, as evidenced by the SEC Media Days preseason predictions.

This makes it no surprise that the Longhorns find themselves among the contenders tier in ESPN's Bill Connelly's SEC 2025 season preview. Texas is listed as a frontrunner for the SEC alongside Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, and Tennessee.

And while Connelly points out, when speaking about the Longhorns, that there is a growing consensus that they are the nation's No. 1 team. He goes on to point out that there is a scenario where Texas may not live up to those sky-high expectations.

"What if Manning is merely very good? What if he flashes epic upside -- like he did against UTSA, ... but also gets fooled at times, like he did against Louisiana-Monroe (and in cameos against Georgia and Florida)," Connelly writes. "What if he needs an unproven receiving corps to bail him out and an unproven offensive line to protect him more?

"What if, against a tougher schedule than last season, the offense gets held in the 17-point range a couple of times and the defense has to make more stops than usual?"

That last "what if" scenario from Connelly is a stark difference from last season. One of the biggest things held over Texas's head was its supposed "easy" schedule. Naysayers, especially following the two losses to Georgia, used that against them. But never mind the fact that the Longhorns came within a few plays of going to the national championship game.

Yet, going into 2025, the schedule doesn't look all that favorable. Texas will have some of its toughest games on the road. They will travel to Ohio State, Florida, and Georgia, which doesn't include the trip to Dallas for the Red River Rivalry.

Playing on the road is never easy. But especially so when it comes to having a younger starting quarterback. No matter the hype and anticipation, the scenario of a road environment being tough for Manning and the Longhorns to overcome isn't far-fetched.

Yet, it isn't the tough road schedule that Connelly notes makes Texas different from past preseason No. 1 teams. Rather, it is the roster turnover and the question marks left by it.

"I have a lot more questions about Texas than I do the typical (expected) No. 1 team, but it could turn out that the answers match the hype," Connelly writes. "Steve Sarkisian has slowly built quite the juggernaut, and Manning is a Manning. Regardless, we barely have to wait another month to start getting answers. Having Texas at Ohio State in Week 1 absolutely rules."

With 23 NFL Draft picks in the past two years, the Longhorns undoubtedly have a lot to replace. They did successfully last year and didn't take a step back. But now, the question becomes, can they do it again?