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Texas Longhorns tight end Jordan Washington (84) and teammates react after Washington scored a touchdown. Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Texas Longhorns Seen as One of the Unpredictable Teams in the SEC, Dubbed an 'Enigma'

Originally posted on Texas Longhorns on SI
By Ylver Deleon-Rios | Last updated Sep 25, 2025 11:15 AM ET

The 2025 season is already in full swing, with some teams looking like the championship contenders they were expected to be, while some are currently disappointing, sliding far away from those expectations, and others have been exceeding their preseason outlook.

For the Texas Longhorns, they're right in the middle of it all after the first four weeks of the season. The Longhorns, for the most part, have not looked like the perennial national championship contenders many have expected from the burnt orange in recent years; however, after their lopsided victory over Sam Houston State, the tide could be turning upwards for the Longhorns' season.

However, with Texas' dominating showing against the Bearkats, a return to form many have come to expect, it is still difficult for many to predict the outcome of the Longhorns for the rest of the year. One of those people is ESPN's Heather Dinich, who recently broke down each Power 4 team's chances at making the College Football Playoff, with the Longhorns not finding themselves among the top contenders.

Where do the Longhorns Fall in the SEC, according to Dinich

Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Dinich split up the 16 SEC teams into three different categories: "Would be out", "Work to do", and "Would be in". The Longhorns find themselves in the middle category with work still left to do on the season. Texas is in the company of Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt as teams with questions still needing to be answered.

The ESPN analyst dug deeper into the Longhorns, referring to Texas as "The Enigma" of the SEC after their start of the season has left many more questions to be asked, rather than answers for the Longhorns.

"The SEC season opener at Florida on Oct. 4 is also a strange one, as it's a game the Longhorns could lose but shouldn't if they are a real playoff team," Dinich wrote. "They've got a bye week to prepare for it. A Texas win won't do much to reassert its place in the national picture, but a loss would be telling. The most likely outcome is the selection committee will learn more about Texas on Oct. 11 against rival Oklahoma, which is in the projected top 12 this week."

What's Left for the Longhorns in the Regular Season?

Texas gets the chance to rest this week with its bye, but will return to action straight into conference play with a visit to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators. The game against Florida marks the beginning of a four-game stretch of games away from DKR for the Longhorns. With the Red River Rivalry in Dallas the week after the trip to Florida, followed by visits to Kentucky and Mississippi State.

The Longhorns won't play a game in Austin until Nov. 1 when they host Vanderbilt, but will hit the road, the very next game, with a big-time matchup against Georgia in Athens. And Texas will end the regular season with a two-game home stand against rivals Arkansas and Texas A&M.

Texas's conference schedule should be a real gauge for the Longhorns and for people like Dinich to find where Steve Sarkisian's squad stands, as four of the eight SEC matchups are against ranked opponents, three of which are in the Top 10.

This article first appeared on Texas Longhorns on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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