Texas Has Become the Team Everyone in the SEC Wants to Beat

It would mean the world to these teams if they could upset the Burnt Orange on the gridiron.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian waits to lead his team onto the field prior to the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The old saying "haters gonna hate" has never been truer in college football, where rivalries pay the big bills and even split up family households for a single weekend because of the sheer passion that is made palpable by the event.

And it should be no secret that there's probably not a school in the nation that garners more heat and haters than that of the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Longhorns.

From the odd nature of the city of Austin itself to the Texas pride that the team carries themselves with, it's easy to see why huff and roll their eyes when the team is brought up in conversation.

But Ric Flair said it best, "to be the man, you have to beat the man."

Everybody Wants Some

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning keeps the ball and runs for a touchdown during the second half against the Texas A&M Aggies at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Ever since head coach Steve Sarkisian took over the team in 2021, the Longhorns have seen a return to the same glory that they saw during the Mack Brown days.

That hasn't included an undefeated season nor a national championship, but the confidence in the team has definitely increased in both the team and the Austin fanbase.

A move to the SEC in 2024 saw the team want to take their competition to bigger and better heights as opposed to the Big 12, and the Oklahoma Sooners tagging along made it all that much better, and their first year saw the Horns already competing for the conference championship against longtime SEC powerhouse Georgia.

And since joining the SEC, the Horns have yet to lose in a rivalry game against the Sooners or the Texas A&M Aggies, defeating Oklahoma soundly in both years and even keeping A&M at a distance in both matchups, including this past year in Austin where they spoiled what would have been a perfect regular season for their in-state foes.

The rise of Arch Manning at quarterback, another chapter in the famed Manning history, gives teams all the more reason to want to knock off the Longhorns and deliver a shot to the nephew of one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks to ever play the game.

Texas has shown that they are still a blue blood in college football despite a flip of conferences, and it's likely the team's meteoric rise in one of the thoughest conferences in the nation that has teams itching to knock Texas off of their pedestal.

But when the eyes of Texas are upon them, the Texas Longhorns continue to prove why they get the reputation that they do of one of the nation's best, and with the leadership of Sarkisian and his consistency to reel in top talent, it could finally bring the Horns their first national championship in over 20 years.

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