Roundtable: Texas Football Superlatives

Dec 2, 2022 - 8:22 PM

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Year 2 of the Steve Sarkisian era has nearly wrapped up with just the bowl game remaining. Texas improved in nearly every major statistical category with “wins” being the most important jump, from 5 to 8, possibly 9. Was this season a resounding “success” for Sark and the Horns?

Daniel Seahorn (@DanielSeahorn) - After things got sideways in year one I would definitely call this season a success with the growth the program showed as a whole. The quarterback production lowered the ceiling a bit this year, but even in spite of that, this team had a legit shot at 9-10 wins on the regular season. Some will be disappointed about not playing on Saturday, but 8-4 is where I had this team preseason, and that record even with how things played out shows considerable progress.

Gerald Goodridge (@ghgoodridge) - From a macro level, yes. Even before the preseason injuries to Junior Angilau and Isaiah Neyor, I said that success this year would be eight or nine wins and being in the Big 12 title conversation. Texas checked both of those boxes. That being said, drilling in and looking at how close Texas was to running the table in spite of all of that, I think a small measure of frustration is understandable.

Cody Daniel (@CodyDanielSBN) - “Resounding” isn’t the word I’d use, because it still felt like Texas left a lot on the field and could pretty easily be in Arlington this weekend. But all things considered, 8-4 was the reasonable expectation entering the season, and Texas met that, so it was a successful year.

Nik Patel (@NothingbutNik) - Given the setbacks Sark faced, losing Angilau in the preseason and Ewers against Bama, 8 wins was an ideal outcome. I view the season as a success and ideally trending upwards but I will be more satisfied once we are at the top of the conference again. The defense had a tremendous improvement this year, and I can’t wait to see how Sark will develop the 2023 class. Now that the playoffs will be expanded by 2024, I do have high expectations that Texas is amongst the top 12 teams in the nation by then.

Award time!

What was your favorite moment of the 2022 season and why was it beating Oklahoma 49-0?

Daniel - We might not experience a beatdown like that again in the rivalry again while we are still alive so it was definitely the dismantling of the Sooners on both sides of the ball. Texas as a whole didn’t click like that again for the rest of the year except maybe for the Kansas game. It was definitely the high mark of the season performance-wise.

Gerald - I mean, that was pretty cathartic, but if I get to pick something else I’d pick the end of the Baylor game for two reasons. First, we finally got to watch the Texas offense put up the “foot on their necks” performance I had craved in so many games. Second, seeing Roschon and Bijan end their careers like that was special. It doesn’t hurt that it was the first time I was able to make it to DKR in five years.

Cody - I mean, is there any other answer? OU sucks and 49-0 will be remembered for a while. But a close second is Bijan running wild in a key win against Baylor and the crowd chanting his name at the end. That kid deserves all the love and appreciation he gets from the burnt orange nation.

Nik - I found it ludicrous that some Texas fans stopped watching at halftime. Through the last 6-7 years, I have been eagerly awaiting OU’s downfall. After each score, it became more imperative we retained the shutout, and despite how the rest of the season turned out, the OU win spoke volumes.

If you had the ability to keep one of the Seniors around for one more season, who would you choose? Remember: Bijan Robinson is a junior.

Daniel - Roschon Johnson and it isn’t close. The dude is an absolute warrior and is the heart and soul of this program. If he had one more year left you would get his juice and he would be the feature back in 2023. He is easily one of my favorite Longhorn players in the last decade and maybe ever given the path he took from start to finish in Austin.

Gerald - Jordan Whittington. Honestly, when he first arrived I figured he would be gone last year and his career obviously hasn’t panned out like anyone expected. He’s one of those glue guys that you love to have on a team, especially in a year where we’re not sure what’s going to happen at the wide receiver spot.

Cody - My heart says Roschon Johnson, but my mind says Jordan Whittington. Texas won’t “upgrade” from the RB room with Johnson and Robinson leading it, but they’ll still be damn good. WR, on the other hand, is completely up in the air and unproven.

Nik - Roschon Johnson. As Sark said himself, Johnson could have been the number one option for a lot of other schools but his leadership on the team was one of those invaluable qualitative assets. He definitely played a role in shifting the momentum of the team in Sark’s second year and I am sure he would help project Texas into a top-10 team if he were to stay.

Texas may not be playing in the Big 12 Championship but that doesn’t mean I won’t get y’alls prediction for the week. Does TCU remain undefeated and clinch a College Football Playoff bid? Or will Kansas State play spoiler?

Daniel - TCU wins in a knife fight and shows they have a little more magic left before heading into the playoff.

Gerald - I think TCU came out on Saturday against Iowa State with the intent to silence doubters and I honestly don’t think that intention changes on Saturday. I’ve got TCU by 10.

Cody - I’m just here for playoff chaos. Give me K-State in the upset.

Nik - Apart from their games against Baylor and OK State, I feel like the Wildcats don’t show the offensive dominance that TCU does. Plus, TCU’s high powered offense has rescued their average defense time and time again (including coming back from 28-10 against the Wildcats in the regular season). Duggan, Miller, and Johnston will lead them through this weekend as well.