In “Great Expectations,” Charles Dickens wrote: “Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but — I hope — into a better shape.”
Chuck never watched a Texas football game, but his words ring true more than 150 years later. The Longhorns’ return to national prominence last season wouldn’t have happened without struggle, and now that oddsmakers are projecting a smashing debut for them in the Southeastern Conference, it would be easy to believe it’s going to happen without acknowledging the work it took to get here.
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So Texas goes 11-1 in the regular season and plays for a conference title in its first season in the SEC? Sounds about right to many in the fan base.
Slow down.
Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy, front, and linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. make their way onto the field at Royal-Memorial Stadium ahead of the November win over Kansas State. Worthy has moved on to the NFL, but Hill will be a key part for the 2024 Longhorns as they settle into the SEC.
Longhorn Nation doesn’t need to prick a finger to believe there’s blue blood coursing through those veins even if the Horns have won only one national championship since 1970. Meanwhile, new conference mates Alabama, LSU, Georgia, Auburn and Florida have combined to win 14 of the last 21 titles, six coming from the Crimson Tide, which enters its first season without legendary coach Nick Saban.
It could happen, but let’s see how the Longhorns handle their first real prosperity since the 2018 team won the Sugar Bowl over the Georgia Bulldogs, the same night Bevo nearly sent Uga X to the Rainbow Bridge well before his time.
Sure, the Longhorns aren’t quietly entering…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/texas-football-enters-sec-expectations-185700789.html
Author : Austin American-Statesman
Publish date : 2024-07-13 18:57:00
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