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Texas Football: Big 12 Championship is a realistic expectation in 2018

By Andrew Miller

AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 07: Head coach Tom Herman of the Texas Longhorns watches players warm up before the game against the Kansas State Wildcats at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 07: Head coach Tom Herman of the Texas Longhorns watches players warm up before the game against the Kansas State Wildcats at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on October 7, 2017 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /
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With a more wide open Big 12 this season than in previous years, Texas football could claim a conference title for the first time in nearly a decade.

Making a run to national contention is always an expectation for a blue blood program like Texas football. With the Longhorns garnering so much hype and national attention each and every off-season, fans get pumped up and ready to see a good product on the field. This time around, the hype seems more warranted than usual for Texas with depth across the board and a top notch defense coming back to campus in 2018.

Texas is commonly found as a top contender to win the Big 12 Title this year. The Oklahoma Sooners seem to be the unanimous front runner to win the conference, no matter which sports news outlet you look at. However, quite a few pundits will place the Horns right below the Sooners in the projected race for the 2018 Big 12 Championship.

With the level of recruiting that Texas head football coach has now with this program, the talent lies in the favor of the Horns. Moreover, Texas and OU are generally the two top recruiting programs in this conference. That means that Texas and OU generally carry the most talent on their rosters of all Big 12 teams.

A huge x-factor for the Horns this fall is taking care of business throughout the non-conference slate. It cost Texas some form of confidence last season by falling short to both the Maryland Terrapins and USC Trojans in heartbreaking fashion. Texas takes on both Maryland and USC again in 2018, and should be favored in at least one if not both contests.

If Texas can get things rolling early on, the team will be ready to go for some big conference matchups early in the regular season. Texas faces head football coach Gary Patterson and the TCU Horned Frogs to open up the Big 12 slate, on Sep. 22. TCU has been tough for Texas of late. Yet, that would be a great way to kick things off in conference play by pulling off big possible win against TCU.

The defense has to remain strong under second-year defensive coordinator Todd Orlando this year. And, the offense has to take a step forward in some form or fashion this season. The responsibility of improving the offense ultimately falls on the shoulders of Herman since that was a huge reason why the Horns brought him to Austin in the first place. If offensive coordinator Tim Beck can’t get that side of the ball in a rhythm, it might be time for the Horns to part ways with him.

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Quite a few pieces are in place for Texas to make that run to the Big 12 Championship Game that the fan base so desperately wants to see. A Big 12 Championship is a realistic expectation for Texas this season given the talent level on both sides of the ball. Texas played quite a few games close last year that fell in the favor of the opponent. Given a reversal of fortune, we could see the Horns taking the field in the Big 12 Championship Game in Dallas, TX, in December.

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