Texas Football: 10 things that went wrong for the Longhorns so far in 2018

8. Repeat of 2017’s misfortune

The loss to Maryland was the worst form of deja vu for Texas football since it’s the exact way that Herman’s first year on the Forty Acres started off. That makes it two losses to Maryland (not the best team in the Big 10 the last two years) and one to the Kansas Jayhawks all within the past three seasons.

A loss to Kansas is something that doomed Charlie Strong in his time with Texas, but that’s also a team that a Herman-coached squad is almost guaranteed to not lose to. If there’s any two types of teams in which Herman loses to, it’s mediocre teams that he should beat and plays down to or a top 10 team where he is barely overmatched.

You could see plenty of examples last year in which Herman lost to a really good team that was ranked in the top 10 or the top 15 in the nation at the time. USC, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State were three of those teams in which the Horns were nearly victorious but just fell short by the narrowest of margins.

We’re starting to see where this team can win close affairs, but that needs to start translating against teams like the Terps. If Texas is found consistently losing to mediocre Power Five teams in which it completely outclasses in terms of talent, Herman isn’t going to have much time to lead this program.