Where 247Sports tiered Texas football among 2020 CFB Playoff contenders

It would certainly be a letdown if the Texas football program didn’t remain in national and Big 12 contention for much of the 2020 season.

The 2020 season will be an important marker to see, in a number of different areas, where the Texas football program has made the most progress under the direction of head coach Tom Herman. Texas could be in line to be a dark horse contender for the College Football Playoff (just like they were for a stretch of time in 2018) and in the running for a Big 12 Championship. The biggest challengers in the race for a Big 12 crown this year for the Longhorns should be the Oklahoma schools.

Texas is widely considered one of the projected top three teams in the Big 12 and one of the top 20 in the entire country. And the expectations might be just as high this offseason as they were heading into the 2019 season.

On June 18 a piece from 247Sports was published breaking down potential College Football Playoff contenders this year into different tiers. The Longhorns were considered to be in tier four, below the likes of the Oklahoma Sooners. But that did place them as the second most potent national contender out of the Big 12.

Along with the Longhorns in tier four were the in-state rival Texas A&M Aggies, Auburn Tigers, and Michigan Wolverines. Above them in tier three were the defending National Champion LSU Tigers (who Texas also faces in Week 2), Florida Gators, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and Penn State Nittany Lions.

Here’s what that piece from 247Sports had to say on where Texas was tiered among the national contenders.

"Auburn fans might complain about being lumped into this underachieving group – we’ll get to you in a second Michigan. But the Tigers have the same average win total since the start of the playoff era (8) as Texas A&M and the same number of 10-win seasons in that stretch (1) as Texas. All three of these teams, especially Texas when you look at this year’s blue-chip level, have elite talent.Texas and Texas A&M both have an on-paper shot this year. They’re among the most experienced teams in the country with senior quarterbacks leading way. Texas A&M’s big question is the Alabama and LSU roadblocks that await it at the end of a reasonably easy schedule. Well, that and an offense under Kellen Mond that needs to unlock an explosive element – the Aggies finished 101st nationally in plays of 30-plus yards. Texas’ issue is a deeper-than-normal Big 12 and a lack of scheme continuity following an offseason of coaching staff changes. A lot must come together early for the Longhorns with a schedule that’s somewhat frontloaded. Trips to LSU and Kansas State come within the first month followed quickly by a clash with Oklahoma."

Moreover, two tiers down from the Longhorns, you will find the next team from the Big 12 ranked among the College Football Playoff contenders. This piece had the Oklahoma State Cowboys alongside the Wisconsin Badgers and Minnesota Golden Gophers in tier six.

And directly behind the Longhorns were the Oregon Ducks, USC Trojans, and Washington Huskies, to round out tier five.

The list ended at tier six, so other teams out of the Big 12 like the TCU Horned Frogs, Baylor Bears, Iowa State Cyclones, etc., were on the outside looking in. That does leave, as anticipated, just the Oklahoma schools and Texas as the top three College Football Playoff contenders out of the Big 12.

Texas finished up the 2019 season with a record of 8-5 (5-4 Big 12) after beating the No. 11 ranked Utah Utes in the Alamo Bowl by the final score of 38-10. They open up the 2020 regular season slate at home on Sep. 5 against the South Florida Bulls, but it won’t come against former head coach Charlie Strong. Herman will get his biggest challenge of the non-conference slate in Week 2, against LSU on the road on Sep. 12.