Writer mentions Texas football is ‘set up’ for a great finish

Texas football got the win they needed last weekend, specifically back on Oct. 31 on the road, over Oklahoma State in overtime to finally move the needle.

The result that fourth-year Texas football head coach Tom Herman got over the weekend in the win over the previously undefeated and No. 6 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys provided a much-needed boost for this team heading out of the month of November. Texas got the upset win over Oklahoma State on the road on Oct. 31 by the final score of 41-34 in overtime.

This was the third overtime game that the Longhorns have played in this season, all of which have come during the Big 12 slate. The win over Oklahoma State moves the Longhorns to a record of 4-2 (3-2 Big 12). Texas has now built up a two-game winning streak, stemming back to their Oct. 24 home win over the Baylor Bears by the final score of 27-16.

While Herman had a lot of pressure on his shoulders heading into Week 9 of the college football season, he appears to have taken some heat off of him. So where do the Longhorns go from here for the remainder of the 2020 regular season?

Bud Elliott of 247Sports released the list of teams around the FBS that could be looking up from here for the remainder of the regular season. And Texas was included on that list from Elliott of 247Sports that could see the 2020 season ending on a high-note.

Texas was one of three Big 12 teams on this list. The other two were the rival Oklahoma Sooners and the Iowa State Cyclones. Here’s more on what this 247Sports piece had to say on the reasoning for putting the Longhorns on this list.

"Yes, Texas. Don’t laugh. Texas was significantly outplayed by Oklahoma State in its win over the weekend. And the Longhorns sit at 4-2 on the season. If the pass defense can improve just a little bit on the plays in which sackmaster Joseph Ossai doesn’t get home, the overall team wouldn’t look as shaky as it does. And while it is hard to have a lot of confidence in the Longhorns, the final schedule is friendly. The Longhorns are favored over West Virginia this weekend and will also be favored at Kansas and Kansas State. The Iowa State game in Austin is a bit of a tossup, but it’s not crazy to think Texas, even in this tumultuous season, could finish 8-2 and potentially play for the Big 12 Championship."

There were some high marks that 247Sports had in this piece for Texas. We’ll wait and see before making any constructive prediction that the Longhorns could even think about going 8-2 this regular season. Texas had a hard enough time getting through the likes of Oklahoma State and the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Getting through the West Virginia Mountaineers at home this weekend will be the first task at hand for Herman and the Longhorns. Texas carries a record of 4-2 (3-2 Big 12) into this game against West Virginia, identical to that of the Mountaineers. West Virginia is coming off a big win of their own from last weekend over the previously No. 16 ranked Kansas State Wildcats by the dominant final score of 37-10.

After the big upset win over the Pokes last weekend, the Longhorns broke the AP Poll again, this time in the No. 22 slot. They are now one of three ranked teams in the AP Poll out of the Big 12 this week, also including the Oklahoma schools.