Herbstreit doesn’t buy into longevity of Texas football in 2020

A big matchup on tap for Texas football against the West Virginia Mountaineers will set the tone for head coach Tom Herman heading into the bye week.

Texas football is currently locked in a battle with the West Virginia Mountaineers in a critical game at home on Nov. 7. West Virginia and Texas both came into this game with identical records, sitting at 4-2 (3-2 Big 12) a piece. Texas was coming off a nice win last weekend in upset fashion on the road over the previously undefeated and No. 6 ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys in overtime, by the final score of 41-34.

Meanwhile, West Virginia is coming off a nice win of their own from last weekend. West Virginia also took care of business against a ranked Big 12 opponent on Oct. 31, by dominating the previously No. 16 ranked Kansas State Wildcats by the final score of 37-10. Both Texas and West Virginia had momentum trending in the right direction heading into this weekend.

All eyes were on the Longhorns coming into this game to see if head coach Tom Herman can keep his team trending in the right direction and build a three-game winning streak. Texas was just shy of a touchdown favorite ahead of kick off, so they should be able to take care of business against the Mountaineers.

Questions are still being asked about the Longhorns chances to make the Big 12 Championship Game this season. The win over Oklahoma State did restore a lot of hope that Herman can guide the Longhorns to at least earn a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game. They now sit firmly in contention with the likes of the Iowa State Cyclones and Oklahoma schools to get a spot in the Big 12 Title Game.

But ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit found some doubt in the Longhorns chances to make it back to the Big 12 Championship Game for the first time since 2018. Herbstreit projected his conference title game matchup on Nov. 7, saying that it will come down to Iowa State and Oklahoma.

While he did say that he believes Texas will take care of business against West Virginia this weekend, he doesn’t believe in this team “over the long-term”. That does make a lot of sense since the Longhorns were anything but consistent under Herman’s direction the last few years.

After the Longhorns take on the Mountaineers, they’re set to face the lowly Kansas Jayhawks on Nov. 21. They have a bye week once the West Virginia game wraps up. The back end of the schedule doesn’t look to be as difficult as the front half.