Texas Football: Mike Gundy stunned by abrupt move to SEC

A fast-moving news cycle this week wound up seeing the Texas football program and the Oklahoma Sooners officially make the move from the Big 12 to the SEC in one of the most seismic shifts around the college sports landscape ever. And of course not everyone was going to be happy about this. Namely, the Big 12 administration and the remaining eight schools were not going to be thrilled about this move almost no matter what. That is understandable.

But the Longhorns and Sooners need to do what’s best for the schools, and this move was at least a few months, if not a few years, in the making. Texas and Oklahoma are making a move to a conference that could elevate both programs for a long time. This will help in recruiting, national recognition, level of competition, and of course it will boost the bottom line.

Moreover, one of the parties that’s not so thrilled about this move from Texas and Oklahoma to bolt from the Big 12 to the SEC is head coach Mike Gundy and the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Gundy reportedly stated on the matter of Texas and Oklahoma leaving for the SEC that he “wish he knew” about the plan, in a recent episode of ESPN’s College Football Live.

Mike Gundy’s thoughts on Texas football, OU moving from the Big 12 to the SEC

It seemed like both Gundy and new Oklahoma State president Dr. Kayse Shrum were both caught off guard by this move. Dr. Shrum specifically called out the Sooners in this move from the Big 12 to the SEC since it once appeared that these two schools would be tied together in any conference realignment.

But in this world of new power conferences forming, Texas and Oklahoma made for a better package deal than the two Oklahoma schools. The SEC was likely more willing to pull the trigger on getting this move in conference realignment done with Texas and Oklahoma instead of the Pokes and Sooners.

Nonetheless, Texas and Oklahoma are sure to come out with targets on their backs this fall when facing remaining Big 12 schools such as Oklahoma State. That is especially true if this winds up being the final season that these two schools will be competing in the Big 12.

Texas is set to face Oklahoma State in Austin this fall, on Oct. 16 at home at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. It will likely be another close matchup between Gundy and the Pokes and new head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns this fall.