Texas football tagged as a team that can ’cause chaos’ in 2022

The Texas football program’s expectations for the 2022 season aren’t as high as they were in the last few years. Texas is unranked in the preseason AP Poll for the first time since 2016. And that was a season that saw Texas fall short of postseason eligibility.

But the 2022 campaign should also be one where head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns can fully own and take advantage of more of an underdog persona than they had last season. Texas will be trying to find a new identity with a positive atmosphere and more cohesive vibe in the locker room this fall behind a new starting quarterback in redshirt freshman Quinn Ewers.

If Texas can surprise some people this fall, that would clearly shake up the pecking order in the Big 12 compared to last season. Hypothetically, if Sark and the Longhorns were able to create chaos in the Big 12 this season, that would likely mean that this team is taking a step in the right direction this fall.

That looks to be one of the reasons why Texas was included in a list among the teams that can “cause chaos” around college football this season from Brad Crawford of 247Sports on Aug. 25. Texas was one of the roughly dozen teams that were included on this list of potential chaos-creators around college football in 2022.

Steve Sarkisian and Texas football mentioned among the teams that can cause a lot of chaos in 2022

Here’s more on what Crawford from 247Sports had to say about including the Longhorns on this list of potential chaos-inducing teams this season.

"Given the talent level at Texas, one would think Steve Sarkisian is able to respond to last fall’s 5-7 disappointment with an impressive rebound behind Bijan Robinson, transfer quarterback Quinn Ewers and an explosive offense, but the Longhorns have managed only one 10-win season in the past decade. And that’s what it would take to be a chaos-causer at the top of the Big 12 standings given the expected value from Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State."

The four games that were mentioned as the ones where the Longhorns could cause the most chaos come against the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide, No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners, No. 12 Oklahoma State Cowboys, and No. 10 Baylor Bears.

If Texas was able to even pull two wins in those four games against the aforementioned teams in this article, that would probably make for a good run in the Big 12 this fall.

However, Sark and the Longhorns need to have a few items in order if they want to cause some real chaos this fall. First off, Texas’ defense has to improve in Big 12 play this season. Texas boasted one of the worst defenses in the Big 12 last season, which contributed to the team’s downfall during that tough six-game losing streak in conference play.

Texas also needs better offensive line play, which would help open up the playbook and maximize all the potent skill position weapons in the mix such as star junior running back Bijan Robinson and sophomore wide receiver Xavier Worthy.

Texas finished up last season with a record of 5-7 (3-6 Big 12), missing out on bowl season for the first time since 2016. Sark and the Longhorns will open up the 2022 regular season at home on Sep. 3 against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks.