What is the floor, ceiling for Texas football for the 2022 season?

Ceiling

Andrew Miller:

The ceiling is much more difficult to pinpoint than the floor for the Longhorns this season. Granted, the abundance of talent on both sides of the ball for the Longhorns still makes this ceiling pretty lofty for this team.

The ranking that the ESPN Football Power Index gives the Longhorns heading into the regular season, at No. 7 in the country, is actually the spot where I believe the ceiling lies for this team. The FPI is very high on Texas. I would say too high.

I mentioned before that Ewers holds much of the fate of the Longhorns season in his hands, as does the play of this defense. If Ewers finishes this season with interceptions in the single digits and total touchdowns in the range of 40-45, he could get some Heisman hype heading into December and it’s hard to not see Texas winning the Big 12.

Texas also has the potential to boast two Heisman contenders this season with the potency in this trio of Ewers, star junior running back Bijan Robinson, and star sophomore wide receiver Xavier Worthy. Assuming these three really click right away, it becomes much more realistic for Texas to get closer to the ceiling this season.

To sum this up, I do believe that the ceiling for the Longhorns would still fall short of going undefeated. The Big 12 picture is just too murky and Alabama is too good for me to see that happening in any scenario. But there is a ceiling where Texas wins the Big 12 this fall and at least hangs around in the College Football Playoff conversation as a one or two-loss team.

Shane Black:

What does the ceiling for the 2022 Longhorns look like? On the offensive side of the ball, it would be a full season of Ewers with no talk about ever throwing Card out there. Sure, Ewers is bound to throw some interceptions, but I could envision a season where he throws for 3,800 yards and 40 touchdowns. In this ceiling of a season, Robinson is a Heisman trophy winner.

Pair that with a defense that has First-Team All-Big 12 Selections at all three levels and Texas could be on their way to their best season since 2009. A 10-2 regular season with a loss to Alabama and someone in Big 12 play paired with a Big 12 Championship Game and New Year’s Six bowl game win is the ultimate ceiling for the Longhorns in 2022.