While Quinn Ewers and the Texas Longhorns are projected to be one of the top teams ahead of the 2024 season, the team is entering the indomitable Southeastern Conference.
As Texas prepares to tackle the SEC, one area of focus will be getting past the ever-talented defenses leading teams throughout the conference.
One of Texas’ more important games of the season will be against the Michigan Wolverines, which will look wildly different than the National Championship team from 2023 but will still have one of the top defenses in the nation.
Beyond the trip to Ann Arbor, the biggest matchups for the Longhorns will be against their SEC opponents, including their long-time rivals the Oklahoma Sooners.
So, which defenses will be the most difficult problems for head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Horns to solve?
The rivalry of all rivalries is back. ESPN recently included three previous matchups between Texas and Texas A&M as 50 of the classic rivalry games in history.
As the Longhorns travel less than an hour from home to visit their long-lived rivals, the Texas A&M Aggies will stand on their defensive prowess that has returned over the past few years.
Texas could and should be able to demolish the Aggies but freakier things have happened and the Texas A&M defensive unit could prove problematic for the Horns' final regular season game of 2024.
The SEC has confirmed that the Red River Rivalry is here to stay and it will continue to be at the Cotton Bowl for the foreseeable future.
The Sooners, despite struggling toward the end of the 2023 regular season, have done extremely well in the transfer portal and have a promising incoming class of recruits.
However, Oklahoma lost their starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel to the Oregon Ducks and because of this, the Sooners will most likely be leaning on their defensive squad to carry the team to victory.
The Red River Rivalry is always a toss up. No matter which team is better on paper, no matter which team is higher ranked, either team always has a chance to win.
Of course, the team projected to be No. 1 in the SEC, in the nation, and in offensive rankings, is also going to be Texas' toughest opponent to topple.
Despite the fact that Georgia will be visiting the Longhorns at home, the Bulldogs have been a dominant force over the last three seasons and the same will be true for 2024.
Georgia has yet to lost a regular-season game since 2021 and has repeatedly stood atop the SEC rankings, despite having to go against heavy hitters like Alabama and Ole Miss.
When the Bulldogs come to Austin, the visiting team's defensive unit will be on high alert, and out to give the Longhorns a not-so-warm welcome to their new conference.