By Rock Westfall
Why are the Texas Longhorns one of the most hated programs in college football? The latest example is some presumptuous remarks made by Quinn Ewers last week. Ewers seemed to imply that Texas is God’s gift to the SEC and the team everyone will want to beat.
“We’re going to be everybody’s biggest game, for sure,” Ewers said. “It’s definitely a different level. I’ve always wanted to play in the SEC. I know we’re all excited to be a part of a conference like that.”
“Football definitely means a lot for that conference,” Ewers said. “We’re going into it full speed. We want to win the SEC Championship, and we want to accomplish what we were so close to accomplishing last year. I know that we have a team that’s more than capable of doing that.”
In a league comprised of such powerful brands as the Georgia Bulldogs, Alabama Crimson Tide, Tennessee Volunteers, and LSU Tigers, just to name a few, Ewers flashed the Texas cultural mindset of being more than what the record reveals. In fact, the Oklahoma Sooners, who join the SEC with Texas in 2024, could prove to be a bigger name and draw.
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Legends in Their Own Minds
An honest comparison of the two newest SEC programs, Oklahoma and Texas, reveals that Oklahoma has the vastly more impressive resume. Oklahoma owns seven national championships and 50 conference titles. Texas has four nattys, with only one since 1970. The Longhorns have 33 conference championships.
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In their famed Red River Rivalry, Oklahoma won 11 of the last 15 matchups, including five of the most recent six. These numbers reveal that of the two new SEC entries, OU could boast they are a bigger matchup for the SEC than Texas. But Oklahoma has been wise enough to keep its trap shut.
Perhaps Ewers did not mean what he said to be taken as it was, but it is indicative of the Burnt Orange culture that he has lived within for three years.
Previously, this space has outlined how the Texas mindset of entitlement and privilege destroyed two leagues and has caused a soft program in which the players came off as tea sippers. We have also pointed out that Texas will not have its way in the SEC as it did in the Big 12, where everything ran through Austin and the Longhorn ADs. Yet despite Texas being the de facto commissioner of the Big 12, it won only four titles in 28 seasons compared to 14 by Oklahoma. Can anyone say “reality check?”
Ewers’ comments will no doubt incite rage and hatred in the SEC, where the mindset is that newcomers should be grateful to be a part of the best league in college football. In the SEC, they prefer to shut up and prove it on the field.
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Texas-Sized Momentum and Ego
Last year was an undeniable success for Texas. The Longhorns qualified for the College Football Playoff after winning the Big 12 title. Still, they were lit up by the Washington Huskies 37-31 after falling behind 34-21 in the 4th quarter. Washington scored the first TD of the game and was never losing. It was a reminder that there is much yet to do for head coach Steve Sarkisian, Ewers, and the Longhorns.
Texas would be wise to focus on the task at hand. In Week 2, they play at the Big House against the Michigan Wolverines. Also, there is the Red River Shootout against the Oklahoma Sooners. One week later, the Georgia Bulldogs will come calling to DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. And the regular season finale at Kyle Field against the Texas A&M Aggies will be pure hatred and war.
Fortunately for Texas, it did not draw the toughest SEC schedule, with winnable matchups at home against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Florida Gators, and Kentucky Wildcats and on the road against the Vanderbilt Commodores and Arkansas Razorbacks. But there are enough dangerous games on the schedule to demand full focus. The SEC reality is that there are no weeks off.
Additionally, Ewers should not get too comfortable under center. Arch Manning remains the people’s choice at quarterback and lit it up at the annual spring game. Ewers will be under fire for any lapse in performance.
My not-so-friendly but best advice to Texas is to just get over yourselves. In the SEC, that mindset is a way of life, at least for the championship programs.
Oh, as long as I am passing along advice, keep your Directors Cup comments to yourselves, Bevo. You are in the SEC now. In the SEC, football just means more, and nothing else can compare.
You’re welcome…
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