Texas Longhorns 2022 College Football Preview
July 23, 2022
2021 Recap
Record – 5-7
ATS – 5-7
We thought that only Charlie Strong could lead the way to such a DEBACLE but we were wrong. Year one of the Steve Sarkisian experiment was pretty gross as the Longhorns finished 5-7 and even managed to lose six (!) consecutive games along the way. On the plus side, they were very competitive with Oklahoma and Oklahoma St (and Baylor) and could have easily picked up a win or two in those battles. Let’s hope for better things in 2022.
Texas Longhorns 2022 Outlook
OFFENSE
SCORING the FOOTBALL wasn’t an issue last season as HOOK ‘EM scored an impressive 35.3 PPG (#18 FBS) and displayed a very balanced attack (199 YPG rush, 225 pass). GET CHO POPCONE and settle in for 2022 as the Longhorns appear to have some of the most explosive RB/WR weaponry in all of college football. The deadly Bijan Robinson is a legit Heisman contender (1,127, 5.8, 11 TD; 26 receptions LY) and the depth behind him is impressive. The WR group is ridiculously-loaded given the return of Xavier Worthy (981,15.8,12 TD) who just ripped Oklahoma apart for another yuuuge gainer as we were typing, #2 WR Jordan Whittington, and the addition of all-MEGALOCKS TEAM member Isaiah Neyor who dominated LY at Wyoming (878, 20.0!, 12 TD). They’ll be fine up front with the experience of 70+ starts and the addition of a pair of star recruits, so the only question on offense appears to be QB. Yup, that’s a big one. Back-up Hudson Card is back in the mix but the Longhorns need Ohio St transfer Quinn Ewers to step right in give them (at a minimum) above-average QB play. We’ll cautiously call for good things given the surrounding talent and Sarkisian’s coaching and play-calling ability.
DEFENSE
Texas was HOT GARBAGE on defense LY and couldn’t do much of anything outside of quitting in some games. They allowed 202 (!) YPG on the ground (#114 FBS), 68% competions (#125 FBS) and booked a mere 20 sacks (#101). Seven starters are back on this side of the football (is that a good thing?) and they’ve got a few good pieces to work with in 2022. NT Keondre Coburn is a legit space-eater up front and the DL looks like a solid bet to improve. #1 tackler DeMarvion Overshown and James Madison transfer Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey are legit LBs, but we still get the feeling that the secondary has a lot of work to do. Adding former Ohio St Buckeye CB Ryan Watts won’t hurt but it seems as tho the Longhorns will need to find a way to get a LOT more heat on the QB if they wanna make significant strides on defense.
SPECIAL TEAMS
RUH ROH. The kicking game could be a problem area as they lose their excellent PK AND punter (!) Cameron Dicker (13-15 FG, 43.6 net LY). Primary KR/PR D’Shawn Jamison did a decent job LY.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – Can’t wait for week two when ROLL TIDE comes to town. Book that BAD BOY as a loss but every other game is winnable. Note that they have just four (!) true road games.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – October 1 – West Virginia
This is the last of a three-game stretch of relative CUPCAKES and it precedes the date with hated rival Oklahoma.
Season Win Total
per BetOnline July 24
Over 8.5 -115
Under 8.5 -115
MEGALOCKS says:
No leanage.
WOW. That’s a sharp number. Part of us wants to go ‘over’ but the more rational part of us remembers that Texas has won 9+ games just once since 2012 (!).
MEGAmazing Tidbit
HC Steve Sarkisian has an impressive 21-13 ATS mark (62%) as home chalk over his career (Washington, USC, Texas) but he’s struggled in the role of road dog (9-18, 33%).
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
We’ve got high hopes for these guys despite the sizeable question marks at QB and in the back seven on defense. The offense could be LIGHTS OUT and carry the team a long way. Circle the games in your PHIL STEELE mag from October 8-22 as that stretch will likely determine whether or not they get a spot in the Big 12 title game. Call us crazy, but we think Texas is the best risk/reward pick for winning the conference. FUTURES CLUB, stay tuned!
HOOK ‘EM, yo.
Want more Longhorns football ?
WEBSITE
http://texassports.com/?path=football
FORUM
http://www.hornsports.com/forums/forum/14-the-burnt-orange-board/
https://texas.forums.rivals.com/forums/longhorn-sports.24/
http://www.hornfans.com/forums/football/
http://insidetexas.com/forums/forums/it-members-only.2/
NEWS
http://www.burntorangenation.com/
http://www.hookem.com/bevo-beat/
https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/college-sports/texas-longhorns
https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/251/texas-longhorns