What will the Texas Longhorns' final 2024 record be?
AUSTIN, Texas - Texas Longhorn football embarks on the 2024 campaign this weekend, but what will their final record be?
Last year, the Horns finished as Big 12 Champions and made the College Football Playoff Semifinals.
CONTINUED COVERAGE: Texas Longhorns open the 2024 season against Colorado State
On this week’s episode of the Fox 7 Sports Office, FOX 7 Austin's Dennis de la Peña and Julian Martinez give their predictions for this year’s version of Texas.
JULIAN MARTINEZ: It's time, Dennis. It is time to put this on the internet forever. Your predictions in stone.
DENNIS DE LA PEÑA: Colorado State national champ, is that what you're talking about?
JULIAN MARTINEZ: Hey, certainly, if you believe their quarterback and their wide receiver, that's why they're turning down $600K in money to stay there. Yeah. We'll get to that with one of our guests later on. But for yourself. Longhorns. You know, I know a lot's been made of this season. Lot of expectations. Expectations are always high here in Austin. but higher than they've ever been, I would say. And the Sarkisian regime. So what are you feeling?
DENNIS DE LA PEÑA: Yeah. So if we're talking, if we're talking body of work, final record over 12 games I see this probably about where Vegas, I don't know where they set the over-under…
JULIAN MARTINEZ: Ten and a half, right?
DENNIS DE LA PEÑA: Ten and a half. Then I guess I would take that. I have them at ten and two. But you know through there and it's...and the reason being is Georgia, I hate the fact that that game follows the Red River fistfight. It's just that game is so emotional and physical, all of it together. It's hard to be up for then the biggest game of the year that next week. I don't care if it's a DK or where, the other one that is starting to sneak up on me, the other L I have is that Michigan game and I know that that...I think Texas is about a three-point favorite, maybe, according to Vegas. That is where I think the C.J. Baxter loss could haunt them, especially early in the season. Because you're gonna... Sark again, I think Sark will figure that out. How to...How to use smaller backs and get what he wants. Problem is in that game, second game of the year on the road, running into the strength of a stout Michigan D, that Michigan defense is going to be very legit. And those interior linemen is like they're gonna dare you, like 'you're going to run between the tackles against us. Come bring it'. So that game now concerns me more. I thought it was going to be close anyway, C.J. Baxter back there. Now that almost makes me think I'd be a little more surprised if UT walks away with a win than otherwise.
JULIAN MARTINEZ: So I'm with you. Ten and two is what I came out with as well. Whereas you seem to be putting in focus a lot more on that early Michigan game, I'm kind of looking later in the year and I have some concerns. So the Georgia game of course, right. And bottom line and I hate to say it and just put it out there. But I think Georgia's better.
DENNIS DE LA PEÑA: Georgia could be a three-time national champ.
JULIAN MARTINEZ: Yeah, if we're going to relitigate last year's College Football Playoff structure, they could have beat every team in that field by 20 if they got a chance to go in. We saw obviously what they did to the broken down Florida State team in their bowl game, their consolation bowl game. And that was a statement, that was just saying, you're lucky that we didn't make the College Football Playoff. And yeah, of course you know Alabama had their number right. Nick Saban, Kirby Smart. We know a tale as old as time that rivalry and it happens. But I guarantee if they played Alabama eight out of ten times...eight out ten times, they get that win. And that's how I was feeling about them last year. So looking into this year, chip on their shoulder. Heisman candidate quarterback as well with Carson Beck which I think obviously neutralizes the Quinn Ewers element a little bit, that Georgia game and like you said coming off Red River too. That's like that two-week stretch boom boom. But early in the season why I'm less concerned about the Michigan game as I do think. And of course, there's the danger of this, of them overlooking the CSU Rams certainly 35 point underdogs. But overlooking them is they put all their focus in this Michigan game. And yeah, the running back dynamics certainly change things. But Michigan just has way too much turnover this year. And not just the coach, the quarterback but even the running game. You know losing Blake Corum. There's some key pieces that Michigan's going to have to overcome. The element that kind of changes it for me too is obviously the big house. It's the big house. So you know, they talk about raucous environments. As far as where I could potentially see that second loss. Yeah, I mean.
DENNIS DE LA PEÑA: I hope you're not going to...Don't blaspheme on this show.
JULIAN MARTINEZ: I went back and forth on this constantly. But there's just...There's two spots because really there's what, three, four loosable games on this calendar?
DENNIS DE LA PEÑA: Well, I mean Texas almost lost to Houston last year. So they're all loosable.
JULIAN MARTINEZ: But yeah, where it's kind of like within shouting distance. Right. What the betting line is going to be… That Arkansas game really concerns me going back to Fayetteville.
DENNIS DE LA PEÑA: That surprises me...
JULIAN MARTINEZ: And then going to College Station concerns me as well.
DENNIS DE LA PEÑA: That's where I thought you were headed.
JULIAN MARTINEZ: I kind of feel... I don't want give Bobby Petrino any credit in life ever, just because I do think that he's a horrible person. That's just my $0.02 on that one. So I'm going to renege on picking the Razorbacks to go over Texas, because I think Texas goes into that game a little bit looking to, you know, do some damage. But the first time in ten years, that College Station game, I don't know what it is about it. But I feel as though either Texas is going to come in too amped up into that game and blow a key spot or they're not going to treat it seriously enough given...Because of the talent disparity. Yeah, that I think that they're going to go into this game saying, okay, we're going to hang 30 on a rival and may overlook that game, especially too later in the year.
DENNIS DE LA PEÑA: Man, you just see you're...You're showing your age right now because for us olds that remember that rivalry. Texas will never overlook A&M or vice versa that you are amped for that rivalry.
JULIAN MARTINEZ: Well, you know, it's also…we can add in the changing dynamics of like college football. Now that we have this 12 team filled and everything is...You kind of wonder how teams are going to get like later on in the year as the season progresses, the regular season progresses. If they feel as though we've already locked up our spot, we locked up where we're going to be. There's a lot of elements that could change how teams approach games later in the year, especially the last game on your calendar.
DENNIS DE LA PEÑA: So I've heard that a lot, and I always wince a little bit when you're asking because that is the final that you're also jockeying. I mean you're trying to play in the SEC Championship. I mean there's a lot at the end why you want to be playing your best football and not ratcheting down, especially in that game. That game is going to be nuts. As far as the energy that both programs and their fan bases are bringing into College Station.
JULIAN MARTINEZ: Things out of their control come into play. Like, you know, Georgia and Mizzou have already locked up spots in there, and they're just fighting to just be on the outside looking in the SEC Championship game. It kind of makes me wonder, oh, maybe we want to preserve our starters. You know, stuff like that. The conversations like that become real things, you know, like because what's more important to the Longhorns this year winning that game or winning the big game?
DENNIS DE LA PEÑA: You don't, but you don't lose. You don't lose to OU. You don't lose to A&M. Yeah. I mean that's just...you don't go into that game half-step. And I just… I can't put my brain and calibrate it to agree with you on that. But it's just, you don't.
JULIAN MARTINEZ: And other things I've kind of like thought about too is obviously first year coach Mike Elko. I'm kind of like wondering, will they be rolling a little bit more by the end of the year? Will his system be more baked in by that point? We've talked about the attrition of the running back position. Let's say Texas experiences another injury at that position, God forbid, right? Then I just feel as though their ability to keep opponents off the field will start becoming more of an issue. And you know, when you're talking about a guy who could wing it and wingman, then that certainly could become an issue for them. I'm always worried about them blowing leads in games. That's going to be one of my things throughout this season, you'll hear me talk about is my fear that a Sarkisian led team is going to blow a lead in the game, and I'm sure we're going to see it at least a couple points where they win or lose those games. It's going to be the differentiating factor of how I feel emotionally on that day.
DENNIS DE LA PEÑA: No for sure. And when you're talking about Elko, that's why I thought you would pick that as the second loss because I do think Texas A&M under him...I mean he showed at Duke what...he brings a lot of discipline, a lot of accountability. he gets the most out of his guys. I think that team is going to get better, I mean who knows with injuries, right? You mean Wegman goes down again? Yeah, but if all things equal, that team is going to get better. And, if you want to catch A&M early in the season, that team under Elko for the first year rather than later. Because I do think that's going to be the best version of it.
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