Texas should be national title contender after move to SEC

Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers.

On Monday, Texas officially moved from the Big 12 to the Southeastern Conference, where, despite far better competition, it should be in the mix for a national title in football.

Here are five reasons why Texas — a College Football Playoff semifinalist last season — will be a national championship contender:

1. Quarterback Quinn Ewers

Ewers believes teams will circle the date when they play Texas.

On Friday at the Manning Passing Academy, he told On3's Matt Connolly, "We're going to be everybody's biggest game, for sure." However, he feels the team is "more than capable" of winning a national title.

Ewers should back up the talk. In 12 games last season, he completed 69 percent of his passes for 3,479 yards, 22 touchdowns, six interceptions and an above-average 78.3 QBR. As of Monday, DraftKings gives him the second-best Heisman odds (+900) behind Georgia QB Carson Beck.

2. Wide receiver Isaiah Bond

After combining for 16 touchdown catches in 14 games in 2023, Texas WRs Xavier Worthy and Adonai Mitchell left for NFL. Replacing the duo will be difficult, but Bond could do just that.

"Bond is a playmaker — an excellent route runner with the track speed ability to take the top off a defense," wrote CBS Sports' Blake Brockermeyer, a former Texas player, who rated Bond the 14th-best player in college football. "In many ways, he's a fusion of Mitchell and Worthy."

Bond had 48 receptions for 668 yards and four touchdown catches in 14 games with Alabama in 2023. He may produce even better numbers under Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, an offensive guru.

3. Sarkisian reloaded the roster this offseason

In the 2024 NFL Draft, a school-record 11 Longhorns were selected. Sarkisian indicated they have viable replacements waiting in the wings.

"This is what I always hoped it could be like here in that you lose an abundance of really good players to the NFL and then we reload it with players that some might be better than those guys that moved on," he said of the team's depth, per ESPN's Heather Dinich.

While it's a bold claim, Sarkisian's assertion may prove correct. ESPN's Craig Haubert and Billy Tucker rated Texas No. 1 in their newcomer class rankings, which combine transfers and recruits.

4. Improved pass-rush

Last season, the Longhorns led the Big 12 in sacks (32). Their strong pass-rush could be even better this season.

In the transfer portal, they added edge-rusher Trey Moore, who finished with 14 sacks in 12 games at University of Texas San Antonio last season.

"He's going to be a real problem," the HC recently told the media.

Also, keep an eye on freshman edge-rusher Colin Simmons. In his list of 10 true freshmen generating the most hype, 247 Sports' Brad Crawford rated Simmons No. 5 and reported he's already climbing the depth chart.

5. Favorable schedule

SEC schedule-makers may have done the Longhorns a favor. 247 Sports' Phil Steele rates their schedule as the second easiest in the conference.

"The Longhorns face more of the league's bottom-five teams (four) than teams ranked in the top five of our SEC power rankings," wrote Steele. "Texas' tougher matchups, Oklahoma and Georgia, come in back-to-back weeks, but the Longhorns get the Bulldogs at home."

Texas also faces defending national champion Michigan on the road in Week 2. Still, the Wolverines may backslide after HC Jim Harbaugh left the program for the Los Angeles Chargers in late January.

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