The Texas Longhorns were pushed around in the first half of Saturday's win over Ohio State. UT was out-played and out-coached. But after getting behind by 20 and some halftime adjustments, the Longhorns had one of its best fourth quarters in program history. Does Texas need to be pushed to the brink in order to play its best?
It is hard to say why Texas played so poorly for most of the game. Jitters on its first big stage of the season? Over cautious against a No. 1 team that's had their number two straight years? Bad luck? It was probably a combination of those and other factors.
On this night, Texas needed to get painted into a corner before they came out swinging. To UT's credit, they did. Texas put in the kind of all-out, all-in effort that's
required against an elite team like the Buckeyes. It is the type of effort that will be required throughout the season.
Made for the moment 🤘 pic.twitter.com/awYJA62Eaj
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) September 14, 2026
It's well documented that the Longhorns have a rough schedule. While No. 1 Texas are favored in every game the rest of the way, there are easily eight losable games on the schedule.
After another warmup game this Saturday against UTSA, the meat of Texas' slate begins. They open SEC play at Tennessee. Neyland Stadium is a tough place to play, no matter how good the Volunteers are. Right now, the Vols are ranked in the Top 15. This will also be the Longhorns first road game of the season. It's more daunting than many Longhorns fans realize.
Next up is the Red River Rivalry. Always a tough task. Even though Oklahoma laid an egg in Ann Arbor against Michigan, the Sooners won't just roll over.
Texas then hosts the Florida Gators. We all know what happened the last time Texas played the Gators. Then it's another tough road trip at Ole Miss. It will be a game and atmosphere very similar to the Tennessee game.
The Longhorns return home for Mississippi State. This will be no breather. The Bulldogs, who took Texas to overtime last year, destroyed a good Big Ten side in Minnesota on the road last Saturday.
Back to back road games at Missouri and LSU follow. Playing No. 7 LSU in Baton Rouge will be a pivotal game, but Death Valley is one of the toughest places to play in the sport. And don't overlook Mizzou. The trip to Columbia is a classic trap game.
Finally, Texas might have a bit of a break against an Arkansas team that has looked dreadful so far this season.
The regular season closes with a trip to rival Texas A&M. While Texas has had the Aggies number, the Lone Star Showdown is fraught with peril.
It is a good bet the Longhorns will fall behind in several of those tough games. Based on what we saw at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium against OSU, they might get behind in all of them.
The good news is, we now know Texas has it in them to respond and respond in a big way. The bad news is, if you play with fire too many times you eventually get burned.
The ability to put together an epic rally is a fantastic characteristic to have. It can bail you out of a lot, as we saw on Saturday. But there were still many things that had to go UT's way. Ohio State had to miss the field goal. Texas QB Arch Manning had to convert on two very tough fourth downs. Texas had to recover their own two late fumbles. If any one of those events don't happen, Longhorns fans wouldn't have been very jubilant Saturday night.
Texas needs to find a way to play and coach better from the opening kickoff, or UT's No. 1 ranking won't last very long.
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This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Do Texas Longhorns have to be pushed to brink to play well?
