After a dominant Big 12 championship victory and almost completing a comeback in the College Football Playoff, the Texas Longhorns are among the big boys.
Texas is now a member of the SEC, and its immediate future is the brightest it has been in some time — on paper, at least.
It's been nearly 19 years since Texas took down USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl, that year's national championship game, in arguably the greatest college football game ever played.
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The Longhorns have been close in recent years, but close isn't good enough anymore.
Quinn Ewers will be under center for Texas for a third, and likely final, season. He could have gone to the NFL after last season, but he wanted "more experience under my belt."
Ewers isn't committing just yet to this being his final season, but a championship would be a solid way to go out.
"We just need to be where our feet are and not look ahead each week. At the end of the week, we have set goals. We want to play that last game of the year," Ewers said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
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"We want to play in the SEC championship game, but there are so many things we need to do. Right now, just focus on ourselves and the opinions inside of our four walls. Build the strong bond that we have. Continue to work towards that strong brotherhood so we can play our best games. Everyone wants to go undefeated, and if you don’t want to go undefeated, you’re probably playing the wrong sport."
Texas is ranked fourth in the AP preseason poll and is the second-highest ranked SEC team in the country behind top-seeded Georgia. Alabama is No. 5, and Ole Miss is No. 6.
It may be easier for Texas to get to the playoff this year, considering the playoff has expanded to a 12-team format. But the Longhorns need to see if they can match up with the best of the best.
Georgia travels to Austin to face the Longhorns Oct. 19.
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