Longhorns In The SEC: What is the Biggest Challenge for Texas?

Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian believes there are some key challenges waiting for the program in the SEC that weren't necessarily there in the Big 12.

Texas Longhorns Head Coach Steve Sarkisian speaks to the team following the Longhorns' spring Orange and White game at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas, April 20, 2024. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA

As of Monday July 1, the Texas Longhorns are officially in the SEC.

Entering their first season of football in the nation's most difficult conference, many tests lie ahead for the Horns.

Of course, there are the obvious ones, such as matchups against the Georgia Bulldogs, and facing the Texas A&M Aggies for the first time in over a decade at Kyle Field, in what promises to be a raucous environment.

However, according to Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, it is not the individual matchups that will prove to be the toughest part of this transition.

On Monday during the SEC Celebration in Austin, Sarkisian revealed exactly what the biggest challenges are for his program, and what they have to do to be a contender by the end of the season.

And its all about consistency in intent and discipline from week-to-week.

Texas Longhorns Head Coach Steve Sarkisian speaks to the team following the Longhorns' spring Orange and White game at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas, April 20, 2024. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA

“That’s the challenge, right? That level of consistency that’s needed,” Sarkisian said on SEC Network. “Not having to just get up for a game or two, it’s about playing a brand and a style of football consistently. That starts in the offseason. If there’s anything you take from a Nick Saban, it's that level of discipline and consistency he had for himself permeating throughout that entire building and that team. You take some of those things from people that were your mentors.”

Part of that challenge for Sarkisian as a head coach is keeping his team motivated and avoiding complacency - which is easier said than done.

Entering the season as a likely top-five team, the program has not been in this kind of position since 2019 under Tom Herman. That season, the Horns opened the season ranked as a top-10 team following their 2018 Sugar Bowl win over Georgia, with momentum seemingly at their backs.

However, due to complacency, among other issues, the Longhorns ended that year going 8-5, droping three of their final five games to finish the season.

And it is exactly that kind of complacency that Sarkisian wants to avoid.

“Complacency is the devil right now,” Sarkisian said on Monday. “We have got to stay driven, we have got to stay focused, and we need to understand when we walk out of that tunnel with that helmet on, we’re the target. We’re the hunted. We have to go hunt week in and week out as well.”

The Longhorns begin that quest on August 31 in Austin against the Colorado State Rams.