Longhorns' season kicks off
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Quinn Ewers of the Texas Longhorns. Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images
The University of Texas football squad kicks off its season this weekend harboring championship hopes.
Why it matters: Coming off their best season in 14 years, the Longhorns are ranked fourth in preseason polls and are joining the Southeastern Conference, the nation's best football conference.
- Anticipation hasn't been higher since Colt McCoy was the starting quarterback and led the team to the national championship game in 2010.
- Resale ticket prices to Texas home games are the highest in the nation.
Follow the money: A lot of dough is rolling around the Forty Acres this year.
- UT is in line for big payouts as part of its entry this year into the SEC.
- Star players are cashing in on the new name-image-likeness opportunities permitted by the NCAA — with starting quarterback Quinn Ewers earning more than $1.7 million in endorsement deals.
Meanwhile, a deep run in the College Football Playoff could lead to some big check-writing by deep-pocketed burnt-orange die-hards.
Zoom in: Having outpaced expectations last year with a Longhorns team that finished 12-2, head coach Steve Sarkisian is back with a newly minted contract that pays him $10.3 million per year.
- Also returning are Ewers, who threw for more than 3,100 yards last season; his blue-chip backup Arch Manning; and a stout offensive line.
Yes, but: Ewers will toss to a revamped wide receiving corps, after three of his favorite targets — Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell and Jordan Whittington — were picked up in the NFL Draft.
- In their place is a trio of transfers headlined by former Alabama speedster Isaiah Bond.
What to watch: The run game. UT suffered season-ending injuries to two backfield players in the preseason.
- The defensive line is another major question mark, with the Longhorns losing two tackles to the NFL.
What's next: UT plays Colorado State at 2:30pm Saturday at Texas Memorial Stadium.
- Next, the Horns travel to Ann Arbor to face defending national champion Michigan.
- No. 1 Georgia visits Austin on Oct. 19.
- Texas finishes the regular season on Nov. 30 in College Station to face rival Texas A&M for the first time since 2011.
What they're saying: "It's important that we re-establish our brand, our style of football," Sarkisian said at a press conference this week.
- "There's an attacking manner in which we want to play the game, and there's a football intellect, a football IQ that we want to play the game with. We have to re-establish that and that starts Saturday."