Aug 95 min read

Following Big Storylines for Each Power Four Texas Team

Much changed in the offseason for college football's Texan Power Four teams. From conference realignment to personnel changes to recruiting, the pressure is on the programs now more than ever.

With the stakes heightened, here is one storyline to follow for each FBS team in Texas this season.

Baylor Bears

Dave Aranda's Job Security

The Dave Aranda era in Waco has not gone as planned. The 47-year-old came over from LSU in 2020 with a reputation as an elite recruiter and developer of defenses. His tenure started with a stumble as the Bears finished his debut season with a 2-7 record, but they recovered to win 12 games and the Big 12 Conference Championship the next season.

However, Baylor has only won a combined nine games over the last two seasons, putting Aranda firmly on the hot seat. This may be his last stand, and everyone will be watching—eagerly awaiting what fate brings him.

Houston Cougars

Power Four Fritz

Willie Fritz has won everywhere he has coached and now gets a chance to do it at the Power Four level. Fritz has proven himself as a talent developer at his previous stops, putting several Group of 5 and low-level prospects into the NFL.

While he has not held a Power Four job in the past, this is not his first time facing the "big boys." While his 2021 Tulane team only won two games, it opened up its season with a competitive loss at Oklahoma, 40-35. The following year, the Green Wave won 12 games and the American Athletic Conference Championship and pulled off an all-time comeback against Lincoln Riley, Caleb Williams and USC in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

Fritz was able to accomplish all that despite perceived disadvantages in recruiting. Now that he's in an area and a conference that attracts high-level talent, how far can he go?

SMU Mustangs

The Move to the ACC

The "Death Penalty" of the 1980s doomed the SMU football program at its highest peak. The team was unable to field a competitive product for decades and fell from a power program to a middling Group of 5 team. Last year's team finally turned the tide, and the Mustangs return to the Power Four as conference champions.

The progress the team has made under head coach Rhett Lashlee has been astounding and impressive. This is a team that many never even thought about as little as five or six years ago. Now, it's making headlines amid the latest wave of realignment as things begin to turn in its favor.

The move has brought in additional funds from donors and alumni in anticipation of its athletic programs reaching new heights in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Mustangs have elite talent and a top-notch coaching staff, but how quickly will it translate to success on the field in the new conference? Can they compete this year?

TCU Horned Frogs

Making Sense of it All

TCU enters its third year under Sonny Dykes and has experienced polar opposite seasons over his first two years. In 2022, the Horned Frogs made a surprising run to the national championship with a lethal offense and an above-average defense, yet got boat raced by Georgia.

TCU followed that with a lethargic 5-7 finish last season, becoming one of the few teams to play for a national championship and not qualify for a bowl game the following year. TCU was also 5-7 the year before Dykes's arrival, and most consider Year 3 a "make-or-break" year for a college coach since he has theoretically turned the roster over by adding his own recruits and players.

What kind of TCU team will be on display when kickoff arrives?

Texas Longhorns

The Move to the SEC

Texas was one of the most publicized programs of the offseason as it joined the Southeastern Conference following its first College Football Playoff berth. The Longhorns are one of the top brands in college sports and have returned to the pinnacle of college football. But can they stay there?

A big part of the move is more high-level competition against elite playoff contenders. However, Texas gets a bit of a break in that department during its first year, only facing Georgia at home in late October. (Although, it does come right after the annual Red River Rivalry Game against Oklahoma.)

The move doesn't just involve increased competition, more widespread publicity and more money—it also brings back some old rivalries for which Texas and its rival fans have been thirsting. This season's schedule includes games against rivals Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas A&M.

All eyes are on Austin. Can the Longhorns handle the pressure?

Texas A&M Aggies

Elko's Expectations

Expectations have been the root of the fall for many coaches at Texas A&M, especially for Jimbo Fisher and Kevin Sumlin. Both coaches tried to return the Aggies to the top of the college football world for the first time in decades but could not achieve their goals. Fisher never had a double-digit win season in College Station, and Sumlin eventually fizzled out after posting an 11-2 record in his debut season.

Mike Elko enters with similar expectations after two overachieving seasons as the head coach at Duke, and he isn't shying away from them—particularly with the season-opener in the national spotlight against Notre Dame.

"The benefit of having a game like that in the opener is you have everyone's attention," Elko explained to reporters at SEC Media Days last month. "I think our program is very much aware that we have to be firing on all cylinders the first time we run out of the tunnel. I think that's created urgency in our program that goes all the way back to January. I think when it got announced that College Gameday was coming to town, it lit the fire even more."

The stakes are high in College Station again. It's just Year 1 for Mike Elko and the SEC is always a gauntlet. Can he live up to the billing or will he be another Aggie coach swallowed up by the fanbase?

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Quarterback Health, Consistency

Many have talked about the potential of quarterback Behren Morton since he arrived in Lubbock in 2021. However, he has become another Red Raider quarterback marred by injuries and was shut down during spring practices. Head coach Joey McGuire told reporters the decision was made as a precaution following his season-ending shoulder injury last year.

Still, quarterback health and consistency have been an issue for Texas Tech in recent years. Since Patrick Mahomes left for the NFL following the 2016 season, the Red Raiders have had nine different starting quarterbacks, only one of whom (Nic Shimonek in 2017) was able to appear in every game that season.

Texas Tech has also had to turn to three different quarterbacks during the season for the past three years. Morton, Tyler Shough and Jake Strong each got starts last year; Morton, Shough and Donovan Smith the year before—and Shough, Smith and Henry Colombi all started in 2021.

It's extremely difficult to build a program and contend in a power conference with that kind of inconsistency. Will this be the year Morton steps up and Texas Tech can put those issues in the past?