Greg McElroy: Texas has to avoid 'playing down' to teams in SEC

It was hard to miss the Texas feel around SEC Media Days this week. Of course, the event took place at the Omni Dallas Hotel – its fourth venue in as many years – but also served as a celebration as Texas and Oklahoma after they joined the fray earlier this month.

The Longhorns are generating plenty of buzz as a potential contender this year with some big-time returners and new faces coming to Austin. They got quite the spotlight this week, too, as all eyes turned to Dallas. But according to ESPN analyst Greg McElroy, Steve Sarkisian’s group has to avoid a trend it fell into last season.

McElroy argued Texas needs to be ready every night and avoid let-downs in winnable games. While the Longhorns are a long way from where they were when Sarkisian took over in that regard, there were still some examples of it last season.

“Look, Steve Sarkisian’s done an amazing job of getting this program to compete for 60 minutes in the ballgame,” McElroy said on College Football Live. “When he got there, they’d get off to great starts and in the second half, teams would come back, score a bunch of points and maybe steal a victory away from the Texas Longhorns many, many times. Now, they’ve gotten to the point where they can really play with anybody.

“But they also have had moments in the last couple years where they’ve played down to other teams, as well. And in the SEC, you’re not afforded the luxury of playing down and still surviving. Last year, for example, played down to TCU. Still won, but it wasn’t pretty. Last year, against Kansas State, played down to that competition. They won, but it was ugly. In the SEC, you won’t be able to play down to the level of competition and still survive. You’ve got to bring your A-game on a weekly basis, and if you don’t, you run the risk of being defeated. That’s the adjustment that will change the most for Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns.”

Expectations remain high in Austin after Texas’ first-ever College Football Playoff appearance a season ago. Although some key playmakers headed to the NFL Draft, one of the biggest is back at quarterback with Quinn Ewers returning for one final go-round. The Longhorns also dove into the transfer portal to help replace some production at receiver and found former Alabama receiver Isaiah Bond – the No. 7 overall player in the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings – and Houston transfer Matthew Golden.

It’s leading to plenty of hype about the Longhorns’ chances of finishing toward the top of the league. In fact, while speaking with On3’s J.D. PicKell, Paul Finebaum put them as a top-two team.

“They’re probably No. 2, and the reason is they have, I think, an elite quarterback,” Finebaum said on The Hard Count from Radio Row in Dallas. “And the guy after the elite quarterback may be better? I don’t know. I like having him as a backup. And secondly, their recruiting is so deep, as I’ve heard you point out so many different times. They’re ready.

“Texas is not in the need of anything. I love their attitude. I was out there two weeks ago for the celebration. Is it bigger and better? Yeah. We had a four-hour show, and if you were watching, it looked like there were 50,000 people there.”