ESPN's Laura Rutledge: "Texas is walking into a gauntlet that they're very ready for"
Texas put on a spectacle on Sunday to celebrate joining the Southeastern Conference. According to ESPN’s Laura Rutledge, who hosts SEC Nation on the SEC Network, it won’t be the first the Longhorns are a part of during their first year in the SEC.
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“It’s going to be huge,” Rutledge said Sunday on Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC. “It feels like it was ready-made for the SEC to welcome these two great programs into a league that we believe is the best in the entire land.”
Much has been made about the Longhorns’ preparedness level as they exit the Big 12 and make the leap to the SEC. The Longhorns will face tougher opponents like Georgia in the coming seasons, but opponents will have to face a tougher Texas team than the one they might have seen over the past decade.
That isn’t limited to football, either.
“Texas is walking into a gauntlet that they’re very ready for,” Rutledge said. “I think the rest of the SEC has this excitement to welcome them in, but they’re also like ‘oh man, we’re circling that Texas game.’ Not just football, right? Every single sport, the excellence that Texas athletics has shown for so long, you just look back at the history.
“Every single sport, from swimming and diving, to baseball, to softball, to basketball, and everything in between, you just see this is a place that knows how to win. I think that’s why when you really ask SEC fans, they can’t wait to have Texas in this league.”
Football is what’s going to draw the most attention, however. Texas is considered one of the favorites to win the SEC in its first season of membership. Making it to Atlanta to battle for the conference title is no easy task, but it’s one Rutledge thinks Texas is more than capable of.
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“I would say the ceiling is they could win the SEC Championship,” Rutledge said. “The floor for me? I expect them to at least be a nine-win team overall.”
One aspect in the Longhorns’ favor? The schedule. Texas has just one true road game in the first seven games of its season, and the first trip is to play a Vanderbilt program with a stadium going through considerable renovations. Rutledge believes that slate will help the Longhorns during their first SEC campaign.
“They’ve got some tough games early on, like they’ve got to go up against Michigan,” Rutledge said. “But if you look at their schedule, the first true road game in the SEC is in late October, so it’s kind of a nice setup for them to really get their feet wet. Even if they had a more difficult schedule, they are physical, they are so talented at the quarterback position. It’s got to be one of the best quarterback rooms in all the country, right?”
If Texas puts it all together, how far does Rutledge thing the Horns can go?
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“For me, I would say the ceiling is to win the entire SEC and from there, you know you’re in the College Football Playoff,” she said.
