Texas Football: 5 Games That Could Derail the Longhorns in 2012

The Texas Longhorns appear to be back on track after the disastrous season that was 2010. Mack Brown witnessed his offensive coordinator Greg Davis resign and then-coach in waiting Will Muschamp left for Florida. In their place, he hired former Boise State offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin and former Mississippi State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. It was a rough first season for both coordinators but with experienced players in this now-familiar system, Texas should be considered a contender for the Big 12 title.

But the Longhorns are not going to be happy until they return to the national title game, a goal that now seems possible after the team's future seemed to be in jeopardy. There are five games that stand in the way between a good season and a bad season for Texas and these games could mean the difference between a trip to a BCS game and the Meineke Car Care Bowl.

Read on for more.

September 29 at Oklahoma State

Texas opens Big 12 play with a trip to Stillwater, OK to face conference champions Oklahoma State. Due to Big 12 scheduling issues, this is the Longhorns' first trip since 2009, when they dominated Oklahoma State 41-14.

The Weeden-to-Blackmon era has ended and OSU coach Mike Gundy has named true freshman Wes Lunt to be the heir apparent, jumping returning quarterbacks JW Walsh and Clint Chelf. It remains to be seen whether or not the Cowboys will have another high-powered passing attack this season, but Gundy seems to have a lot of trust in Lunt, who shined during the Cowboys spring game.

Longhorn fans should remember the 2007 game when Colt McCoy and Jamaal Charles came back trailing 35-14 to win 38-35. Texas has historically dominated the series, but the last two matchups in 2010 and 2011 saw Oklahoma State winning by 17 and 12 respectively.

Texas has the offense to put up big numbers on the Cowboys and last season showed flashes of that. The key to winning this game will be shutting down OSU's rushing attack. Weeden was limited to 218 yards through the air, but Jeremy Smith and Joseph Randle ran for a combined 208 yards. Manny Diaz will be able to contain the true freshman quarterback, but if the running game is too much for the Longhorn defense, this game could go to the Cowboys.

October 6: West Virginia

West Virginia is a very odd team to analyze. This is the same Mountaineer team that put up 70 points on a good Clemson team yet lost to Syracuse and Louisville by a total of 29 points. Either way, everyone expects them to compete for the Big 12 title right out of the gate.

Senior quarterback Geno Smith massively improved his performance with the addition of Dana Holgorsen and his air-raid offense. The former Mike Leach protege is going into his second season as head coach with high expectations. Expect him to deliver this season.

The key to stopping the Mountaineers is the same plan teams used to stop his old Houston and Texas Tech squads: stop the quarterback. Manny Diaz is licking his chops, as this is exactly what made his defenses so hard to stop when he worked for Mississippi State. If the offense performs as expected and the Texas D puts a lot of pressure on Smith, then this game should go to the Longhorns.

October 13: Oklahoma

Last year's Red River Shootout was an absolute disaster for Texas. Not only was the final score 55-17, but besides a first quarter field goal and a kickoff return for a touchdown, the only positive offensive play by the Longhorns was a trick pass by Jaxon Shipley after the Sooners subbed in their second-string defense.

The key to winning this game is simple: be more effective on offense. Although it says 55 on the scoreboard, Oklahoma had 21 points from Texas turnovers. The Longhorns did a nice job of shutting down the OU running game, with the exception of one long touchdown run that accounted for 71 percent of their total rushing yards, so the key on defense will be to put a lot of pressure on Landry Jones.

If Jones has a lot of confidence in Trey Metoyer and Kenny Stills, then this game will have to be won on offense. Oklahoma looked very sluggish without Ryan Broyles leading the pack last season and the Texas D will take notice of that next season. The Sooner wide receivers will have a field day if Jones is given time in the pocket to throw. No pressure on him equals no chance for Texas to win.

This game will require the best out of David Ash or Case McCoy. Anything less than their best will result in a loss.

November 24: TCU

TCU will make its first trip to Austin since 2007 as members of the Big 12 and as the visiting team of what will be a yearly Thanksgiving scuffle against the Texas Longhorns. That was a very interesting game, to say the least. Redshirt freshman Andy Dalton led the Horned Frogs to put up 13 points, but it was the sophomore Colt McCoy who won the game 34-13. The stars were Jamaal Charles who ran for 134 yards and Nate Jones who caught eight passes for 91 yards; however, no quarterback passed for more than 250 yards.

This game will be another one decided by the best offense. TCU is rebuilding their defense, so the Longhorns will have to hit them hard and hit them early in order to come away with the victory. TCU quarterback Casey Pachall threw for a little under 3,000 yards, so expect him to be ready for the challenge that awaits him in Austin.

December 1 at Kansas State

The last time Texas traveled to Manhattan, they played an excited Kansas State team on Senior Day and absolutely embarrassed the Longhorns. It was the game where fans questioned why then-freshman Case McCoy never took a snap. It was the game Garrett Gilbert threw five interceptions.

It was a disaster.

To be fair, the Longhorns looked a lot better in the 2011 matchup, despite the 17-13 loss. The defense squashed Collin Klein, the Wildcat quarterback who accounted for 70 percent of the team's total offense in 2011, but he was effective enough through 83 yards in the air and four yards on the ground to push Kansas State to its second-straight victory against Texas.

The key to winning this game is simple: be effective on offense. Not very effective, just effective. A decent game by the Texas offense would have been enough to win, but 119 through the air and 191 on the ground are not going to cut it. But if the defense lets Klein control the tempo of the game, it will be a long night for the Longhorns in the Little Apple.