Texas Longhorns Insider: First Look at the 2011 Football Schedule
It’s the beginning of June and college students are either graduating or heading home for the summer. It’s hard to believe that in just a few short months those players preparing for the 2011 college football season by heading to practice to prepare to kick off the new season.
The Texas Longhorns are going to try to erase the memories of last season’s fall from grace and try to do a much better job of things in 2011. The problem with their prospects to get better is that they may still have some problems at the quarterback position with Garrett Gilbert.
Texas will have to hope that their offense will be able to overcome its weaknesses from last year and have a much better year this year.
Their defense should be good this coming season and will feature some potential NFL stars in Kheeston Randall and Emmanuel Acho. If their defense can play well and their offense can manage games better they could and should have a much better season in 2011.
Let’s take a look at how things might shape up for the Longhorns as we look at their schedule for the 2011 season and see what their record may end up being when it’s all said and done.
September 3: Texas vs. Rice
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These two teams play each other just about every season and as is almost always the case, look for the Longhorns to prevail. In last season’s meeting, the Longhorns beat Rice 34-17, and barring some kind of unforeseen issue, the Longhorns should win this, their first game of the year.
Prediction: Texas 24, Rice 13
September 10: BYU vs. Texas
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The Longhorns will host the BYU Cougars in their second game of the season. The Cougars went 7-6 last season and are looking like they may be a little bit better this year. The Longhorns are going to be better as well and as long as they can generate some offense they should be able win this game and start their season off strong with a 2-0 record.
Prediction: Texas 28, BYU 17
September 19: Texas vs. UCLA
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These two teams will meet again after meeting last season in Texas where the Bruins beat the Longhorns 34-12. Can Texas turn the tables on this non-Big 12 rival and beat them this season? The Bruins will be coming back perhaps even better than they were last year and the Longhorns are still somewhat of an unknown.
Both teams are going to need this game to ensure that they have a solid start to the new season, and it will come down to the team that wants it more. Will the Longhorns have enough in the tank to beat the Bruins?
Prediction: UCLA 34, Texas 26
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October 1: Texas at Iowa State
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The Longhorns will be coming off of a bye week and will face a team that shocked them last year. The Cyclones were a much better team in 2010, when they beat the Longhorns 28-21. They will be undergoing a quarterback change, which might be a problem for the Cyclones (although some seem to think that it’s going to be an easy change).
If the Longhorns are on top of things with their offense they should be able to win this game and avenge last season’s loss. If their struggles continue at the quarterback position, don’t be surprised if the Cyclones come up winners in this game and make the Longhorns' season start out rough.
Prediction: Texas 26, Iowa State 21
October 8: Oklahoma at Texas
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The Red River Rivalry game comes a little bit early this year. The question is will it live up to its usual hype? Will it actually be a good game this year?
It’s been said that Oklahoma is going to be the No. 1 team in the nation next season, and they look good. Will the Longhorns be able to overcome the Sooners, win this game and try get back to the top of the conference?
Unless the Longhorns get everything put together very well on offense and something happens to the Sooners (an injury or a poor start), the Sooners will probably win this game. They have the kind of offense that can be overpowering and their defense may be just too much for the Longhorns to handle.
Prediction: Oklahoma 35, Texas 17
October 15: Oklahoma State at Texas
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Prognosticators have the Cowboys being a Top 25 team next season, meaning that this could be another tough game for the Longhorns. Last season, these two teams met and the Cowboys beat the Longhorns 33-16 in a game that helped signal just how far the Longhorns had fallen. Texas will be thinking about revenge in this game, but will they be able to overcome an even better Cowboys team?
The Longhorns will need to have a strong start to the season in order to stay competitive in this game, and that just isn’t because of the win-loss record. Instead, the better that the Longhorns do, the better they have to get in a rhythm and win games.
But the likelihood of them winning this one is very slim.
Prediction: Oklahoma State 35, Texas 24
October 29: Kansas at Texas
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After their second open date of the year, the Longhorns will get to face the Jayhawks for the first time since they met in 2009 (a 51-20 Longhorns victory). This should be a game that the Longhorns are able to win.
The Jayhawks are getting better, but the Longhorns shouldn’t have too much trouble defeating them in this game.
Prediction Texas 31, Kansas 17
November 5: Texas Tech at Texas
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Remember that game where Tech beat the Longhorns, derailing their hopes of getting to the BCS title game? That was back in 2008 and the Longhorns have owned Tech ever since then, beating them twice. Can the Longhorns do it again this season knowing that there could be problems on offense?
With Tech looking like a better team this season, it’s not out of the question that the Longhorns could have some problems beating them. It’s going to be on their offense to make sure that they win this one, so look for the Longhorns to come out a winner in a close one and keep their bowl hopes alive.
Prediction: Texas 28, Texas Tech 21
November 12: Texas at Missouri
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The Tigers were one of the best teams in the Big 12 last season and come into this season as a ranked team (ranked on average at 21st), and prognosticators feel that they will be either the second- or third-best team in the Big 12. The Longhorns, by this point in the season, will either have their offense working well or will be struggling like they did last season.
So which Longhorns team is going to show up for this one?
If what they say holds true then Missouri may have the upper hand in this game and give the Longhorns another loss on the season.
Prediction: Missouri 27, Texas 23
November 19: Kansas State at Texas
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Texas will get a shot at sweeping the state of Kansas as they meet the second team from Kansas, the Wildcats, close to the end of the season. If the Wildcats aren’t playing that well, this could be the game that propels Texas into a bowl game.
There is expected improvement for the Wildcats this year, but it may not be enough for them to overcome the Longhorns just yet.
Texas should be able to win this game, and if they have seen successful before this game, they could use this win to help propel them towards a bowl game.
Prediction: Texas 31, Kansas State 21
November 24: Texas at Texas A&M
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The question here is just how good is Texas A&M going to be in 2011? Depending on who you talk to, there are some that feel that the Aggies could be a real contender in the Big 12, while others feel that they are going to take a step back.
The Longhorns and their fans are going to hope that the latter is true and will be looking for the Longhorns to win this game and hopefully earn a bowl berth.
Prediction: Texas 28, Texas A&M 21
December 3: Texas at Baylor (at the Cotton Bowl)
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Last season, the Bears beat the Longhorns 30-22, giving Texas perhaps its most difficult loss of the season. Baylor promises to be solid team once again this season and if the Longhorns are struggling, they could fall for the second straight year to Baylor.
This is a great matchup for the final game of the season and both teams may need a win to get themselves into a bowl game.
Who will come out on top in this one? It’s a toss-up.
Prediction: Pick
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