Three reasons Texas WILL win the National Championship this season
· Yahoo Sports
Spring practice has ended and we are just over 100 days until Texas kicks off their season. It’s no secret what the expectations are for this Longhorns team. It’s as much of a “championship or bust” season as you’ll find, given the moves Texas made this offseason. The good news is there are plenty of reasons to believe this Longhorns team could be the one to win a title.
I’ve highlighted three reasons this Texas team WILL win their first title in over 20 years:
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Arch Manning is capable of taking over games
This is a near requirement to win a National Title. You can play clean football, execute at a high level on defense and special teams, make big plays but at some point, your QB is going to have to put on his cape. Manning had to do this to win games last year, many would argue far too regularly. He did in the second half of the Miss State game. He did it against Texas A&M to finish that game. He did it against Michigan. He’ll need to do it a couple of times this season if Texas is going to meet their expectations
Now, the situation around him will seemingly get better(barring crazy injury luck). The OL will be better, the WR core will be better, the RB group will be better. That being said, at some point #16 needs to take the ball and go make a play. Fernando Mendoza did this against Miami(and many others). Will Howard did it throughout the 2024 CFP. There’s no way Texas wins a title without #16 taking over games late and he’s likely more comfortable than most doing it.
The defense will give the offense extra possessions
It’s hard for me to make sweeping predictions about this defense. The linebacker and safety rooms are question marks and hold so much in their hands. I am bullish on those groups but the questions remain, particularly with the depth. One thing I can say with supreme confidence is they’ll create turnovers all season long.
Colin Simmons forced four turnovers last year and in Muschamp’s defense, that could rise. Texas as a team had 16 INTs, another thing that is expected to improve this season. Add in Rasheem Biles, Ty’Anthony Smith and others, the Longhorns defense has no shortage of playmakers. They are incredibly talented across the starting 11 and the defense is designed to be disruptive and create turnovers. That will happen and the Texas offense will benefit from it all season.
Ryan Niblett will change multiple games
This is a player(and a special teams group) I don’t think Longhorn fans are talking about enough. The offense has questions. The defense has questions. The special teams don't really, especially the return units led by the best returner in the country. Niblett will factor into both the kick and punt return game and I expect him to change multiple games in 2026, as he did in 2025.
The only teams I view as having comparable returners are Oregon(Koi Perich), South Carolina(Vacari Swain), Oklahoma(Isaiah Sategna Miami(Malachi Toney). That’s elite company and it’s something that could deliver Texas a massive win on the way to a National Championship.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Game-changers all over field is one reason why Texas WILL win a title