Most national commentators are coming around to the idea Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has built something impressive in Austin.
Throughout the 2010s, the Longhorns were the national leaders in being overhyped and underdelivering. That’s not the case anymore, as evidenced by last season’s win at No. 3 Alabama, a Big 12 title and a trip to the College Football Playoffs.
Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt has been as sober eyed on Texas as anyone over the years. The former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback, who once got knocked out of the 2005 Big 12 championship by a Texas linebacker, has offered praise and scorn for the Longhorns over the years.
Klatt is impressed by what he sees from the third-ranked Longhorns (1-0) going into Saturday’s game against the 10th-ranked Michigan Wolverines (1-0). Klatt will call the game with Gus Johnson as part of Fox's "Big Noon Saturday" national broadcast.
“Texas looks like Alabama has looked and Georgia has looked,” Klatt said during an appearance with Fox’s Colin Cowherd. “What I like about what Sark has done is that he didn't go try to copy Nick Saban from a personal personality standpoint or philosophy, but he did look at that roster at Alabama and say, ‘Oh yeah, that's how you win. That's how you win.’
“This looks like an early 2000s USC team. It looks like the Alabama teams and the Georgia teams.”
Klatt likes the Horns up front, too.
“They're big. They're experienced up front,” Klatt told Cowherd. “In fact, four of their offensive linemen, this is their third year starting. They’re veteran. They’re as good an offensive line as anybody in the country. And you couple that with a quarterback that I think is as good as anybody.”
Related: ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ has been a toss-up when featuring Texas Longhorns and Michigan Wolverines
Klatt think that Ewers may not be as highly rated when it comes time for the NFL Draft. But the Texas starter will be in the Heisman race by the end of the season.
“But having said that, he’s an experienced guy with a lot of confidence that has weapons around him, and this is going to be a difficult game for Michigan,” Klatt said.
The Longhorns are 6.5-point favorites going into a game against the defending national champions. That sounds wild on its face, but the Wolverines lost 13 draft picks and will be starting former walk-on Davis Warren at quarterback.
Texas lost 11 draft picks and started the season ranked fourth nationally and moved up one spot after a 52-0 win over Colorado State in the opener.
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