Looking at ugly games that preceded significant turnarounds
The Texas Longhorns (1-0) disappointed against the Rice Owls. There’s no other way to put it. The team displayed incredibly poor offensive football in what should have been a tuneup game for the team. They aren’t the first team with high expectations to underperform. And they wouldn’t be the first to bounce back from a poor performance.
Several teams have performed well after underwhelming outings on the field. The Longhorns’ rivals in Oklahoma and Texas A&M certainly have instances of positive transformations after poor early showings. That’s exactly what Texas needs after an unimpressive game against Rice.
On Saturday, Texas defeated the Rice Owls, 37-10. Relative to the team’s expectations, the result felt more like a loss. The team can draw from other programs’ turnarounds to right the ship heading into a game against Alabama.
Let’s look at ugly performances that came before bounce back performances of varying degrees.
2021: Oklahoma 40, Tulane 35
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley was said to have had a national title contender in 2021. The team did not play that way in its season opener. The Sooners narrowly edged out a Tulane team that would finish 2-10 that season. In contrast, Oklahoma would find its way back to another 10-win season.
2021: Arkansas 38, Rice 17
The Arkansas Razorbacks trailed the Rice Owls at halftime, 10-7. You might recall the following week when the Razorbacks shellacked the Longhorns, 40-21. Arkansas would go on to defeat the Texas A&M Aggies on its way to an impressive 2021 season.
2020: Louisiana 31, Iowa State 14
Arguably the Iowa State Cyclones’ best season in school history began with a 17-point home loss to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. The Cyclones went on to win eight consecutive games to secure a place in their first ever Big 12 title game.
2020: Arkansas State 35, Kansas State 31
The Kansas State Wildcats began the COVID season with a shocking upset loss to the Arkansas State Red Wolves at home. They bounced back the following week as the team secured a surprise win over the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman.
2014: Virginia Tech 35, Ohio State 21
The Ohio State Buckeyes carried a Top 10 ranking into their game with Virginia Tech. They left with several questions about what the team would accomplish. JT Barrett’s abysmal 9-for-29 performance doomed the Buckeyes to a loss. From there, the Buckeyes won 13 consecutive games defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide on its way to a national championship.
2021: Mississippi State 26, Texas A&M 22
The Texas A&M Aggies were a bad team for much of the first half of the 2021 season. The team’s weaknesses started to show in an early win over Colorado, 10-7. Not long after that game, the Aggies fell to the Mississippi State Bulldogs a week before facing the Alabama Crimson Tide. Texas A&M shocked the college football world the following week with an unforeseen win over the Tide.
2018: Maryland 34, Texas 29
Maryland shocked Texas for a second consecutive season in 2018. Texas responded in a big way defeating USC 37-14 before knocking off Oklahoma and Georgia and winning 10 games. Texas will look to repeat history after a disappointing performance against Rice.
