My 2024 Texas Longhorns preview admires the stability of the Steve Sarkisian's group, returning from its first CFP appearance. As +800 championship contenders and -235 favorites to make postseason rounds again, the No. 4 Longhorns are sitting pretty across all futures oddsboards. But, a haul to the SEC could get in their way. Here's my full 2024 Texas season preview:
2024 texas longhorns national championship odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Texas Longhorns | +800 |
With +800 odds, the Longhorns sit inside the top five on the national championship oddsboard, fresh off their first CFP appearance.
Texas returns with bragging rights of owning the best championship odds of all the four teams that clinched in the playoffs last season with Alabama (+1400), Michigan (+3000) and Washington (+30000) dwindling across the board.
With a top 20 defense (18.9 PPG) and a true leader in Quinn Ewers returning, the talented bench is intact and has only gained necessary experience from last year. The same can't be said for the other former CFP contenders, each dealing with a sling of coaching and key player changes.
2024 texas longhorns win total odds
| Wins | Odds |
|---|---|
| OVER 10.5 Wins | +150 |
| UNDER 10.5 Wins | -180 |
With a win total set at 10.5, oddsmakers are favoring the Longhorns to go UNDER (-180). I'm thinking the same, but it'll come down to the wire.
Going 12-2 SU last year, Steve Sarkisian earned the program's best record since 2009. But, the elephant in the room is the move from the Big 12 to the SEC -- it's hard for me to ignore the tough inner-conference matchups across the Longhorns schedule.
A mid-season meeting with No. 1 Georgia (Week 7) will likely be a loss. With the Bulldogs listed as 2-point favorites, early odds predict a tight finish. But, when it comes down to coaching, I'll side with Kirby Smart's dynasty.
Then there's possibility of upsets with No. 16 Oklahoma (Week 6), Florida (Week 9) and No. 20 Texas A&M (Week 12). Keep in mind the Sooners dealt the Longhorns their only regular season loss last October.
Though I will be backing the Longhorns (-3.5) in Week 2 when they visit the No. 9 Wolverines, that's still another game that has the potential to tilt either way.
It's a spotty schedule for Texas and if they come ill-prepared, collecting a few losses isn't far-fetched.
2024 texas longhorns college football playoff odds
| To Make College Football Playoff | Odds |
|---|---|
| Yes | -235 |
| No | +180 |
At -235, Texas carries the fourth best odds to make the college football playoff, falling behind Ohio State (-650), Georgia (-600) and Oregon (-300). The Longhorns also stick as one of eight with favored odds to clinch one of 12 spots available this season.
With the bracket getting larger, I don't see why Texas wouldn't see the postseason. Ewers is another year of being well-equipped as a college football starter and a couple of Alabama transfers, WR Isaiah Bond and TE Amari Niblack, will fill the missing pieces of Xavier Worthy, Ja'Tavion Sanders and company.
2024 quinn ewers heisman trophy odds
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Quinn Ewers | +1000 |
Falling behind Dillon Gabriel (+750) and Carson Beck (+800), Ewers has stayed within the walls of Heisman Trophy discussions the last couple of years. Getting as close as a +600 mid-season contender last year, now may be the season Ewers doesn't get overshadowed in the end.
The senior continues to show growth, improving to a 69% completion rate, nearly 3,500 yards and 27 total touchdowns. Not to mention how much praise he gets for his vocal leadership on and off the field.
Sarkisian says the biggest jump with Quinn Ewers this season has been his leadership:
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) August 5, 2024
“This team looks to him and how he goes.”
A main concern is Ewers injury history, where he's been sidelined for weeks at a time in his two seasons as a starter. But, it's not about how you get knocked down, right? And boy, does this kid know how to get right back up.
Barring any serious injuries and another journey through the CFP is guaranteed to sit Ewers in a Heisman Finalist chair.
2023 texas longhorns betting results
| Team | SU | ATS | O/U |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Longhorns | 12-2 | 7-6-1 | 6-8 |
It's all fun and games being a collegiate threat until you realize you need to upkeep that reputation. Following Week 2, after embarrassing oddsmakers by defeating 'Bama as seven-point underdogs, Texas was labeled the favorites in every meeting that afterwards and covered five of their eight double-digit lines last season.
Reviewing last year, there was a couple of random close-calls that leave me with an uneasy feeling ahead of this year. For example, slight wins of 10-points or fewer over TCU, Iowa State and Houston -- all teams that finished with seven wins or less.
As previously mentioned, they won't be able to get away with being as offensively inconsistent this year -- that SEC schedule is too dense. Narrow wins will only get you so far, especially once the playoffs roll around.
