Texas eyes bounceback in 2026: Longhorns reload around Arch Manning after missing CFP mark in 2025 season

Sarkisian has asserted the Longhorns were closer than the score indicated against Georgia in November, and in some ways, he's correct. Late in the third quarter, down only 14-10, Texas had Georgia facing fourth-and-1 at the Bulldogs' 36-yard line. Georgia converted, then later drew Texas offsides on a fourth down at midfield. The Bulldogs scored to go up 21-10, then recovered a surprise onside kick to steal a possession and scored again. It was quickly 28-10 en route to a 35-10 final score.

But it was the third time in 13 months that Texas had fallen to Georgia, and it hammered home how far Texas still is from becoming the post-Nick Saban standard-bearer in the league.

It also cemented the reality that last year's Texas team would not get where it ultimately wanted to go: meaningful postseason games. Sarkisian was forced to lobby, a la Mack Brown in 2004, that their three losses should be treated differently by the committee. It didn't work. He began making the case ahead of the first CFP rankings release last fall.

"I know our conference is tough, it really is. It feels like a playoff game every week, and I don't know if it feels that way in all the other conferences," Sarkisian said on Nov. 4, before Texas had even picked up its third loss, priming the pump for how Texas's bad loss — at the time, only to Florida — should be treated differently.

Texas did round out the season with good vibes, beating Texas A&M in the second iteration of the renewed rivalry and then beating Michigan in a New Year's Eve bowl game played with house money. A clearly hampered Manning continued to show why expectations will remain sky-high, but it was still a Texas team not supposed to be in a meaningless bowl back in September.

How the Longhorns used the portal to address key needs

The first thing Texas did to bounce back in 2026 was get Manning help at the skill positions. The headliner was a shiny new target in wide receiver Cam Coleman. Even before Hugh Freeze was fired, the writing was on the wall for Coleman to explore options outside the Plains. Auburn made a significant push to retain him, but it was all for naught.

Of the highly touted trio of freshman wideouts from 2024 — along with Jeremiah Smith and Ryan Coleman-Williams — it was Coleman whose career failed to launch early. His sophomore season could reasonably be blamed on being part of a putrid passing game, but he has totaled barely more yards across two seasons (1,306) than Smith had last year alone (1,243). Expect that to change in 2026, which is shaping up as the season Coleman finally makes good on his sky-high promise and gives Manning a bona fide, no-questions-asked No. 1 option in the passing game, raising his own NFL Draft stock in the process.

In the running game, four Texas backs hit the portal, triggering a complete overhaul of the position group. The Longhorns missed out on the Jadan Baugh sweepstakes during portal season, but not for lack of effort. Texas hired former Florida running backs coach Jabbar Juluke in December, and it seemed the writing was on the wall for one of the SEC's leading rushers to swap shades of orange.

Instead, it turned into a bidding war in what one Big Ten general manager called a "stupid" running back market. Florida ultimately ponied up more than $1 million to keep Baugh, but Texas was not deterred. The Longhorns added Hollywood Smothers (NC State) and Raleek Brown (Arizona State), hardly consolation prizes, forming a two-headed backfield monster better than many bell-cow systems.

Up front, however, Texas still must answer questions. Offensive line coach Kyle Flood returns despite the unit's substandard 2025 season. There is no doubt at left tackle, where Trevor Goosby boasts first-round NFL Draft potential next spring, though he is recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. Next to him, the saga continues.

Left guard Laurence Seymour first had to gain eligibility for his sixth year, which he eventually did after Texas resubmitted paperwork. But he still is not in Austin, finishing his undergraduate degree at Western Kentucky. His primary connection to his new team for now is via Zoom. Depth concerns were part of the reason Texas nixed a spring game to conclude spring practice.

"I would play a game if I could," Sarkisian said in early April. "You know, when you don't have quite enough linemen or all of a sudden you get a couple guys hurt, then how do you play?"

There is confidence that Seymour's experience will allow him to slot in seamlessly, but that won't be known for certain until August. Tackles Melvin Siani (Wake Forest) and Jonte Newman (Texas A&M), along with interior lineman Dylan Sikorski (Oregon State), also joined the Texas offensive line through the portal. Brandon Baker is expected to move to right guard, and Connor Robertson will return at center.

2026 Texas transfer portal class 🏈

Sarkisian loosens up on defense

Texas welcomes Will Muschamp as what Sarkisian calls the "head coach of the defense." Muschamp was once coach-in-waiting behind Brown before departing to become the head coach at Florida and South Carolina, among other stops.

Some may think the hire is overstated, but the value proposition is simple. There comes a time in the life of any play-calling head coach when a choice must be made: continue to coach the team as he always has, with full control of the play-calling reins, or cede control in some form. That operational power struggle can often turn ugly.

Some coaches relinquish play-calling duties, either willingly or otherwise, and there are Texas fans who wish Sarkisian would do so, particularly when the offense sputters in the red zone. Others rage against the dying of the light, letting play-calling become a point of perpetual consternation — see late-stage Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M or Billy Napier at Florida.

By hiring Muschamp, Sarkisian hopes to stave off the eventual end of his own days as a play-calling head coach while gaining an experienced, steady hand on defense. Sarkisian felt he had been too involved defensively at the expense of the offense.

"I love the fact that on game day I can spend a little more time focusing on offensive football and allow him to kind of be with those players making those calls," Sarkisian said. "If we need to call a timeout when we're on defense, I don't always have to be on the defensive headset every single play. I can go talk to Arch. I can go be with [quarterbacks coach] A.J. Milwee, Coach Flood."

If Texas reaches a national title game this season, Sarkisian would be one of the only play-calling head coaches to do so in the playoff era. In that sense, he represents one of the last of a dying breed at the championship level of college football.

Collin Simmons returns to wreak havoc off the edge, and linebacker Rasheem Biles arrives from Pitt, tasked with somehow replacing Anthony Hill. Texas finally has continuity in the defensive interior and won't have to rely heavily on transfers beyond Ian Geffrard (Arkansas). It will be in the secondary — where there is no clear-cut starter at either outside corner or at one safety spot — that Muschamp, a defensive backs coach by trade and former safety, will have his work cut out.

What if they don't bounce back?

The floor for Texas is clear: something close to last year's results. Manning, as both a player and a prospect, should be capable of producing at least nine wins with the tools around him. But to reach the ceiling, a comparatively young defense must grow under the guidance of a veteran coordinator, and the phenom quarterback must be kept upright long enough to find his new, high-end target.

If those pieces coalesce, Texas' ceiling comes clearly into view, and Sarkisian won't need to lobby for CFP inclusion. The Longhorns could once again have the ball with a chance to play for a national title.

If they don't, after a chips-in offseason in what should be Manning's final season, will the power brokers on the Forty Acres decide they have had enough?