The Texas Longhorns are one win away from a spot in the national championship, and set to face off against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas on Friday night.
The Longhorns already have two wins in the books through this year’s playoff run, taking down Clemson in the opening round before battling through a double-overtime thriller against Arizona State in the quarterfinals.
With Texas on the verge of a potential title, let’s take a look back at the championship history of the Longhorns program.
Texas Football Championship History
The Texas Longhorns played their first season of football in 1893, and have claimed four national championships in the century and change since.
Their first two titles came under head coach Darrell Royal in the 1960s, where the Longhorns capped off undefeated seasons with wins at the Cotton Bowl in 1963 and '69.
The Longhorns also claim the 1970 national championship, though the honor is split between Texas, Ohio State and Nebraska. All three schools ended the regular season undefeated, but both Texas and Ohio State wound up losing their bowl games, giving the Cornhuskers national championship honors according to the AP vote.
Luckily for the Longhorns and Buckeyes, some championship votes took place before bowl season, giving both schools a share of the title.
The Longhorns’ most recent championship came in the BCS era, when coach Mack Brown and quarterback Vince Young led Texas to an epic 41–38 win over Pete Carroll, Matt Leinart and the USC Trojans at the 2006 Rose Bowl in one of the greatest games in the history of college football.
Texas’s College Football Playoff Appearances
The Texas Longhorns have made just one previous playoff appearance in the College Football Playoff era, and it came last season.
2024 CFP: Texas vs. Washington
The 2023 Texas Longhorns came pretty close to a dream season. A Week 2 win over No. 3 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. proved that Texas was indeed back this time, though a frustrating loss against No. 12 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry game brought the team back down to earth a bit.
Still, Texas finished the year as the No. 3 team in the College Football Playoff rankings, and earned a berth in the semifinal against No. 2 Washington in the Sugar Bowl.
The Sugar Bowl was a tightly contested battle that went to halftime knotted at 21–21. The Huskies jumped ahead in the second half, and carried a 37–31 lead late in the fourth quarter with the Longhorns driving for a potential game-winning touchdown. Texas reached the Washington 13-yard line with 15 seconds to play, but was stopped on four successive incomplete passes to end the game, falling just short of a shot at the title.
The Huskies went on to lose the championship game to Michigan, 34–14.
Texas’s 2024 Season
Texas’s 2024 campaign was full of similarly high highs and low lows as their 2023 season. The Longhorns offense dominated their early competition, averaging more than 43 points per game as they jumped out to a 6-0 start to the year and earning the No. 1 ranking by the end of September.
Their first stumble came at home against No. 5 Georgia, who held the Texas offense to just 15 points in an overwhelming performance. The Longhorns would win out from there to conclude the regular season, and got the chance to avenge their loss to the Bulldogs in the SEC championship game, but fell just short, losing 22–19 in an overtime thriller.
Still, Texas did more than enough to earn a spot in the expanded 12-team playoff, and have bounced back looking stronger than ever since their second loss to Georgia, with hard-fought wins over Clemson and Arizona State forming their path to the semifinals.
Now, the Longhorns are once again one win away from a spot in the national championship, with hopes of pushing through after coming up just short last year.
Star Players
The Longhorns are lead by junior quarterback Quinn Ewers, who eschewed the NFL draft last season so he could take one more shot at leading Texas to a national championship. In three seasons as starting quarterback, Ewers has cemented his name among some of the best passers in program history, sitting behind only Colt McCoy and Sam Ehrlinger in career yards and touchdowns.
Making Friday’s matchup all the more compelling is the fact that Ewers was briefly a Buckeye before transferring to Texas ahead of the 2022 season. Which side will win the reunion battle?
Ewers has plenty of talent surrounding him. Wide receiver Matthew Golden went off for 149 yards and a touchdown against Arizona State in the quarterfinal, and tight end Gunnar Helm has had a nose for the end zone all season, with seven touchdowns on the year, including two so far in the playoff.
In the backfield, the running back Quintrevion Wisner leads the way, and rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns in the team’s first-round playoff game against Clemson. On the line, offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. is one of the best in all of college football, and will likely go high in the first round of the upcoming NFL draft.
On defense, cornerback Jahdae Barron won the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the best defensive back in the country, while linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. and cornerback Andrew Mukuba received All-SEC honors.
