Expectations are high at Texas, and the Longhorns’ 2019 season is almost certainly going to be viewed as a major step back after a 10-win season in 2018. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger, however, is trying to put Texas’ 7-5 campaign in perspective.
Ehlinger said after the Longhorns’ 49-24 win over Texas Tech that he believes Texas fans would have been very happy with a potential eight-win season if you asked them after the team went 5-7 in 2016.
Sam Ehlinger on Texas at 7-5: "Rome wasn't built in a day. If you had told Texas fans three years ago that we would have seven wins and headed to a bowl game and had a chance to win eight, I think people would be pretty happy … Overall, we did a great job." #HookEm
— Jim Vertuno (@JimVertuno) November 29, 2019
This probably isn’t going to cut it as an explanation. Expectations were high after the team won 10 games in 2018, and Big 12 contention was the minimum expectation. The school’s athletic director openly said as much. Those expectations were not met, as the team lost to the likes of TCU and Iowa State, neither of which was ranked at the time of the game. Ehlinger is trying to make things look good here, but Longhorns fans expect better than 7-5, especially after the way 2018 went.
