SEC roots guide to Texas Longhorns during bye week

The Texas Longhorns are 3-1 in SEC play heading into their final bye week of the season. The two teams currently ahead of them are the Georgia Bulldogs at 4-1 and the surging Texas A&M Aggies, who are the only undefeated team left in conference play at 5-0.

And breathing down Texas’ neck are the Tennessee Volunteers and the LSU Tigers, who are both 3-1 but are currently losing the scoring margin tiebreaker to the Longhorns.

So what needs to happen for Texas to have the best chance to be one of the final two in the SEC in Atlanta for the SEC Championship? We’ll take a look at the perfect scenario for Texas fans during the bye week.

At the start of the season, Ole Miss was seen as a prominent threat in the SEC to get into the championship game. Having already lost to Kentucky and LSU, they now look on the outside at 2-2 Arkansas is 3-2.

For Texas, either scenario could play out in this game, but Texas would prefer that Arkansas win this game for the sake of their resume, and not just to make it to the SEC Championship. Arkansas is a future opponent and looks to move up the rankings with a win against Ole Miss.

Texas has very few power wins, and it is by no means a guarantee that Texas will beat Arkansas on November 16, but it gives the Longhorns a chance to get another quality win in a tight timeframe to find them.

Arkansas has little to no chance of going 6-2 to end their SEC play with the game against Ole Miss, Texas, and a road game against Missouri. But Ole Miss also has to play Georgia in Oxford later this season. Both teams will have a hard time catching Texas in the standings, but if Arkansas were to win here it would help Texas immensely with their resume and could eliminate both Ole Miss and Arkansas from their competition for the SEC championship.

This one is much easier for Texas fans. With Vanderbilt considered their best win right now, it would help for Vanderbilt to win as much as possible. This game is of little to no importance for Texas to clinch the SEC Championship with Vandy at 2-2 and Auburn at 1-4. Vanderbilt still has Tennessee and a trip to Death Valley against LSU, they won’t give Texas any worries with a win against Auburn.

It’s pretty clear that Texas would like to see the Gators get the win here. Georgia is ranked as 14.5-point favorites to win and ESPN puts their odds of winning at 79.8%. If Georgia were to lose, Texas would take over second place in the SEC rankings. Florida is 2-2 and plays in addition to Georgia against Texas, LSU and Ole Miss.

With Florida out of the running, it would be great to see them beat Georgia. But Georgia still has Tennessee and Ole Miss on the schedule, meaning they’ll have even more chances to lose if they don’t lose on Saturday.

The confrontation with lonely stars at Kyle Field on Nov. 30 could have major implications for who plays in the SEC Championship. But for now, Texas needs A&M to lose as much as possible. South Carolina has a tough environment and destroyed Oklahoma and nearly beat Alabama on the road in their last two games. With South Carolina at 2-3, it would really help for them to steal a win against Texas A&M and take away some of the fear for Texas fans.

If Texas A&M were to lose this game, they would go to 5-1 and most likely 6-1 when they play Texas. If the Longhorns are also 6-1 (meaning they remain undefeated for the rest of the season), there’s a good chance whoever emerges victorious will make the trip to Atlanta.

Tennessee, to everyone’s surprise, is a -17.5 favorite to beat the Wildcats on Saturday. Kentucky Winning would obviously be the best-case scenario for Texas. But if Tennessee moves to 4-1 after this game and takes third place over the Longhorns, have no fear. Tennessee still has to play Georgia in Athens, but that’s about it.

This would be Kentucky’s second road win against a top-ten opponent if they win, which should raise alarms for Texas, who play them at DKR later this year. If Kentucky wins, it would almost take Tennessee out. To have a chance, they have to perform perfectly for the rest of the season.

Texas also theoretically needs to perform perfectly to clinch the championship at this point. The remaining schedule is a home game against Florida, a road game against Arkansas, a home game against Kentucky and then a road game against Texas A&M.

Only time will tell who will come out on top in the SEC, but Texas can do nothing but watch this weekend as the games play out. But in the meantime, they can follow this “carrot guide” to see what the best-case scenario is for them when they get started next week.

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