Can The No. 1 Texas Longhorns Live Up To The New Hype?

AUSTIN, Texas (TXAN 24) — The hype surrounding Texas football just reached another level. After entering the season ranked No. 4, the Longhorns stunned top-ranked Ohio State 24-23 Saturday night at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, overcoming a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

Now, Texas has a new question to answer: Can the Longhorns live up to the expectations that come with being No. 1?

The comeback was historic. Texas erased a 23-3 deficit by scoring 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, becoming the first team in more than two decades to overcome a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit against an AP No. 1 team.

Arch Manning was at the center of the comeback. After struggling early, Manning settled down and helped engineer three fourth-quarter touchdown drives. He finished with 196 passing yards and a touchdown while completing 8 of 11 passes during the decisive fourth quarter. The victory moved Texas to 2-0 and gave the Longhorns perhaps the biggest early-season win in college football.

But being No. 1 changes the conversation.

Texas is no longer chasing respect. The Longhorns are now the team everyone wants to beat. That means the challenge for Steve Sarkisian's program is consistency. Can Texas avoid the slow starts, turnovers and mistakes that nearly cost it against Ohio State?

The next game comes Saturday against UTSA.