Texas Longhorns' National Championship chances: Can Steve Sarkisian make a deep postseason run in 2024?

The Texas Longhorns have been one of college football's most improved teams in the last couple of years. After years of struggles, the Longhorns have returned to the pinnacle of the landscape with impressive performances in the last few seasons.

The program has witnessed a steady rise since Steve Sarkisian arrived ahead of the 2020 season and has once again become a national championship contender. The Longhorns reached the College Football Playoff for the first time last season and are likely to make a return in the next.

With the Longhorns transitioning to the SEC ahead of the 2024 college football season, here's a closer look at the program's chances of going all the way to the national championship.

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Can Texas win the national championship in 2024?

Allstate Sugar Bowl

The College Football Playoff will be expanded to 12 teams from four in the 2024 college football season. That will allow more programs to participate in the postseason tournament. The Longhorns made the last four-team playoff and are poised to return this year.

Texas is considered one of the favorites to claim the coveted national championship title in the upcoming season. The program will once again have a solid team next season, good enough to compete for the ultimate goal despite the competitiveness involved, meaning they could win it.

It's worth noting that the Longhorns will be playing in the SEC in the upcoming season. That will make their route to the national title a lot tougher than in their last season in the Big 12. However, Steve Sarkisian’s team will be up for the challenge and ready to go.

A host of analysts consider Texas the favorites for the SEC championship in their first season in the conference. That's something difficult to achieve considering the strength of the conference. However, the steady growth under Sarkisian makes it look somewhat possible.

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Who will be Texas’ starting quarterback next season

Texas had one of the most explosive offenses last season in college football, and they could even be better next season with the return of quarterback Quinn Ewers. The redshirt senior will retain his starting role next season, leading the charge for the national title success.

Ewers will be backed up by Arch Manning. The quarterback played as a third-string last season but will have an improved role in the upcoming season following the exit of 2023 second-choice Maalik Murphy. Manning is undoubtedly the future quarterback of the program.