We are just two days away from the start of the college football season, and among the biggest stories in the SEC as the season gets set to begin are the additions of Texas and Oklahoma to the conference.

While Texas defeated Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium last season and made a trip to the College Football Playoff, there was one regular-season hurdle for the Longhorns that has consistently eluded them in recent years.

Texas lost to Oklahoma for the fifth time in the last six years and the eighth time in the last ten, with the Sooners seemingly acting as an Achilles’ heel for the Longhorns, even in years when Texas is the better team.

Alabama Crimson Tide legend Roman Harper, during an appearance on The Next Round, discussed Texas and mentioned that he can’t consider the program to be fully “back” to glory until they consistently beat their rival again:

“You’ve gotta beat Oklahoma…then I can start taking you seriously.

Texas, traditionally, has found a way to lose a game that they’re not supposed to. That’s why we can’t say Texas is back.” @Harp41 pic.twitter.com/dmz3K5CxUz

— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) August 29, 2024

“You’ve gotta beat Oklahoma, then I can start taking you seriously,” Harper said during a discussion of the Longhorns’ schedule which includes Michigan, Georgia, Ole Miss, and on the road for Texas A&M. “Texas, traditionally, has found a way to lose a game that they’re not supposed to. That’s why we can’t say Texas is back.”

This season will be an excellent barometer for where the Longhorns are at as a program as they enter the best conference in college football.