What would make 2023 a success? (poll)

[nunna yo bizness 1687]

I know we had a preseason poll on what we expected for the season irrespective of whether we consider that a success.  What I'm asking here is what would you consider a successful season given where we are now.  Although not a part of the poll I'm curious how that compares to your preseason definition of success.  Given what this team has achieved has your definition of success for this year changed?

[LonghornBreeder 550]

Preseason I would be thrilled if you told me we'd be 11-1 in regular season. Honestly I'd be happy with a strong showing in the CCG and a loss to a great conference opponent. But OSU is NOT a solid conference opponent so if we play to our standards, this should be a big win.

Fuck the bowls and CFP. We can't control the politics, so I'll be proud of our team as long as they show up for the opportunity they are given.

[Valmy77 13226]

Win the Big 12 and this season is a success, barring some kind of TCU-esque post-season embarrassment.

[ousux 5597]

Same as LHbreeder above. One last second fuckup in October combined with the CFB playoff committee insistence Oregon is the best one loss team in spite of our win over Bama on the road means winning the Big12 on our way out is the ceiling. So even though I'll be disappointed we most likely don't get in the playoffs, there is no way this season can be seen as anything other than a success.

[Fumbles 299]

Win the Big 12 and this is a great season regardless of what comes after.  It’d be cool to sneak into the playoffs, it’d be cool to dismantle some hapless opponent in the Sugar Bowl, but if we don’t make the playoffs or we lose the bow game, whatever.

[MrX 730]

Don’t lose again. 

[Js1 85321]

15 minutes ago, Valmy77 said:

Win the Big 12 and this season is a success, barring some kind of TCU-esque post-season embarrassment.

This. We all think it’s the CFP but we are a Big 12 title game favorite for the first time since 2009. I want that damn trophy. Anything after that (CFP) is out of our control but our first NY6 since 2018 will be a nice consolation prize 

[gofuckyourself 8227]

The minimum is Big 12 champs but that's only the start.

They win that but don't make the CFP then the minimum is beating the shit out of a NY6 bowl opponent.

They make the CFP then it's the whole damn thing and destroying both opponents in the process to make the committee look like fucking clowns for quibbling with Texas' resume and ranking, and stampeding into the SEC as the big dicks. Literally and figuratively. Embrace the hate.

TLDR; I want it the most possible wins at all times. Forget being happy with it so far.

[gofuckyourself 8227]

Edited to add 2023 is obviously a success. Though losing to fucking OU is still bullshit and obviously massively damaging. PK and Sark need to win about 3 or 4 straight vs those meth-teeth blowjob fucks to rectify that.

[Helobious 9449]

We’ve had a very good season, winning the big 12 title would make it a great one. Making the CFP would be a very nice bonus but success would just be bringing home some real hardware, like the all too elusive conference title.

[lilMAC25 3794]

57 minutes ago, nunna yo bizness said:

I know we had a preseason poll on what we expected for the season irrespective of whether we consider that a success.  What I'm asking here is what would you consider a successful season given where we are now.  Although not a part of the poll I'm curious how that compares to your preseason definition of success.  Given what this team has achieved has your definition of success for this year changed?

This season is already a success. Anything more is a cherry on top.

 

 

Reaching the BigXiiCG for the first time in 5 seasons is a big deal.

[Helobious 9449]

I don’t know, it’ll be hard to call it a true success without bringing home a trophy. We’re heavy favorites and the team we’re playing sucks. Losing wouldn’t change the fact that we’ve had a great season but it’d be a disappointment for sure.

 

[Guest]

Obviously if you lose the CCG, that would suck for Texas as a program and its fans.

Other than that, it'd be hard to say 2023 wasn't beyond successful for your football team, its fans, and its future.  Aside from the CCG, 2023 is basically water under the dam at this point.

[Hammerin Hank 1227]

This season thus far can’t be considered anything but successful. That said, if we lose on Saturday it would be an extreme disappointment, and would sour my view of the whole season. My vote in the poll is to win the Big12 championship.  After that it’s in the committee’s hands.

[texifornia 56944]

Win the Big XII title and everything else is gravy. If Louisville can do us all a huge solid, so much the better.

[mannewers 549]

At this point in time, winning Saturday. Who knows if we will have all hands on deck for a bowl game if we miss out on the CFP.

[pantone159 719]

Texas has a subpar record of winning Big 12 championships in football, so that is what matters.

[closetojumping 62689]

I’ve said for years that I wanted to see Texas relevant in the playoff discussion at the end of the season. They’ve done that and they’ve done so while gaining scoreboard over all of the assholes that we’ll never have to play again. I feel like we’re playing with house money at this point - for this season. 

[Park Gothic 5030]

My heart wants to pick "Nothing short of undefeated national champions was good enough" but my head knows that winning the Big 12 should be enough. 

[CycleTex87 2970]

48 minutes ago, MrX said:

Don’t lose again. 

This

[High Plains Drifter 11047]

 

Driving our opponents before us and hearing the lament of their women would be nice.

[Horn80 6119]

Being 11-1 is great success and beating Okie St will make complete success.  If CFP spot is obtained, that will far exceed my 2023 expectations.  Making it to the NC game would be an amazing accomplishment and winning it all off the charts.

Regarding bowl game expectations, that depends on the situation because so many players that have NFL draft hopes opt to sit out these days as a business decision.  

Edited November 29, 2023 by Horn80

[Davis Lane 5583]

Isn't the season already a success?

[perfectchaos007 6637]

The goal for the season has always been to win the Big12. If we win the Big12, any post season success is just bonus. I don’t agree that this season would be a success if we lose the CCG, because we did that in year 2 of the Tom Herman era. We need the hardware to show our program has finally turned the corner. 

[BigHornedLurker 1936]

I already think it's a success compared to pre season expectations 

 

My criteria for a great season are to win the big 12 

 

For legendary season it's go to the playoffs

 

Bowl games are such a wash these days I expect a good chunk of our team not to play unless it's a playoff 

[DaysOff 7947]

Already a success, but if we play Tulane in a bowl game, that's a letdown. If enough guys sit out and something crazy happens we get to hear, " I TOLD Y'ALL SARK AIN'T THE GUY, HIRE FRITZ"/ Greenspoint

[hobbes2702 13033]

I think it’s already a success… but now that we are here and given what we’ve seen, losing would really suck and take the shine off. We need to show we are truly back and can get it done when it matters.

[orange dream 1249]

If on August 15th any Texas fan had been asked if 11-1 and the 1 seed in the Big 12 Championship would be considered a successful season the response surely would have been a unanimous yes.

Now that we're here, sure we all want to win the Big 12 and then get a CFP spot, etc. but if any of those things fail it shouldn't diminish the view of the season as a whole.

It would have been disappointing, as a Rangers fan, if they lost the World Series (once they got there) but in the long view no Ranger fan would have honestly been able to say the season was not successful.

Texas fans are Andy Dufresne at precisely this moment, it's been a shitty 13 years, enjoy this!!

[Biff Tannen 45680]

11-1 would be a success, but with the amount of pure talent we have on this team, not winning the Big 12 would be a huge let down.  Playoffs are out of our control right now.

[TexArcher 37774]

Same thing I said at the beginning of the year: conference champs or bust, anything else is gravy.

Edited November 29, 2023 by TexArcher
I think I also said that 10-2, don't win the conference, then win a good bowl game would also be a success. Hard to call 11 wins and top 10 finish anything else.

[Laga4 1270]

Since the timing of the question gives us a full year to look back on I’ll just say winning out from here,  no matter how the Bowls or CFP shake out. 
That will be a great season. 

[Duane Moore 5237]

We are in a very similar spot to where we were in 2001. Coach with mostly his players in his 3rd year (4th for Mack) that made it to the CCG despite a loss to OU and playing an opponent we clearly should beat with a chance at playing for the national championship on the line. That year felt like we had stepped up to a new level, but left a bitter taste knowing the opportunity we had let slip away. We don’t have the regular season head to head with OSU the way we did with CU that year, but that CU team was really peaking coming into that game, having just ran all over an undefeated Nebraska team the week before that ended up playing for the BCS title. I don’t think OSU is nearly that good. 
 

Even with that result in 2001, in retrospect that was the year where Texas got truly back on the national stage. It was the first year of Mack’s 9 year run of winning 10+ games every season. It really feels like Sark has us heading in that direction, so I have to consider this season a success. 

[Jiggy-Z 3432]

Since Sark got here, his teams have flashed brilliance at times only to suffer a let down in game or in the next game.

I always felt that the talent was being maximized but sometimes just didn't mesh with play calling or system or just didn't have the depth to sustain consistent play.

However, all the while there was improvement from season to season, but there was a lot meat left on the bones in terms of wins.

I felt 2021 could have been a 7 or 8 win team, 2022 a 10 win team and this year a 12 win team all prior to post season.

This team is there. It is playoff caliber and that is what we should expect.

[Js1 85321]

1 hour ago, Davis Lane said:

Isn't the season already a success?

Close - need hardware on Saturday to cement it as a true success.  11-1 is great, but 11-2 would suck balls. 

We are the better team and we better play like it on Saturday and yank that trophy out of Big 12 Brett's hands with a big shit eating grin on Sark's face.

[Ignatius 4017]

1 hour ago, DaysOff said:

Already a success, but if we play Tulane in a bowl game, that's a letdown. If enough guys sit out and something crazy happens we get to hear, " I TOLD Y'ALL SARK AIN'T THE GUY, HIRE FRITZ"/ Greenspoint

You’ll hear that stupid shit constantly in the next two game threads regardless of opponent, circumstances, or outcome…

[LTtxfan 49184]

Win the B12 championship.  Probably not gonna make CFP, so players will sit out the Bowl game. 

I like seeing the younger players like a Jonathan Brooks get experience in the bowl game...

[utexas8 1437]

It’s successful now.

Of course I’d be upset if we lost to okie lite because they suck but to be sitting here at 11-1 and haven’t been able to talk like this in decades is a success.

Now let’s continue it. Thankfully the playoff is getting expanded so we can lose 1 maybe 2 between UGA,Mich,OU next year and still be in. I feel a lot better with ewers and brooks coming back to be back in the discussion.

[Reynolds Woodcock 4740]

I said Big 12 championship in the poll, but if you told me at the start of the season we’d be 11-1 heading to the Big 12 Championship with a legit shot at the playoff, I’d call that a success every fucking day of the week after the last 13 years.

[Atticus 3973]

It's refreshing to see the level-headed responses here.

This season has been a rousing success, and it's even better to hear the players talking like "yea, it's cool...but we not done yet"

They have the right mentality, and that is credit to Sark and the coaches getting guys to buy in when some of them might not even be playing here anymore had we continued with the previous regime.

One more win to turn this season into a banner one, then we have a chance to take it even further.

Only been able to make it to 4 games this year, but it has been satisfying to see my faith in this coaching staff justified.

Edited November 29, 2023 by Atticus

[Wally Fairway 5547]

Winning the B12 Championship game, and pissed if not in the playoffs  - this should be a choice, but it could well happen, fucking pissed if Bama makes it

[gmr548 16576]

My bar for success to start the year was a 9-3 regular season record, OU win, and trip to Arlington. Two outta three ain’t bad.

I think an outright B12 title makes up for the OU loss and qualifies this year as a categorical success, and you’re playing with house money in a bowl or CFP. Lose on Saturday and 11-2 is still nice, but feels a little hollow with no Golden Hat or B12 trophy, and playing a G5 team in the NY6.

[Tex-19 2872]

That's the funny thing about sports - the bar keeps moving higher no matter what. Pre-season, we'd all consider this season a major success even if we lose this weekend (I thought we'd get 9 or 10 wins). Objectively, this season already is a success. But still, I'll admit that it may not feel that way if we lose this week.

[Reynolds Woodcock 4740]

1 hour ago, gmr548 said:

 I think an outright B12 title makes up for the OU loss and qualifies this year as a categorical success, and you’re playing with house money in a bowl or CFP.

If we win on Saturday, it will be our third most successful season in about 30 years (acknowledging our 08 team got fucked, but it is what it is). 

[Js1 85321]

3 minutes ago, Reynolds Woodcock said:

If we win on Saturday, it will be our third most successful season in about 30 years (acknowledging our 08 team got fucked, but it is what it is). 

And bookending the start and end of our tenure in the Big 12 with a conference title. Chef's kiss beautiful.  

Texas is already 2 for 2 on 2023-24 Big 12 titles (soccer, volleyball), so I'd like to add a third one before the calendar turns. 

[mdmost 43001]

Have to win the final Big 12. We have no excuse but I don't think we'll need one. This team looks very ready to destroy. 

[52-80 19152]

Beating a premier team soundly in a big bowl.
 

This was the normal expectation when I was in school, and what the team achieved vs Ohio State, Michigan, etc. And failed when they landed in Holiday or Alamo bowl. 

[Gut Wagon 8065]

Several of our players have had better years than I expected, and very few have had worse. Some of the latter were due to bad injury luck. Coaching has been good enough overall. We've already won more games than we normally do and have stayed in the national title conversation.  Put all that together and I think you have to call it a successful season to this point.

However, losing to OSU would take the air out of a really solid year. We can't control the whole CFP circus beyond playing our best this weekend, but we really need to do that. 

[mdmost 43001]

7 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

Beating a premier team soundly in a big bowl.
 

This was the normal expectation when I was in school, and what the team achieved vs Ohio State, Michigan, etc. And failed when they landed in Holiday or Alamo bowl. 

Well if we don't get in the playoff, we're going to be playing either Mizzou or Tulane in the Cotton or Fiesta. If we lose the Big 12 CCG, maybe we get an at-large spot but it's only guaranteed if we finish 12. 

Edited November 29, 2023 by mdmost

[idigTexas 2288]

Though losing to OkSt would be disappointing, the season as a whole is already a success in my eyes.  Anything else we accomplish is icing.  

[lilMAC25 3794]

4 hours ago, Horn80 said:

Being 11-1 is great success and beating Okie St will make complete success.  If CFP spot is obtained, that will far exceed my 2023 expectations.  Making it to the NC game would be an amazing accomplishment and winning it all off the charts.

Regarding bowl game expectations, that depends on the situation because so many players that have NFL draft hopes opt to sit out these days as a business decision.  

We backdoored our way into the BigXiiCG under Herman. 
 

We won out after losing to OU and are the #1 seed. Totally different situation and circumstance. 
 

if you want to say that being the #1 seed means we have to win to be successful, then I understand that argument (although I don’t agree with it) much better than the argument that this is somehow the same season as Herman has in 18.