FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – History suggests that Texas has been the recipient of trademark bias over the years regardless of its conference affiliation.

The Longhorns used to have their own TV network and are consistently talked about on major sports networks for good or bad. The Texas brand makes a point and there’s no denying it.

Now in the SEC, the newcomers were given a forgiving schedule for the Longhorns’ first season. With the entrance of Texas and Oklahoma, the league mixed up its philosophy of building schedules based on member performances over the past decade.

Of course, Oklahoma had been dominant in the Big 12 with seven 10-win seasons and four playoff appearances. The Sooners’ success from 2015-21 was gifted with five ranked opponents including road games against Ole Miss, Auburn, Missouri and LSU while also playing Tennessee and Alabama.

Despite an outstanding playoff appearance last season and four losing seasons, the Longhorns benefited from their struggles and in return received a much easier path to another deep postseason run. Texas has played five ranked opponents, but road games were pretty winnable at Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Texas A&M.

According to Arkansas coach Sam Pittman, that fact still shouldn’t detract from a successful run despite the games awarded. The Longhorns are a great team with a great coach whose roster is full of potential NFL prospects lined up to help Texas compete for its first national championship since the 2006 season.

“Oh, a lot of times critics don’t know what they’re talking about and I don’t think they know much what they’re talking about on this one either,” Pittman said. “This is a good Texas team. I mean, you don’t beat Oklahoma by 31 and beat Mississippi State by 22, and beat Michigan by 19, beat Colorado State 52-0 and have a sorry football team.

“These guys are ranked No. 3 in the country because they deserve it and they’re a really well-coached football team. Coach Sarkisian is one of the best in the business, there’s no doubt about it, and they have talent. It’s not their fault that they haven’t played, let’s say, a schedule like ours. We played LSU and Ole Miss and A&M and Tennessee they’ve done a good job with their schedule and they have a good football team.”

Style points still matter in college football when it comes to making the playoffs. The Longhorns have been dominant defensively this fall, outscoring opponents by an average of 26 points while ranking near the top in every statistical category.

It’s no fault of Texas that when the schedule was announced two years ago, most of its current opponents set programs with a pulse. Arkansas, Mississippi State, Florida and Kentucky used to compete at a higher level, but that’s not the case now with the rapid evolution of the NIL, transfer portal and college football landscape.

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