The University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma are heading to the SEC in the near future, with word breaking earlier this summer that both historic football powerhouses will be leaving the Big 12 by 2025 (if not sooner). That move sent shockwaves through the landscape of college sports, particularly through the lens of football, and that included visions of a super-league in the Southeast that housed the majority of top programs in the country. In recent years, though, Oklahoma has far surpassed Texas in terms of on-field accomplishments, and college football legend Steve Spurrier served up a reminder of that reality this week.
Spurrier, while appearing with Paul Finebaum on the SEC Network, delivered his opinion on the move. His thoughts began with surprise, to the point of thinking it was simply a rumor, but Spurrier went on to take something of a shot at Texas for their recent scuffles.
The conference realignment take you didn't know you needed until now courtesy of @SteveSpurrierUF… pic.twitter.com/IJrTsHfA0E
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) August 5, 2021
“Texas, they struggle to win the Big 12. I guess they’ve only won it twice in I don’t know how many years,” Spurrier said. “It made sense for them. If you’re going to struggle in the Big 12, you might as well struggle in the SEC. Can’t do any worse.”
Spurrier isn’t exactly wrong about Texas, as their brand has been larger than their effectiveness recently. It would be fair to note that the Longhorns do have a massive operating budget, a fertile recruiting base and a tremendous infrastructure, though, and they could be turning the ship around under Steve Sarkisian’s leadership. Still, Spurrier’s answer seemed to indicate that he views Oklahoma quite a bit differently than Texas when evaluating from the perspective of the SEC.
Spurrier said Oklahoma and its fans are “looking forward to the challenge” and that OU has a “rich football tradition.” That could also be true of Texas, mind you, but this is a something of a “Welcome to the SEC” moment for Texas in that Spurrier likes to make news with his unbridled opinions across the conference.
